In the French “Journal des Haras” much is said about the French Government missions to purchase Arabian stallions (and sometimes a couple of mares) during the 19th century. Although private initiatives may have occurred before, the first and oldest record I have found so far is the breeding program of Count of Tocqueville, with a strong emphasis on purebred Arabian breeding. The Count of Tocqueville was then owning the castle of Gueures in Normandy (photo above). Besides being involved in his earlier years in Arabian horse breeding, he also held in Gueures, the first racing events that would lead to the famous Dieppe City’s Racing Events in Normandy. The Count owned also talented Thoroughbred horses but he is likely one of the very first horsemen of his area to purposely create a separate breeding program focused on Arabian horses. By the late 1820’s he had managed to secure a group of Arabian mares and stallions. He thought of them as a “superior quality” compared to the oriental ancestors of the English Thoroughbreds and possessed “authentic titles” certifying their origins (probably some hujjaj which are left to be found!). Let me introduce them to you, translating their review in a 1828…
After several centuries of existence, the last French National Studs were sadly disbanded last year. However, bad things can sometimes lead to lucky opportunities. Many of the regional stallion stations and National Studs have kept listing of stallions at stud, details of imports, reports of missions to purchase foundation oriental horses, and those are now available for public review at the National Archives. I hope in the coming months to provide more information about them, recover our forgotten heritage and give more insight about some of the most important European foundation horses. Malheureusement, après plusieurs siècles d’existance, les derniers vestiges des Haras Nationaux français ont été dissous l’année dernière. Néanmoins, un événement aussi triste peu aussi parfois amener son lot de surprises. De nombreuses stations locales et certaines de nos grandes écuries nationales ont maintenu pendant toutes ces années des listing détaillés des étalons à la monte, de nombreux détails sur nos importations, les rapports sur les achats en Orient etc. Ceux-ci ont été regroupés et sont désormais accessible via les Archives Nationales. J’espère dans les prochains mois pouvoir vous donner de nouvelles informations à ce sujet, renouer avec notre héritage oublié et récupérer de nombreuses données sur certains de…
Among the foundation stock of Old French Bloodlines, I would like to discuss one specific horse : the stallion Emmon born in 1819. Some have considered his blood as “Asil” for decades. But, does he really fit the “Asil” definition? What do we actually know about this horse? Honestly not much. The first french studbook describe him as : “a grey 1819 Arabian stallion, bought in England by Strubberg Senior and de Bony”. He stood at Pompadour from 1825 to 1836 and died in January 1837. Can we trace him to “Bedouin breeding of the Arabian peninsula”? No. No data from his breeding source is given in the French Studbook, nor inside the Journal des Haras. Indeed, he is sometimes listed as an Arabian horse…but also, he is sometimes not. Although, one must confess that French authorities did their best to try to classify their “oriental imports” (from Persians to Barbs), having him or any other horse listed as “Arabian” is not enough to prove he was “Asil”. We shall agree that the knowledge of “oriental breeds” was lacking depth at that time. The difference between Thoroughbred horses bred in England and orientals imports was also suffering great troubles. They…
This beautiful lithography of some of the stallions imported by the famous greek dealer Nicholas Gliocho in the 1820’s can be seen at the Tylers Museum in Netherlands and online here
This story starts in Syria in the 1820’s. In those years, many European nations maintained trade and diplomatic representatives, or “consuls” in the Orient, especially in Aleppo, a cosmopolitan city, hosting European, Turkish, Greek, Jewish, Armenian traders. Aleppo was also one of the best places to start looking for the noble Kuhaylat horses bred by the Bedouin tribes of Northern Arabia. Many of these European consuls hosted horse buying expeditions during the 1820’s, such as those led by Count Rzewuski or by the French de Portes and Damoiseau in 1819-1820. Among these consuls were Van Massec (Van Masseyk) the Dutch consul, de Riguello the Spanish consul and the four Pithioto brothers (or Pitiota but the original spelling was probably Picciotto), the respective consuls of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Piemont-Sardinia, Prussia and Russia. This commercial web extended beyond Aleppo, and these diplomatic traders often dispatched various members of their family to other Mediterranean trading cities such as Trieste, Smyrna or Marseille. The European consular community and the town of Aleppo were vividly described by Damoiseau, the veterinary of the de Portes French expedition, in his book “Trip to Syria and the Desert”. During part of their expedition, the French traveled with the Polish Count Rzewuski and an Armenian agent of the Austro-Hungarian consul Pithioto/Picciotto, both looking for noble…
Many mysteries surround Marengo the mythical white stallion of Napoleon Bonaparte. Did he really exist or was he just a mirage created by the Emperor’s predilection for the “oriental” horse? Did the British really capture the old stud after the defeat at Waterloo? And why is he not recorded in the French studbooks listings of Napoléon’s horses? Napoleon’s legend tells us that his favorite white charger was named Marengo after the famous victory in Italy. This means that he was known after a different name before the battle of Marengo, and perhaps that name could be found in the French Studbooks. Interestingly, one of the horses described in the first ever published French Studbook (1838), fits the known description of Marengo perfectly. This stallion is called Seidiman (Sédiman in French). Seidiman was a light grey horse, born in 1794 or 1793. He was not taken during the battle of Aboukir as the myth says. Several other stallions were indeed…but this is another story for a later time. Rather he was shipped to France from Hungary by a M. de La Barthe (a royalist of this era) and likely confiscated for the benefit of the new Emperor after his coup d’état. For several years indeed he was one of the Emperor’s favorite war horse. Seidiman was without a doubt at the battle…
Towards the end of 1831, the French National Stud’s Journal dedicated a series of articles to the Prussian studs. French imports of horses for cavalry remount from their eastern neighbors, including the Prussians, had been massive for several decades. This matter was indeed of utmost importance to the French and this report provides interesting details on several Arabian stallions used in Prussia during the early 19th century. The first report of this series is devoted to the private Stud of the King of Wurtemberg in Stuttgart (which became renown as the “Weil Stud”). The use of “Oriental” stallions was first reported in 1818 with the use of Persian, Turkish, Nubian and other stallions, but more importantly a good number of Arabian stallions. Fifteen to eighteen of them were maintained at the Stud. However by 1831 only five of them remained and are described as follows: – Bairactar (aka Bayracdar): a magnificent dapple-grey stallion, bought in 1817 aged 4 in Trieste for the King by Colonel Baron Von Gemmingen and used at stud since 1819. For 4 years, he was one of the King’s mount, and without a doubt one of the most magnificent. He was after appointed head stallion for the stud and…
First, I would like to thank Edouard who generously offered me to post on this blog about the numerous findings from the French archives. It will be, I hope, the first of many posts to be shared with the worldwide community of Arabian horse breeders and enthusiasts. In January 1829, the “Journal des Haras”, the French National Stud’s Journal, included a very detailed article of a visit of National Stud officials to the Babolna Stud in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The visit took place in 1827. At that time, the French were presented with 10 Arabian stallions. From these 10, 5 belonged to a group of 13 Arabian stallions and a couple of “other” horses sent in 1824 to Hungary by M. Glioccho (spelled “Pliocho” by the French). They were purchased from the Panz family of Constantinople for 8,000 ducats and had already been used as breeding stallions before. Here are the details provided by M. Erdelyi, with my translation: 1 – Siglavy-Gidran aka *Shaklavy-Gidean, 16 years old, 14 hands and 3 inches, a Saklawi of Nedjd, Gidran family, dark chestnut, a star on the forehead and both white hind legs. 2 – Gidran, first son of Siglavy-Gidran and the Nedjdi mare Tifle aka *Fisle…