A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
One never stops learning. A read of the Abbas Pasha Manuscript section of the Saqlawi al-‘Abd strain teaches you that the strain is actually a branch of Saqlawi Jadran: It turns out that a man from the Shammar tribe was once taken prisoner by an Ibn Sha’lan (the leading clan of the Ruwalah tribe). The … Read more
I don’t know if this stallion of excellent lines is still alive or not, but a reader asked about him. He was bred by Radwan Shabareq in Aleppo, and given to the late Mustafa al-Jabri who used him at stud. I knew him as a newborn, as a colt and as a stallion. His mother … Read more
Shafi Ibn Sha’ban, the leader of the sub-tribe of Bani Hajar of Qahtan in the mid-XIXth century, is the one who led his tribe from the valleys of Najd to the shores of Eastern Arabia (al-Ihsa) in 1248 H, which is equivalent to 1832.  The Bani Hajar, separated from the bulk of their Qahtan brethen, eventually broke … Read more
Pauline Lagmay of Jedda, in Saudi Arabia, sent me these photos of the asil Arabian stallion, Lazam Najd, a Suwayti, who is in her care. This beautiful stallion, by Haleem out of Ghazalet Najd, was featured in a video on this blog a few years ago. That’s a strain originally from the Sharif of Mecca, … Read more
Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence, edited by Rosemary Archer and James Fleming, and published by Alexander Heriot & Co. Ltd Booksellers and Publishers in 1986, is, together with the Abbas Pasha Manuscript (Forbis and Sherif), the most important publication on the Arabian horse in recent memory. I have read it time and again, and I … Read more
There appears to have been a senior stallion at the Sa’ud Royal Studs in the 1940s of the strain of Obeyan el Seifi (correct spelling Suyayfi, a strain well referenced in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript); he is the sire of several mares and one stallion sent as gifts to King Faruk of Egypt. One of … Read more
Kina Murray kindly shared with me this rare photo of the 1946 Bahraini bay mare *Thorayyah, which was recently posted by a research group on Facebook; she was bred by Sheikh Khalifah Bin Mohamed Al Khalifah, Bahrain, then imported by to the USA John Rogers of California. She was apparently by a Hathfan out a … Read more
Lady Anne Blunt’s Journals entry for December 31, 1907 (page 327) contains this interesting mention (in relation to the Ali Pasha Sharif stallion Harkan):  “I must go through the Ali Pasha Sherif Memoranda that I have with Mutlak, hhe will be able to clear up several points.” An excerpt of a much earlier Journal entry, made … Read more
Yesterday, I spent some time reading the story of al-Kuhaylah al-Harqah in the Abbas Pascha Manuscript (not the English version of Forbis and Sherif, but rather the large excerpts in Hamad al-Jassir’s Usul al-Khayl al-Arabiyyah al-Hadithah). The story of al-Harqah is remarkable for its simplicity (it’s not hard to follow), its conciseness (relative to other … Read more
Now that I have read the Abbas Pasha Manuscript — the equivalent of the Bible for Arabian horses — from cover to cover a fair number of times, I have learned that all Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz horses originate from two wellsprings: the Sharif of Mecca in the Hijaz, and the major tribe of Qahtan, and more specifically the Qahtan … Read more
This magnificent stallion is a gift from the King of Bahrain to the Queen of English. Photo from the Arabian Horse World Magazine.
In my opinion, this is one of the best up and coming Davenport stallions. He is almost perfect, and very reminiscent of 1960s Davenport stallions. He is by Dubloon CF out of Genuine Tes LD by Tesio CF.
I really enjoy the images Lee Oellerich sends me from British Columbia, Canada from time to time, and I have the highest regard for his taste in breeding, what he selects for, and what he achieves with his herd of Saudi and Bahraini-origin Arabian horses. This is an absolute favorite, the 2002 Dahman Shahwan stallion … Read more
A Kuhaylan Al Krush of Davenport breeding. In real life, did he look as good and as deserty as in this picture and others? Who is his best offspring today? What powerful shoulder he had and what short back! where do you find this today? Bred by Charles Craver.
In an earlier thread, Ahmad al-Tamimi share pictures of his wonderful, and very well built, asil Bahraini Kuhaylan Aafess stallion in Hail, Saudi Arabia. An antique horse for sure, of which he can be proud.
This is my favorite Bahraini horse outside Bahrain. He is standing at stand at Jenny Lees’ but unfortunately not available to public stud. More photos on Jenny’s website. I love the bone structure on the face.
Nuhra was a 1936 bay mare presented by the ruler of Bahrain to the British Earl of Athlone during his and wife’s visit to Bahrain in 1939. She was by a Kuhaylan Jellabi stallion out of a Wadhnah Khursaniyah mare. In light of the habit of Arab Sheykh’s of maintaining only a handful of stallions … Read more
Images from arabianmagazineonline.com, by way of URL photo link
These were Barghi Ibn Dirri’s own words, in my translation of the certificate of his mare Meshura, a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah of Ibn Dirri, who was bought by Lady Anne Blunt, and who was Pharaoh’s sister, Azrek’s maternal aunt, and a close relative of Basilisk’s: “I declare that I took part in a raid with a group of … Read more
If case you had been wondering what this spat of blog entries on Bahraini horses was all about, here is the answer: my most recent acquisition DA Ginger Moon (DB Destiny Moniet x Kumence RSI by Monietor RSI) was just checked in foal to the 28 year old Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon, at Bill … Read more
A relatively recent revised edition of Abdallah al-Bassam’s (Lady Anne Blunt’s acquaintance from ‘Unayzah in Qassim) book “Tuhfat al-mushtaq fi akhbar Najd wa al-Hijaz wa al-‘Iraq” (edited by Ibrahim al-Khalidi, pub. Kuwait, 2000) has this photo that claims to represent the Emir of Hail Mohammad Ibn Abdallah Ibn Rashid of Hail (Lady Anne Blunt’s host … Read more