Among the foundation stock of Old French Bloodlines, I would like to discuss one specific horse : the stallion Emmon born in 1819. Some have considered his blood as “Asil” for decades. But, does he really fit the “Asil” definition? What do we actually know about this horse? Honestly not much. The first french studbook describe him as : “a grey 1819 Arabian stallion, bought in England by Strubberg Senior and de Bony”. He stood at Pompadour from 1825 to 1836 and died in January 1837. Can we trace him to “Bedouin breeding of the Arabian peninsula”? No. No data from his breeding source is given in the French Studbook, nor inside the Journal des Haras. Indeed, he is sometimes listed as an Arabian horse…but also, he is sometimes not. Although, one must confess that French authorities did their best to try to classify their “oriental imports” (from Persians to Barbs), having him or any other horse listed as “Arabian” is not enough to prove he was “Asil”. We shall agree that the knowledge of “oriental breeds” was lacking depth at that time. The difference between Thoroughbred horses bred in England and orientals imports was also suffering great troubles. They…