Armistice Day: Marking 100 Years
Today marks the 100th year anniversary of the end of World War One, and incidentally the real beginning of the end of the horse’s era as a creature of war. Without getting too political, I have been reflecting on the loss of so many Arabians in the breed. The Polish studs were virtually decimated in WWI, and along with them a very high percentage of horses that were likely asil. And what might well be one of the greatest tragedies of the Blunt horses (and there are a good many, alas) is that Mesaoud, one of the most influential herd sires to come out of the program, was sent to Russia in 1903 and was presumably lost to the world in the slaughter of the Russian Revolution, shortly before the end of World War One. A ghastly end for an elderly stallion such as he.
Nothing much else to say, except that I am glad that our horses have survived modern warfare and are still with us today. It’s a precious thing.
Which has gotten me to thinking.. Edouard has written here before about the need for a safe haven for some of the cradle country Asils.. Horrific conflicts like the Syrian civil war , and the Yemeni civil war are quite likely to increase given the continued expansion of global warming. How difficult would it be to setup a 501c3 non profit breeding farm with attested Asils with Hujas. We could also start a stud book for Asils too. Genetic records could be kept with haplotypes as well of each horse. something to ponder
best
Bruce Peek
Which has gotten me to thinking.. Edouard has written here before about the need for a safe haven for some of the cradle country Asils.. Horrific conflicts like the Syrian civil war , and the Yemeni civil war are quite likely to increase given the continued expansion of global warming. How difficult would it be to setup a 501c3 non profit breeding farm with attested Asils with Hujas. We could also start a stud book for Asils too. Genetic records could be kept with haplotypes as well of each horse. something to ponder
best
Bruce Peek
I am afraid that what we find is that whenever there are concentrations of precious horses, bad things are more likely to affect the breed as a whole than if they widely owned. Consider the neglect of Abbas Pasha’s herd, the later dispersal of the some of the studs of the ruling Albanian dynasty of Egypt, the dispersal and slaughter of the Russian studs, and the fate of the Spanish Arabians. I could go on.
The present oil-funded, quasi-state (ruler and family owed) studs of the Nejd and the Gulf could vanish in a short time due to civil insurrection or war.
The survival of the Egyptian stud as the EAO is a remarkable thing. However, it, too could disappear due to war, terrorism or insurrection.
Then consider the fact that almost no large private stud has lasted more than two generations in the modern era. The Blunts are the best example, but one could look at Bentwood and Gleannloch. The Forbis operation survives mostly in the form of a bank of frozen semen.
I am NOT making a case against big, well funded and well conceived stud farms. We all owe them a great deal.
It just seems to me, though, that the long-term survival of the breed and especially of desert stock will rest on broad distribution of the bloodstock so that a single calamity, family misfortune, or bad judgement by owners can do only limited damage.
I am inclined to agree that smaller farms scattered in pockets throughout the world are more likely to keep the lines alive. A big farm is also a big target, be it from a hostile state, an owner with a gun, or a dispassionate natural disaster.
I agree with the thought that there are dangers in a concentration of rare bloodlines in one spot, but if there was a central location that could serve as a hub of activity, especially for vet services to preserve semen and even eggs from precious lines… this sentence is getting too long. But I am for having such a place, where horses of rare bloodlines could be saved, and then spread out.
You really need both. In general, extended periods of peace and security such as that the USA has been enjoying on its territory since the end of the Civil War are the exception not the norm. It is what has formed the main precondition for the perpetuation of so many lines in the USA.
I always worry about too many rare lines in one herd owned by one individual. Which is why the Al Khamsa Preservation Task Force is going to start requiring joint registration in the USA of the custodian and one of the PTF members for any code red tail male, code red tail female or code red anywhere in the pedigree Al Khamsa Arabian we are involved in placing. We are implementing this immediately. Along with a simple contract signed by the owner transferring, the new owner and a PTF member spelling out Al Khamsa’s expectations with respect to breeding for a replacement foal.