As to the breeding of mules, the best mules for carrying loads are those produced in Armenia, and after these the North African mules. In breeding them, a donkey with excellent conformation and long and wide ears is put on the ramakah (see below); in this case, the offspring turns out to be a large mule, with an excellent conformation, [a] perfect [one]. If the mare was a rumiyyah [i.e., Turkish] or a countrybred (biqaa’iyyah), it is the best of mules, because it turns out to be a mule with a strong build, a broad back and hip, thick legs, [which is] enduring with loads, weights and chores. If the horse was mounted on the she-donkey, the offspring is often is a small mule, short-headed and snub-nosed (fatssan). It might turn out free of these defects, but it won’t measure up to the offspring of the mare, in its conformation, endurance and beauty. This is because of the spaciousness of the belly of the mare, and the tightness of the belly of the she-donkey. […]. As to the breeding of donkeys, the best [donkeys] are the Egyptians, and these are those produced in Upper Egypt; and after these, the Yemeni…
Lyman Doyle took this photo of Jenny Krieg’s young stallion Bashir al-Dirri (Tamaam DE x Sarita Bint Raj), a 2015 Saqlawi Jadran stallion tracing to Basilisk. He carries some of the very last lines in Al Khamsa to the stallions *Mirage, *Euphrates, and *Al-Mashoor. Photo by Lyman Doyle. This stallion has superlative action and near perfect conformation. Jenny, Lyman and I had agreed to breed SS Lady Guenevere to him, but it was his first time breeding a mare, and could not get the job done. There will be other occasions, I am sure. Meanwhile, if you are interested in breeding to him, you can reach out to Jenny Krieg.