Another photo of the black lady
This is another photo of the “Black Lady”, about which I had written before, here. I took this photo in 1999 or in 2000 in the countryside outside Aleppo. She is one of my two or three favorite Syrian mares.
She is a Kuhaylat al-Krush from the breeding of ‘Atallah al-Nassar al-Jarba of the Northern Shammar. The latter got the strain from his cousin Mayzar al-Abd al-Muhsin al-Jarba (ca. 1960s), whose family had it from Muhammad ibn Rashid of Hail (ca. 1880s) who in turn had it from the Sheykhs of the Mutayr tribe.
After the Ottomans quelled the rebellion of the Northern Shammar and hung their leader ‘Abd al-Karim al-Jarba on a bridge in Mossul in 1875, ‘Amsheh, the mother of ‘Abd al-Karim (and the daughter of the Sheykh of the Tai) fled with her younger son Faris and sought refuge with Muhammad ibn Rashid, the leader of the Southern Shammar in Hail. When peace was made with the Ottomans, she and her son returned to their tribe, and a Kuhaylat al-Krush from the horses of Ibn Rashid came with them.
What a lovely head she has, with such bright, alert eyes and that little muzzle. And thank you for the history of her strain; it is always interesting!
She has the smallest muzzle i have seen among the desert bred horses.
Her nose could probably fit easily into a foal halter; Abba’s does, though that comes with the drawback of having a slightly shear mouth – no problems with an annual float, but when I first got her, she needed some corrective work, because the delicate little muzzle comes with a slightly too narrow lower jaw.
The black mare also has a strikingly well-defined chin, which I really like, and she has those genuinely upwards-facing nostrils, which seem to be vanishingly rare these days. I also note that she has the very large cheek and poll area that makes fitting halters and bridles a nuisance when paired with the fine muzzle! Phenomenal massive brain, itty bitty pint pot nose.
Yeah but her Jibbah(sp?) to state the obvious is large.. A good expansion chamber to moisten incoming air so her lungs and bronchial tubes don’t dry out and scar over. Also while there is appreciable dish her face slopes back up instead of continuing downwards, which would make an even smaller air intake- The small air intake is what we see so often these days on the general list halter horses..
best
Bruce Peek
What a breathtaking mare, in a literal sense. The sight of her prompted an involuntary exhale and “wow…” as the air whooshed out of my lungs. She is exquisite. What a treat it would have been to see her in person.