Nice photo by Christine Emmert in 2007 of the 2000 bay Kuhaylat Krush mare Cataree (Mandarin CF x Minaret CF by Heir Apparent). The photo appeared this week on the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy website.
I am happy to introduce Yasser Ghanim Barakat of the larger Tahawi clan in Egypt as a guest blogger on Daughters of the Wind. Yasser, his cousin Mohammad Mohammad Othman al-Tahawi and Yehia Abd al-Sattar Eliwa al-Tahawi have been working with Bernd Radtke, Joe Ferriss and myself as well as a number of others to further the cause of the remaining asil horses of the Tahawi (some 20 plus mares and a stallion), as Yasser put it so well in his post on the StraightEgyptians.com: “The great and historical decision taken by Al Khamsa to recognize all the remaining Tahawy horses renews hope in preserving these asil and rare bloodlines of desert Arabians (see: https://daughterofthewind.org/tahawi-tribel…is-is-historic/ ) Tahawy Arabians were dominating the race in Egypt in the period between the 1880s and 1960s. They were an important source for most of Egypt’s famous breeders such as Lady Anne Blunt, the Egyptian Royal family and the members of the Jockey club. The Tahawy horses descend from some of the finest desert bred horses acquired by the Tahawies from the best strains of the notable Sheikhs of Eneza and Shammar tribes. Original certificates stamped by Eneza and Shammar Shaikhs were issued for the Tahawy horses…
It’s no secret that the asil lines in the West are increasingly tightly bred, so much that many equine scientists believe this is a major concern for the sustainability of the breed in the medium and long terms. More than ninety five percent (and maybe more!) of asil horses in the West (the USA, Europe, Australia, etc) are Straight Egyptian or Egyptian related. All Straight Egyptian and Egyptian related horses carry a non-trivial measure of Blunt blood from the Crabbet and Sheykh Obeyd Studs. The influence of the Blunt’s breeding program is arguably the most pervasive of any Arabian horse breeding program so far. All “New Egyptian” horses carry Blunt blood through Rustem (Astraled x Ridaa), Kazmeen (Sottam x Kasima) who is Nazeer’s grandsire, Hamran (Berk x Hamasa), Bint Rissala (Ibn Yashmak x Rissala), Bint Riyala (Nadir x Riyala) and others. “Old Egyptian” (i.e., “Babson”) horses carry it through Bint Serra I (Sottam x Serra). “Babson-Browns” carry it through Gulastra (Astraled x Gulnare), and so do “Doyle” horses, which are the only 100% Blunt horses in existence. In short, Blunt blood is all over the place. There is a tiny group of asil Arabian horses in North America that does…