Article on Amurath-Sahib in the Focus magazine
A nice article by Gudrun in her magazine “In the Focus” on this important Central European asil sire.
Month: March 2024
Update from Jeannie Lieb on the Davenport horses of the Hadban strain
Jeannie Lieb recently provided an update on social media on the Davenport Hadban horses that she helped put in Al Khamsa preservation homes in 2010. Quoting her: Updated March 2024: 1998gg RL Thunder Cloud (DDA Tyreb CF x DDA Hadba) Owner: Kathryn Toth, OH 2003gm RL Shelby Girl (RL Thunder Cloud x DDA Shalaana) Owner: … Read more
Y-DNA progress and promise
These two figures from the seminal paper Remer et al, 2022 on Y-DNA in Arabian horses will become the subject of much attention in the coming years.
Strain assignment in the Tunisian Studbook
Severine Vesco and I were doing some background work on the Tunisian sire lines today. We found that the Volume IV of the Tunisian Studbook (1977-8-9) had the strains of the horses assigned in the good-old-fashioned European way… by using the strain of the tail male ancestor. The stallion Rial, for instance, was given the … Read more
Ibrahim, 1899 desert-bed Saqlawi Faliti stallion
This morning my neurons’s synapses made a long-overdue connection concerning the strain of the 1899 grey desert-bed stallion Ibrahim, who was famous for siring Skowronek. Ibrahim’s recorded strain is “Saklawi Faliti” (cf. the comprehensive list of sources of information on him on allbreedpedigree.com). There has been much speculation about this Faliti qualifier, some of it … Read more
Samir, head stallion in Tunisia
The striking1985 chestnut Kuhaylan al-Ajuz stallion Samir (Sibawaih x Chajaret Eddour by Esmet Ali) was the other chief sire at the government stud of Sidi Thabet, together with Dynamite III. I saw him at Sidi Thabet in 2005. He reminded me of Regency CF at the time. Photo from the social media account of the … Read more
Dynamite III and Jahir, both to Nasr OA
For a long time there was a shadow hanging over the lineage of the senior Tunisian stallion Dynamite III (Esmet Ali x Nachoua by Madani), photo below. He and his many sons (Akermi, Safouen, Bardo, Halim, Touwayssane, etc), were accomplished racehorses of the first order and sires of racehorses in Tunisia and beyond. They were … Read more
Monsoon, the eternal fascinator
This iconic photo of the 1967 Kuhaylan Hayfi stallion Monsoon (Tripoli x Ceres), taken by Anita Westfall, was republished on Facebook recently, and received many “likes” and nostalgic recollections. The late Charles Craver holding the bridle.
الصقلاوي من رسن العبد من انتاجي الاسم جمر العرب
لاحظ حجم واستدارة الحنك ودقة الخشوم ورقتها وهي من صفات العتق في الخيل ولهذه الصفات تأثير مباشر على شكل الرأس فيصير مثلثًا وهذا مستحب أما الرأس المستطيل فهو مستقبح لما يدل عليه ضمنًا من ضعف الحنك أو غلاظة الخشوم أو الاثنين معًا
How racing and conflict are shaping horses today: a thought provoking conversation
This blog entry features a conversation that recently took place on Facebook between two friends of mine, both bold and provovative thinkers (and doers). Yassine Jamali is a farmer and occasional horse and dog breeder who lives in Morocco. He recently authored an important book on the past, present and future of Barb horses. Severine … Read more
*Ghalia, Hamdaniyah mare from the Saud Royal Stud, b. 1956
I don’t know if these two photos of the desert-bred mare *Ghalia was published before. According to Al Khamsa’s online roster, *Ghalia was a 1956 bay Hamdaniyah bred by the Sa’ud Royal Stud at Khafs Daghrah, Saudi Arabia. She was purchased in 1958 and imported to the USA in 1961 by Donald A. Holm. She … Read more
Ibn Mahrouf at W.R. Sheets in the 1980s
The handsome Dahman stallion Ibn Mahrouf, bred by the Babson Farm stood for breeding at the Sheets in the 1980s, when this picture was taken.
Photo of *Al Hamdaniah
Not sure I published this one before. It’s from the collection of Billy Sheets, which he left me.
On the problem of transliterating Arabic
This blog article quotes the famous and very funny exchange between Lawrence of Arabia and his proofreaders during the process of preparing his Seven Pillars of Wisdom for publication in 1926:
An account of an Indian horse-buying mission to Bagdad in 1907
The other day Moira Walker pointed me to the book “A trip to Baghdad: With an Appendix on the Arab Horse” written in 1908 by an Indian senior official, Nawab Hamid Yar Jung. He traveled with his father, Colonel Nawab Afsur-ul-Mulk, and another man, Mahboob Ali Beg, to Baghdad in March 1907, and its vicinity, … Read more
Swift Runner article on Mesaoud
The latest edition of the Swift Runner newsletter has an article by Betty Finke about the Crabbet foundation stallion Mesaoud being the most influential Arabian stallion of all time, an observation I agree with. The article also includes a nod to the new pedigree of Mesaoud on the sire line, which was published in the … Read more
Second generation Al Arab foals
I am awaiting three foals this year, all representing the second generation of my breeding. Kinza Al Arab (to Bashir Al Dirri), Barakah Al Arab (to Monologue CF) are due in April, and Mayassa Al Arab (to Anecdote CF) in the fall. Fingers crossed after Wadha’s filly’s tragedy last year. In my fantasy world, there … Read more
JDA Husaana, 1999, Saqlawiyat al-Abd mare
A picture of Monica Respet’s JDA Husaana as a younger mare. Husaana, born in 1999, has one of the nicest old pedigrees on a US Arabian horse, with a rare tail female to *Urfah and plenty of old American blood. Her line was bred by Mrs. Ott and her daughter Jane Ott for three generations. … Read more
Photos of Ma’rib, Yemen, 1987
Facebook has these superb photos from the ancient Sabean capital city of Marib in Yemen in 1987. These were likely taken by archaeologists working on excavating the temple of South Arabian god Ilmuqah (known locally as Mahram Balqis, Balqis being the Islamic name for the Queen of Sheba). No credit were given.
CSA Baroness Lady, last asil Ma’naqiyah mare of the *Ferida died at 24
The last Al Khamsa mare of the Ferida lineage, a 1999 Ma’naqiyah Sbayliyah, was put down last month. I had given CSA Baroness Lady to Sue Moss in 2023 as a pet companion to one of her horses. She leaves behind a 2015 bay gelding, Haykal Al Arab (registered name Lucero De Santana, why? long … Read more
Jeanne Craver on the history of her 50 year involvement with Al Khamsa
Jeanne is the mother of Al Khamsa. Her involvement with the organization she helped found, which she documented in a recent post on Facebook, reads like a history of Al Khamsa of sorts: I was graduating from college, and realized that I could now fulfill a dream and have a horse. Fell in love with … Read more
H.R.P. Dickson (ca. 1930) and Judith Forbis (1970) on the “roman-nosed” Shawaf strain
I wrote about H.R.P. Dickson’s 1949 book “The Arab of the Desert” in an earlier blog entry about the Ubayyan strain of Ibn Jalawi. This entry is about about the horses of the rulers of Bahrain, in the context of Dickson’s mention of specific Arab leader being famous for keeping a certain strain of Arabian … Read more
Ibn Fadl, chief sire at the Babson Farm
A rarely seen photo of the Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz stallion Ibn Fadl (*Fadl x *Turfa), chief sire at the Babson Farm. Photo through Jeanne Craver. It’s worth noting that, of the *Fadl sons, he was the only one the Babson Farm deemed worth naming after his sire (a bit like Ibn Morafic at Gleannloch). Do you … Read more
*Noura, 1917 desert-bred Ma’naqiyah from Ibn Saud
Lebanese-American poet and advisor to first Saudi king Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud with *Noura, a desert-bred Ma’naqiyah Hadrajiyah. Noura, born in 1917, was a gift from her breeder Ibn Saud to Rihani, and was imported to the USA in 1928. She has no asil progeny left. As an aside, this mare is living proof, if … Read more
Shamsah as a weanling
Shamsah Al Arab (Cascade DE x SS Lady Guenevere) is the Ma’naqiyah filly I had been planning for several years. She has her dam’s very dark chestnut coat color, strong build, short back, and … short neck. Pictured here with her dam running behind her. Photo DeWayne Brown.
Shaykh Al Arab at nearly four
Another horse from my breeding that went to a friend is the 2020 chestnut Ma’naqi Sbayli colt Shaykh Al Arab (Tamaam x DaughterofthePharaohs), owned by Terry Doyle. Shaykh, who Terry calls “Notch” (because he says he is top notch!) is going to be Terry’s trail riding horse. DeWayne, who owns his dam sent me this … Read more
Al Sabik, Kuhaylan Khallawi, Syria — mid 2000s
I had published this beautiful photo of the 1994 Syrian Kuhaylan Khallawi stallion Al Sabik (*Ta’an x Hallah) some ten years ago. Recently Arnault Decroix shared with me another photo of the same handsome horse taken a few moments before or after the first one. This was truly a special horse.
Belisarius at one
Landrace Belisasius turns one at the end of this month. He is the son of Jamr out of Belle that went to Moira Walker in utero. He is a light bay, the color of his damline ancestor, *Nufoud. I like very much, as to me he exemplifies the permanence of the old type of Arabian … Read more
H.R.P. Dickson on the ‘Ubayyan strain of Ibn Jalawi
I have writtten about the Ubayyan strain specific of Ibn Jalawi several times before, mainly here, here and here. It is the strain of my mare Madinas Miracle, and my stallion AAS Nelyo, which trace back to the Ubayyah mare *Mahraa, a gift from Saud Ibn Jalawi, governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia … Read more
A new Hamdani project
I have long been a fan of *Al Hamdaniah, the desert-bred mare that was imported to the USA in 1947. This “bloody-shouldered” mare bred by Saudi prince Saud ibn ‘Abdallah ibn Jalawi, governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia — was the subject of the first entry on this blog, more than 16 years … Read more