[One of t]The first mention of the Musinn (Muson, Mosenn, etc) strain occurs in W.S. Rzewuski’s book, “Sur les chevaux orientaux et provenants [sic] des races orientales”. The manuscript at the Polish National Library in Warsaw was published in 2003 with the title “Impressions d’Orient et d’Arabie”: Le fameux el-Mesenneh el-Wehabi, acheté à Abd el-Aziz, prince des Wehabis… vient de mourir à Kuzmindans mon haras. Il m’a laissé six poulains et trois pouliches avec mes juments du désert, et a sailli en1822 mes quatorze juments Nejdiehs Kocheilans, qui sont toutes pleines. In English: “The famous el-Mesenneh el-Wehabi, purchased from Abd el-Aziz, prince of the Wehabis… has just died at Kuzmin in my stud farm. He left me six colts and three fillies with my desert mares, and in1822 he covered my fourteen Nejdiehs Kocheilans mares, all of which are now in foal. Abd al-Aziz (1720–1803) was the second ruler of the House of Saud, and the son of its founder. The House of Saud was famously associated with the strain of Kuhaylan al-Musinn, or Musannan for a long time, which gives credence to Rzewuski’s account. Rzewuski went horse-shopping in Arabia between 1817 and 1819, which provides the earliest dating for…
Said Rzewuski: “Woznah: La fondatrice de cette race très fameuse par ses qualités pour la guerre fut dans l’ère nommée la Djahélieh (le paganisme) consacrée a l’étoile qui précède, de pair avec une autre, le lever de Canope. Race très antique et précieuse. Anti-prophétique. Rarissime. Forte membrée. D’origine des environs de La Mecque.” In English: “Woznah: The foundation mare of this strain renowned for its qualities in warfare was, in the era called Jahiliyyah (paganism), dedicated to the star that precedes, along with another, the rising of Canopus. A very ancient and precious strain. Anti-prophetic. Extremely rare. Big boned. Originating from the vicinity of Mecca.” The “rising of Canopus” refers to the annual reappearance in the late summer of the star Canopus (Suhayl in Arabic, the second brightest star in the sky). In Arabia and the Middle East in general, the pre-sunrise rising of Canopus signaled the end of intense summer heat and the beginning of cooler weather. This annual event was a major cultural marker for Bedouin and farmers. The annual “rising of Canopus” is preceded by the rising of Sirius (in Arabic al-Shi’ra al-Yamaniyyah, the brightest star in the sky), itself preceded by the rise of Procyon (al-Sh’ira al-Shamiyyah,…
Shaykh Al Arab a.k.a “Notch”, a Ma’naqi Sbayli horse that I bred out of a mare leased from DeWayne Brown, has grown into a nice riding horse for the Doyles. Photo and video Lyman Doyle.
Three more photos I found, showing three generations from El Hamdan, pictured age ten; El-Haml at seven and Aja at two. Photographer(s) unknown, but photos graciously provided by Gisela Aschenborn Uijs. El Hamdan above and below El-Haml Aja
I was recently gifted three boxes full of material by my mentor, Gisela Aschenborn Uijs as they’re moving from the iconic Farm Orumbo-Nord where the renowned mares Nabilah and Barakah were guests. One find was four photos that, after a few phone calls, turned out to be Sidi Abu Khai , a 1984 stallion bred by A. W. A. (Jack) Maritz. He traces back to Freiha Al-Hamra (APK) throught the Claude Orpen-import, Barakah. The photos were taken while he was being used at stud by G. N. Viljoen in Namibia.
Chapter II: of the Province of Nedsjed “The Bedouins inhabit a great part of the province. The remainder is mountainous, full of cities and villages, and parcelled out among so many petty sovereigns, that almost every little town has its own Schiech (i.e., Shaykh). Formerly, when the power of the Sherriffes was at its height, many of these Schiech, who were situate in the vicinity of Hedsjas, were obliged to pay tribute to the Sherriffe of Mecca. At present, they pay nothing”. Source: TRAVELS THROUGH ARABIA,AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE EAST, PERFORMED BY M. NIEBUHR, NOW A CAPTAIN OF ENGINEERS IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING OF DENMARK. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY ROBERT HERON WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR; AND ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS. IN TWO VOLUMES. EDIMBURGH, 1792.
Kate McLachlan has identified Carsten Niebhur’s Description de l’Arabie (a contemporary French translation of the German original) as the source for the first list of Arabian horse strains in Western literature. The account can be safely dated to 1765-1766, when Niebhur was crossing Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia on his way back from India to Constantinople: “On sait, que les Arabes font grand cas de leurs chevaux; on pourrait dire, qu’il les divisent en deux espèces. Ils nomment l’une Kadischi, c. à. d. chevaux de race inconnue, lesquels ne font pas plus estimés en Arabie que les chevaux ordinaires ne le sont en Europe ; ils servent à porter les fardeaux & à tous les autres ouvrages. La seconde espèce s’appelle Kochlâni ou Koheyle, c. a. d. chevaux dont on a écrit la généalogie depuis deux mille ans. On veut qu’originairement ils soient venus du haras de Salomon-, aussi sont-ils très chers […]. Les Kôchlâni sont principalement élevés par les Bédouins entre Bâsra, Merdin & la Syrie, ou les grands Seigneurs ne veulent point monter d’autres chevaux. Toute cette race se divise encore en plusieurs familles. On trouve près de Mosùl les familles Dsjùlfa, Mânaki, Dehâlemîe , Seklaui, Sâade, Hamdâni &…
(Translated into English from an Arabic article by Yasser Ghanim on Facebook) Not a day—perhaps not even an hour—passes without seeing a post on Facebook or Instagram praising a specific stallion or mare. In all these posts, the publisher always admires the horse championship, and dazzling beauty. Naturally, this is accompanied by photos and videos displaying “lavish beauty,” exquisite type, and a breathtaking presence—at least, as seen through the eyes of the poster. However, I feel a sense of sorrow because, in most of these cases, I do not share the same appreciation or admiration for the majority of these horses. It appears that the standards of taste and the criteria for beauty have diverged significantly between “Fundamentalists” (like myself) and our brethren whom I call the “Modernists.” Beauty of the Arabian horse has become a completely relative concept with big divergence between the two factions and two very distinct perceptions. What is the standard type of the Arabian horse, if any? Or rather, what are its most typical and most desirable traits? And what are the morphological (visual) traits upon which we build our appreciation of beauty? This is a question that occupies everyone, yet there seems to be…