Month: September 2019

For those who haven’t seen it, since Jeanne was mentioning it.

Also from Ibn al-Kalbi’s Book of Horses, my translation: David, the Prophet of God, was very fond of horses. He could not hear of a horse cited for his bloodline (‘irq), its authenticity (‘itq), it’s beauty (husn) or its speed (jari) without sending for it, until he gathered a thousand horses. There were none other … Read more

I always found this story very touching. It is related in Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi’s book of horses, one of the earliest such compilations by Muslim authors: We were by the coastline; a stallion was brought to be bred to his mother; he refused. So they brought her into a house, threw a cover the door, … Read more

From Jeanne Craver comes this photo of the Davenport mare Adorned (Prince Hal x Moth by Tripoli), with the reference to the earlier discussion on pronounced white markings.

This is Royal Court Jester. He is not an Arabian horse (no panic yet). He carries less than 0.2 percent pinto blood from a single cross at the 10th generation. The remaining 99.8 is general list Arab blood. Tobiano is a dominant gene, so at least one parent need to carry it. I wonder, through, … Read more

I am looking up the horses Kate mentioned in the previous entry. Below is Fenwick Orion, another 100% Crabbet of Australian lines. His markings are quite striking. They are so unusual that one is tempted to look for non-Arabian blood (of which there is a little, way back), and attribute his coat color pattern to … Read more

Very interesting white markings on this 100% Crabbet stallion (with multiple lines to Skowronek and Dargee) and a tail female line to the Kuhaylat al-Krush desert-bred mare Dafina. The VIIIth century CE Arabic horse books (kutub al-khayl) describe such markings at length. There must have been more Arab horses with such markings in the past, … Read more

Much ink has been spilled on this subject, and I guess the short answer to the question is that one can say both. “Arabian” refers to “Arabia” the land, like “English” does to “England”. When one says “Arabian horse”, they link the horse to “Arabia” the land. When one says “Arab horse”, they link the … Read more

A nice photo of the 1896 Hamidie mare Zitra (Mannaky x Galfia), a Hamdaniyah Simriyah. She has this “upper class” look for an Arab horse. This is the tail female to Antan, Regency CF and other greats at Craver Farms. Photo courtesy of Jeanne Craver.

*Werdi was one of the Davenport imports. I may have identified the owner of her dam, as mentioned in her hujjah, but I am awaiting confirmation from sources in Hamah. Here is the available information meanwhile: It can be inferred from *Werdi’s hujjah that her dam was the “grey mare of Faris Agha al-Turkmani of … Read more

*Werdi was one of the mares imported by Homer Davenport to the USA in 1906. Her hujjah (certificate of authenticity) is particular among the hujaj of the Davenport imports in that its front side is for a bay mare that is *Werdi’s close relative, most probably her sister, but not *Werdi herself. The hujjah belongs … Read more

This is the third time I come across the name of this Damascene horse owner in primary sources about horses exported to the West. He amazingly connects together three Western horse figures: Wilfrid Blunt (concerning Saladin), Homer Davenport (concerning *Simri), and Khalil Bistany (concerning *Al-Mashoor). Check this out: From Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence, October … Read more

I also read “the Horse” by Al-Asma’i today. I came across this mention: It was mentioned that Hisham [the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, died in 743 CE] said: “I desire to see al-Dhaa’id [a horse] defeated. So they brought him a birdhawn of the Berbers [birdhawn barbari], called al-Mukatib, after a disease had … Read more

Today I read Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi’s (d. 819 CE) “Horse Lineages in the Jahiliyyah and Islam” from cover to cover. It is a a quick read, and the earliest of the Arabic books on horses. I was looking for specific things, but I found this fascinating story, about a specific horse named al-Dubayb. My translation: … Read more

Muhammad Othman Abdallah Saoud al-Tahawi, also known as El Tahawy Saoud, is a folk historian of the first order, a preservationist extraordinaire and the guardian of this tribe’s heritage and history. With yours truly at my house in Cairo in 2014. How I miss those Cairo evenings, the endless conversations, the taste of sugarcane juice, … Read more

It is so nice to see Hazaim Alwair’s Davenport breeding program grow. His two Hayfi mares Provance CF (Triermain CF x Anjou CF) and Confetti CF (Triermain CF x Domina CF) produced beautiful colts by Gilaad Ibn Dubloon (Dubloon CF x Genuine Tes by Tesio CF) in 2018. They are Jabal Alasil to the right, … Read more

This beautiful, well balanced mare is now with Michael Bowling. If I am not mistaken, Valse Triste TW carries the highest concentration of Tripoli blood in a living Davenport Arabian. She is by Trilogy (by Prince Hal who was by Tripoli out of Trill by Tripoli out of Moth by Tripoli) out of a Brigantine … Read more

In the name of God the Most Merciful and Compassionate City of Riyadh Region of Najd Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 11 Rabi’ the second 1378 corresponding to 25 October 1958 I, Mutlaq al-‘Atawi, supervisor of the royal horse stables of his Highness King Saud ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, declare that the following testimony is correct: The … Read more

There has been a lot of speculation about the sire of the desert-bred Davenport import *Mowarda, in particular whether he was the horse that was imported to the USA by one of Davenport’s companions and later registered as *Abbeian 111. The Arabic language famously lacks the verb “to be”. Phrases like “the dog is big” … Read more

She is growing by leaps and bounds, and has filled up. I like the dark skin around the muzzle, and the long ears, and the setting of the neck. I would like to calculate the percentage of Crabbet and Abbas Pasha blood there (Gulida, Ghadaf, Rabanna, Bint Serra, Bint Rissala, Bint Durra, Kazmeen, Nusi, etc). … Read more

Bev’s mare GulastrasSpirit SDA had a beautiful filly by Sierre Cheyenne four days ago. I just love these horses. So much style, such true old type. Photos by owner Bev Davison.

This post continues the series on the Nasiri book. In an earlier post, I had referred to the ten groups of horses featured in one of the sections: that from Hijaz, Najd, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, North Africa, etc. They were generally classified by region, and called ansaab, which translates as “lineages”. I speculated … Read more

This son of the Doyle stallion Tamaam DE and the rare Sarita Bint Raj does not cease to amaze me. Look at the withers-shoulder-neck complex! Photos by Lyman Doyle. Pippa is the mare in the bottom.

This black mare, of the Ma’naqi Sbayli strain tracing to Haidee, is the maternal grandmother of my SS Shadows Aana. Her formidable build, her high withers and her very deep girth, are some of the reasons I like this line so much. Mares like her can be the cornerstone of an entire breeding program.

Ma shaa Allah, as we say in Arabic. At 27 years old, Popinjay (Banter CF x Persimmon by Brimstone) just looks glorious. Photo by his owner Maria Wallis.

[Updated on September 12, 2019] I just happened upon an online copy of an animal dictionary from the XIVth century, “Hayat al-Haywan al-Kubra” (“The Great Life of Animals”). It is by a Cairene author, Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa ibn ‘Ali al-Dumayri (1341-1405). It defines several horse-related terms like hisan, khayl, and faras. I realized … Read more

[Edited September 1, 2019, with new sections translated] From the Nasiri book: The breeding of horses (al-khuyul) is divided into three parts: one is the breeding of Arab horses (al-khuyul al-‘arabiyyyat); the second is the breeding of the hamaaliij and countrybreds (al-biqaa’iyyat); the third is the breeding of donkeys and Armenian mules. In this chapter, … Read more