Blogging as an anger management technique
I am never tired of showing this picture of the lovely mare Wadeehah, a 1970 desert-bred Asil Ma’naghiyah Sbayliyah from the marbat of ‘Atiyah Abu Sayfayn. The strain is also known as Ma’naghiyat Abu Sayfayn. I took this picture of Wadeehah in 1992 in Aleppo, Syria, where she spent the latter part of her life in the ownership of my friend Kamal ‘Abdul Khaliq.
It is a shame Kamal never managed to get a filly out of her, only colts. She did produce the mare Sayfia, however, which is the subject of an earlier post. Sayfia is now in her early twenties and is still in the desert with ‘Abdallah Abu Sayfayn, ‘Atiyah’s son. Sayfiah has now a filly by a Saglawi Jadran of from the tribe of al-Baqqarah. So the line goes on.
Kamal had bought Wadeehah in 1982 from ‘Atiyah Abu Sayfayn himself. She had a young colt by her side. The colt, named Marzuq, was accidentally hit by a truck soon after arriving at Kamal’s, but he survived his hinquarter injury and went on to become a leading stallion for Kamal, leaving plenty of splendid colts and fillies, before dying a few months ago. The most striking thing about Marzuq was his kindness. You could leave him to roam freely in the barn with the mares and the fillies by his side, and he would never try to harm them. He was gentle yet full of life. He had a way of looking at you, which would leave an imprint on your soul, forever. I feel that the picture below, which I took of him in 1996, shows both his strength and his gentleness.
The point I am trying to make here should be clear by now, but I will hammer it again: Ma’naghis are not coarse, nor plain, nor angular. No strain has the monopoly of coarseness, of that of feminity or masculinity, or any particular characteristic for that matter. There are plain horses from any strain including Ma’naghis, just like there are round and masculine horses from any strain, including Ma’naghis. Just look at Wadeehah. And by the way, the argument that Wadeehah is some sort of an outlier, not a true representative of her strain, does not hold here. First because there is no such thing as “a true representative” of any strain, and second (in case you don’t believe my first argument) because her sire is a Ma’naghi Abu Sayfayn from the same marbat.
So, enough picking on Ma’naghis!
Okay, I already feel better now that I vented out my anger. Until the next time I get angry again.
Edouard,
As you can imagine, I second that motion about not picking on the Ma’aneghis. 😉
I do have a question for you. Is it allowed to post photos here, and if so, how does one go about it? Because I would like to post some pictures of Amira Kista, Jerusha and her pure in strain daughter by RB Bellagio, GTS Al Mas Hura,(Belle) who is coming 2 years old this month. In Belle’s case, the Bedouin saying of “A foal follows its mother” could not be more true. And if possible, once Kista’s foal is born, I will be reaching out to those here who are more knowledgable for help with naming that foal. 😉
Regards,
Terri
Sure, just send them to me Terri, as well as pictures of Sharif Zaraq, and I will try my best to post them all.
Salam Edourad and all the guests
Wadeehah is alovely mare.
I was going to use her son on my mare but death has reached him before me.
It is enough to mention the Maanagi Strain in Syria, and your audeiance will double.
It is by far the head strain of Anezah tribe.
I have tried to aquire it but my mare has died but this will not stop me when the time comes.
Hazaim
Hazaim, I share a lament that some strains have become so connected to certain issues which they do not deserve. Looking back at many western travelers who wrote, and their fragments being taken individually instead of standing back and taking a look at the whole picture of all writers, one can see how people might latch on to one view instead of the broader view of a particular strain. My travel in Syria, and Bahrain was rewarding for having the opportunity to see some very fine examples of Maanagi Sbaili and Maanagi Hedruj. Such as Basil Jadaan’s wonderful stallion Atiyah and the magnificent Maanagi Hadruj stallion of Sheykh Mohamad Abdul Razak Al-Taiee. It is a reminder to me of the importance of all preservation of remaining strains. No doubt some may have already vanished since I was there. So I applaud your commitment to preserving these families.
Joe the Atiyah which you saw at Basil’s was another son of Wadeehah.. We seem to like the same horses.
Hi Edouard,
Since there seems to be no real place to put this comment, I’ll add it here. 😉 I must confess to wondering why you have listed a blog about Akhal-Tekes on this site, when everything else has to do with Arab horses and people.
Last weekend, a friend and I traveled to a farm in Virginia that breeds Akhal-Tekes and also Caspian ponies. It was a fascinating visit.
Just curious,
Jenny
I like Akhal Tekes. Arabian horses are a passion but Akhal Teke are a dream I will never fulfill, because my passion will crowd it out. Also I did not see many blogs on Arabian horses which I liked, and i liked this one. Finally, I hope to raise one day the issue of the origins of the Arabian horse, and whether it shares a common ancestry with other breeds, including Akhal Tekes.
Thanks, Edouard.
I thought the Akhal-Tekes were pretty darn cool. The ones I particularly liked seemed to have a similar sense of dignity and nobility as the asil Arabians.
I will be looking forward to your exploration of the origins of the Arabian in the future.
Now I only wish I could read French…
Jenny
“First because there is no such thing as “a true representative” of any strain, and second (in case you don’t believe my first argument) because her sire is a Ma’naghi Abu Sayfayn from the same marbat.”
Hallelujah !!!!!! Never was a truer word spoken