Volume 1 of the Bahrani stud book published in 1980 describes the breeding practice of the Al Khalifa family at the time. “No outside stallion is directly used for stud purposes. New blood is introduced indirectly by the high-caste mares received or exchanged with other Sheikhs from the interior of Arabia. When these mares are bred to local stallions, their progeny or grand-progeny will sometimes qualify as studs. The different strains or families of Arab horses are perpetuated through the mares, offspring always taking the dam’s name regardless of the stallion’s strain. Although all the strains found in Bahrain are equally pure, stud horses are chosen only from the strains deemed most noble. The word ‘noble’ here is the nearest equivalent to the Arab word ‘asil’ and does not convey the exact meaning. All tribes recognize the inherent mobility of certain strains but the preference for some strains over others varied from tribe to tribe. It was the custom in Central Arabia for the prominent Sheikhs to keep stud horses from a few selected strains only, but in some tribes after repeated breeding of these stallions with mares of a ‘new’ strain, the progeny of the letter gradually gained acceptance…
The pedigree pages at skowronek.io pertaining to Skowronek’s non Arabian ancestors are updated and a new article discussing the local mares at the heart of his pedigree was published yesterday. Some of the horses referenced we have discussed previously on this site, so I will list them here for those that are interested: The local mares including Szweykowska and Polka. Stallions including Szumka I, Szumka II, Zboj, Gniady, and the sires of Sawicka Anusia, Sawicka Duza and Matka.
After a long delay I am happy to announce that www.skowronek.io is now public. 95% of the key documents prior to 1921 along with full translations are available for all to view. More analysis of the documents will follow this year roughly following this post. Once this is complete I will move forward to the story post 1921.
It’s easy to get lost following any 200 year history and the Skowronek saga is no different. The storyline breaks into two periods of time: the history before his 1921 registration in Weatherby’s GSB and then the commentary post 1921. Each part will be examined sequentially. Each post will include links to English translations of the relevant documents along with links to the original sources in Russian, Polish, German and French. Each translation includes editor’s notes, footnotes clearly explaining any controversial translations and cross references to other documents. Articles will be available later this summer on www.skowronek.io, the FaceBook page Skowronek – A Partbred Arabian Horse, and this blog. List of Articles Cast of characters prior to 1921 Early primary sources (1799-1876)This includes a fully translated Slawuta Stud report from 1799, along with historical commentary on the Sanguszko family’s breeding operation from two brothers, Wladyslaw Sanguszko (1839 and 1850) and Roman Sanguszko Sr. (1876). These sources are often referenced by later authors. The Blunts, the Potockis and the Sanguszkos (1882-1895)The Blunt’s relationship with the Potockis began in 1882 with a meeting in Egypt. The story follows this relationship through Lady Anne’s journals and Wilfred’s letters from 1882 to 1895, including…
There are many ways to judge a horse. Some of the more common considerations include conformation, size, temperament, athletic ability and genetic “potency.” These are normal criteria for evaluating all breeds of horses. However, within the Arabian breed, another criterion takes precedence over all others: pure blood. A pure or asil Arabian horse is defined by its exclusive origin among the Bedouin tribes of Desert Arabia, the creators of the Arabian breed. Bedouins accepted a horse as pure if they had reliable information on its strain, sub-strain and Bedouin breeder. Conversely, Bedouins removed horses from the breed for two distinct reasons: mixed blood and unknown origin. Mixed blood. Bedouins used the term hajin to generally describe any horse that contained non-Arabian blood mixed with Arabian blood. Horses of mixed blood are by definition not pure. Any descendant of a mixed blood horse is also of mixed blood so the status of hajin is not reversible. A hajin horse does not have a strain connecting it to the community of Arabian horses. How do we know a horse has mixed blood? The most obvious way, but not the only way, is that the owner of a horse identifies non-Arabian blood…
Skowronek’s widespread presence in the pedigrees of horses registered as Arabians is arguably the raison d’etre for a number of different preservation initiatives including Al Khamsa, the Asil Club, the Pyramid Society and probably even this blog. Since I was a boy, I had heard about Skowronek and thought his non-Arabian ancestry was common knowledge since the 1940s when my grandfather first learned about it. Attending the 2017 WAHO conference made me realize I was mistaken. Below are a number of viewpoints from people I either personally interacted with or overheard during my trip: Two Arabs friends, from different Middle Eastern countries, who wanted to know what I thought about the whole Skowronek issue. Is he really not Asil? A prominent British breeder who had this to say to me when I mentioned Skowronek and his non-Arabian ancestors: “Oh that’s not proven now is it? It’s just unsubstantiated rumor.” A European breeder conversing at a dinner table: “Oh the DNA shows the Asil horses are all part breds too, so who cares?” A European and an Australian shouting in a bus: “All the evidence has been published on Skowronek over 50 years ago. He has non-Arabian blood in his pedigree”…