Article: *Naomi – “A Great Arab Mare”

The following article on the life of the mare *Naomi was tracked down by Kate McLachlan and dug up by myself, and can be read online through the Hathi Trust website courtesy of the New York Public Library [click here.] Written by the Rev. F. Furse Vidal, it was published August 16, 1900 in The Country Gentleman – an American agricultural magazine founded in the 1830s. He writes about his acquisition of the mare, her disposition with children, and of several of the foals that he bred out of her. I am struck by his pointed description of her attitude toward children, and it only further confirms for me what I’ve long thought: Arabian mares and children go together like the moon and the stars.

The Country Gentleman, Volume 65
August 16, 1900
pg 668-9

EDS. COUNTRY GENTLEMAN – Having seen a notice in your paper of the death of Mr. Randolph Hunting’s celebrated Arabian mare Naomi, it has occurred to me that as Mr. Huntington procured her from me, it might be interesting to your readers to hear something of her early history and achievements from me.

Naomi was four years old when she came into my possession. Her sire, Yatagan [sic], and her dam, Haidée, were part of an importation of Arabs made by the late Maj. Roger Upton, through Mr. Skene (British consul at Aleppo), on behalf of Mr. Albert Sandeman of 66 Ennismore Gardens, London, and Oxfordshire. They were very beautiful animals of the choicest desert blood, viz., Managhi Hedruj ibn Sbeyal. I purchased Naomi from Mr. Sandeman on May 4, 1882, previously having her examined carefully by the then president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

I left London that night, having arranged with Mr. Sandeman that he would send her down to me by train under the charge of a groom the next day. I went down to the station to meet her, taking one of my grooms to lead her the mile and a half to my stables. When the train arrived there was no groom with her, and on opening the box the poor mare was found to be cast. With the greatest difficulty we got her out of the box, and then discovered that her shoulder was put out. I immediately sent for the nearest veterinary surgeon, who advised me to shoot her, as he said he had never known a similar case be of any use afterwards. I answered: “Mr. V—–, do you know that this is the most valuable blood in the world, and that I have been 20 years trying to obtain it? No, sir ; I shall certainly not shoot her.” The veterinarian then said he would do the best he could for her, and with the help of a number of men the dislocation was reduced, and we got her to a comfortable box in my stable.

That leg never touched the ground for three months ; the mare was kept on spare diet and as quiet as possible. At the end of that time, as there was no tenderness to the touch, I allowed her to put her foot down. The next day she was led about the stable yard for five minutes, showing no signs of lameness. The following day I mounted her and rode her at a walk about two miles down the road. I was overtaken by a friend in pink, who asked me if I was going to the meet of the stag-hounds. I answered that no, that I was only taking a little exercise and did not know the stag-hounds were to meet in the neighborhood. “Oh!” he said, “they are quite close ; come on and see them started.”

I went with him and saw the hounds throw off, then turned homeward by a grassy lane. I had been quietly walking for half a mile when the deer jumped the fence into the lane just in front of me with 3 1/2 couple of hounds close behind. There was only one horseman near – a light man mounted on a Thoroughbred. The deer, followed by the hounds, went up the lane at a great pace.

Naomi began to fidget and prance, and I let her canter a little way. She went so strong and soundly that I let her out, and soon found myself sailing alongside of the man on the Thoroughbred. The pace was a cracker, and before long the Thoroughbred began to fall back. To cut a long story short, I galloped between five and six miles (never losing sight of the hounds), when I found the deer had soiled in a pond by the side of the lane. I jumped off the mare with the feeling that she must be done for. Not a bit of it. She was as fresh as if she had only just left her stable ; there was no heave in her side ; her nostrils were barely inflated enough to see the beautiful delicate pink membrane inside ; her eye was full of fire and life. I laid my hand caressingly upon her neck and said: “You are a beauty and a wonder, and no mistake.”

I tell this story as illustrating the marvelous powers of recuperation and endurance of the pure-bred Arab. I could recount many other instances of Naomi’s extraordinary endurance, but it would take up too much of your space. I must, however, relate a few of the charming and endearing characteristics of the mare.

On one occasion, one of my daughters rode her to a meet of the fox-hounds. She did not mean to hunt that day, but to return home as soon as a fox was found. We found one very quickly in a big wood and went away. The line crossed a road quarter of a mile from the wood. My daughter turned down this road to go home, and was riding quietly along, watching the progress of the hunt, when a belated man on a big gray horse galloped up, cannoned against her, knocking the mare into a deep ditch on the side of the road. Naomi was on her back at the bottom of the ditch, and my daughter pinned face downward under her. The mare made one attempt to move, which hurt my daughter so much she cried out. From that moment Naomi lay perfectly still. Fortunately, the hounds had checked close by, and some one, coming to me, told of what had happened. I galloped back and saw in a moment what must be done to rescue the girl.

There were several yokels standing helplessly looking on. I got three of them to lay hold of the bridle-reins and three of the mare’s long tail, and told them all to pull when I gave the word. Then, taking purchase with my left arm around a tree, I got my right arm round my daughter and called out, “Now!”

The man gave a simultaneous pull, which raised the mare’s body just enough to enable me to drag the girl away ; It was a near thing, however, for she was barely clear before the mare fell back into her original position. Fortunately my daughter had no worse injury than a sprained knee-joint. By the time I had carried her to the carriage of a friend waiting near by, ten minutes must have elapsed. I then went back to the mare. She was still in the same position. I got down and stroked her head ; then, getting out of the ditch again, I called to her: “Naomi – come up, old girl!” In a moment she sprang out of the ditch as active as a cat. She could have done so at any time, but so long as she thought she should injure the rider, she remained quiet.

Naomi was extremely fond of children, and liked them to rider her. She was very keen – what is called hot – with hounds, and wanted a good horseman on her back, not a duffer ; but my daughters, from eight to twelve years old, never found any difficulty in riding her to hounds. She was most affectionate in her disposition, loving to all who were kind to her, and responding to fondling by a peculiar pawing in the air of the first one and then the other leg. But if any one was harsh or unkind to her, she did not like it, and showed it. She was almost human in intelligence. Her paces were absolutely perfect ; she as the fastest walker I ever knew. I am not exaggerating when I saw she could walk nearly eight miles and hour. She trotted fast and true, with long-reaching action. Her canter was smooth, easy, elastic and long. You might carry a glass of water in your hand without spilling a drop. I once cantered her 17 miles without pulling up or once changing legs.

In the summer of 1883 I rode her from my house to Windsor Great Park, to visit the Princess of Wales’ Arab horse Kouch, a distance of 136 miles. We reached our destination at 3:30 P. M. on the second day. The result of this visit was that a bay colt was born on May 31, 1884. He was named Gomussa, after the tribe from whom his grandparents came. He was a very beautiful horse, of a deep blood bay, with black legs. Naomi had the prominent hips which the Irish like so much in a hunter. Gomussa had beautifully smooth hips and a level croup, and his tail set on high. He turned out a first-class horse, and left some good half-bred stock. I sold him to go to Chili, where I heard he was much appreciated.

In 1885, I rode Naomi from my house to Crabbet Park, in Sussex, to visit Lady Anne Blunt’s celebrated horse, Kars. Kars was a bay horse, but not as handsome as Kouch. He had a beautiful head and forehand, very deep in the heart and brisket, but he fell away a bit behind the saddle.

The result of this visit was that a bay filly was born on May 24, 1886. I named her Kushdil (Happy Heart). Kushdil did not seem to promise well at first. She was small until she was about four years old, when she began to grow and ultimately turned out one of the best and handsomest I ever possessed. She was very well known as an extraordinary jumper and stayer. I sold her six months ago for a long price, as an officer’s charger to go to the war in South Africa. She had several foals, of which I have one remaining, a beautiful chestnut fill, three years old, by Kantaka II. In the summer of 1886, Naomi was sent to the Hon. Miss Dillon’s in Dorsetshire, to visit her horse El Emir. I had promised Miss Dillon a foal from Naomi, and she desired it should be by her own horse, El Emir.

A chestnut filly was born in 1887 which Miss Dillon named “Naama,” and afterwards considered the best mare she had.

I had always wished to mate Naomi with a horse of her own family, viz., Managhi Hedruj, but since her own sire’s death (Yataghan) there had not been one in England. Now, however the opportunity turned up in a very handsome horse of the Managhi Hedruj family, which had distinguished himself by carrying Lord Airley through the Afghan campaign, and on his arrival in England had been purchased by the Hon. Miss Dillon. This horse was called “Maidan.” The result was a chestnut filly named Nazli – sold in 1893 to Mr. Huntington.

Naomi was sold in 1888 to Mr. Huntington, supposedly to be in foal again to Maidan, but as she had a very rough passage to New York, she probably slipped her foal on board ship. Since Naomi has been in Mr. Huntington’s hands, she has founded the most unique family of Arabs to be found anywhere. She had proved herself to be a very extraordinary matron in addition to her other good qualities. “Requiescat in pace.”

F. FURSE VIDAL
Needham Market, England