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Two new photos of *Munifan and *Munifeh are delighting the Al Khamsa community online. They come from an article in the Western Livestock Journal that is titled “Desert Imports—Crown Prince of Arabia Sends Arabians as Gift to California Horseman.” The three others photos, including *Munifan’s headshot and the two pictures of their son Munisaud are not new.
From top to bottom: Antar DE, Cascade DE and Hadeed DE. All three sons of Tamaam DE (error in the pedigree of Hadeed, who is not by Carver). Photos by Lyman Doyle in summer 2024.
“Kunz al-Durar wa-Jami’ al-Ghurar anz al-Durar wa-Jami al-Ghurar” (The Treasure of Pearls and the Collection of Shining Objects) is a major nine-volume universal history written by the 14th-century Mamluk historian Abū Bakr ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Aybak al-Dawādārī. It is considered one of the most important surviving historical sources for understanding Islamic history and the Mamluk Sultanate. While al-Dawādārī worked on the final draft of the text between 1331 and 1335 CE, the Kuhaylah mention falls under the events of the year 1320. Below is the account of the event where the mention occurs in Arabic, then in an English (with the help of AI), then my comments on the text: ذكر [حوادث] سنة عشرين وسبع ماية ومماّ يحكى من جملة سعادة مولانا السلطان أن بلغ المسامع الشريفة فى هذه السنة أنّ ببلاد البحرين حصانا أشقر قليل المثل فى وقته، فأرسل مولانا السلطان فى طلبه، وعاد الخاطر الشريف متعلقّا به، لكثرة ما وصف له من صفات ذلك الحصان المذكور. ثم اّتصّل بالمسامع الشريفة أنّ الفرس المذكور وصل إلى الشأم المحروس. فأرسل البريد فى طلبه ورسم ألا يّشتريه أحدمن العربان ولا من غيرهم. وعاد مولانا السلطان كثير التطلعّ إلى أخباره والحثّ على حضوره فلماّ وصل البريد المتوجّه فى طلب الفرس إلى…
By AAS Nelyo out of Barakah Al Arab, her second foal. Easy, uneventful delivery. After keeping watch that night, Sue went to take a shower, came back and there he was out and up.
So happy that this royal Najdi line to *Nufoud, which ten years ago was down to a couple mares only (Belle herself and AB Dafinaah, a cousin at Monica Respet’s) is now fairly safe with a second branch developing at Moira Walker’s. Moira’s colt Landrace Belisarius (by Jamr) and her filly Landrace Bellara (by Pulcher Ibn Reshan) are growing nicely and turning into what their lineage predicted they would.
Some time in 2023-24, the concept of “quiet luxury” gained traction in fashion circles online and offline. It’s always been there, in close circles, but it’s now out in the mainstream. My built-in web AI defines quiet luxury as “an understated fashion movement that prioritizes high-quality materials, timeless design, and discreet elegance.” It tells me that it’s also called the “old money aesthetic” and that it’s the opposite of loud, ostentatious, in your face, brand and logo-heavy fashion. (It’s also how I have always dressed without knowing, but that’s not my point here). This evening it hit me that I had been advocating for a similar movement as applied to Arabian horses for close to two decades now. I am going to name it “Quiet Nobility”, and trademark it. It’s also about high quality “materials” (i.e., bloodlines, genotype), timeless “design” (i.e., conformation, phenotype), and discreet “elegance” (i.e., style), but in the breeding of Arabian horses. No extreme, flashy looks and movements. Nothing “too much”. Rather, a quiet, soothing, pleasing look in mares, and a confident, virile, debonnaire, slightly disdainful look in stallions. I think this is where the breed will be going in the future. It also happens to be…
Some thirty years ago, an aprocryphal story spread in Arabian horses circles about a purported conversation between a senior Western official and a Saudi prince (their names are not the point of the story). It goes that the Western official pleaded for the Prince to register his large herd of Arabian horses — two hundred of them. The prince retorted: “who are you to register our horses? we (I guess meaning Arabs) should be the ones to register your horses, not you registering ours”. I don’t know if the story is true, as I only heard it third hand.
“Nowadays breeding of the Arabian in the Middle East has concentrated on race horses for the Beirut and Cairo race tracks. However this breeding has been tainted by the intrusion of English Thoroughbred blood in the Arabian horses of Iraq. The Iraqi Arabian is bigger and runs faster — but he has lost the look of the desert bred pure Arabian — that pristine beauty and lead toughness of the desert horse is disappearing alas too fast.” When living in Lebanon before the year 2000, I have seen, owned, and bred from some of these Iraqi horses. They are beautiful horses but they are not Arabians. A few years ago, some high profile Iraqi breeders have engaged ina full-blown communication effort aimed at claiming asil status for these Iraqi “Arabians”. I call it “asil-washing”. Progress in DNA analysis (Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal) will uncover these bogus claims.
I am not sure who colorized this well-known photo of *Haleb, taken by Arthur Moore during Davenport’s trip to Arabia in 1906, but they did a good job (except perhaps for too many blue gowns). The quality of *Haleb shows well. I am reminded of his descendant Mayassah.
Badia Al Arab is by Monologue CF out of Barakah Al Arab. Barakah Al Arab is by Wadd Al Arab out of Jadah BelloftheBall. Wadd Al Arab is by Triermain out Wisteria CF. Three generations Al-Dahdah breeding. الكحيلة بركة العرب وبنتها بادية العرب يوم السبت
Facebook pages are reposting this photo of Jedran (Ghazi × Baribeh) a 1932 chestnut stallion from the lineage of Basilisk. He was bred by W.R. Brown, stood at Travelers Rest, was sold to the US Remounts and was used in service from 1935 to 1945. Photo from The Arabian Horse News magazine February 1955. He had the same hip and hindquarters as my Ginger.
Somehow I had never seen this photo of Spencer Borden’s stallion Segario, an important sire in early American Arabian horse breeding. Someone posted them on allbreedpedigree.com. He is in the pedigree of Mayassa Al Arab, and of her son Munir Al Arab (by Pulcher Ibn Reshan), photo below. Munir belongs to Debbie Mackie, who’s been leasing Mayassa from me for several years now. There are seven generations and 122 years between Segario (b. 1902) and Munir (b. 2024).
Ahmad Tariq al-Hashimi sent me this old photo, likely taken in Iraq at the beginning of the 20th century. You see an Ottoman official, and the text is in Ottoman Turkish. The mare on the left is Kuhaylat al-Ajuz and the one on the right is a Kuhaylah Bu’ayrah. Both are superb representatives of the breed. They look clean, well noursihed and sport western style bridles. Clearly the horses of a pasha or a high level government official. The Bu’ayri (from ba’ir, camel) strain, still exists in Iran today. It is a very rare strain, that appears in several early strain lists, e.g., Raswan’s (below, under “Bayiri”), where it’s the first in the Kuhaylan strains starting with the letter B. It also appears in George Tabet’s 1937 list, as a self-standing strain not to be mated, not under Kuhaylan. Below, Kousha Rezai, a proud 2009 representative of the Bu’ayri strain. Photo Gudrun Waiditshka.
This stallion is not your usual Egyptian horse. Born at Gustl Eutermoser in Austria in 1974, he traces to the desert-bred Mabrouka, gifted by King Ibn Saud to the King of Egypt in 1945. He is special in that six out of sixteen of his 4th generation ancestors are desert bred. The headshot photo was taken by S. Kübe written under the picture in Asil Araber II page 473. The body shot is Asil Araber III page 680. Jens Sannek, who sent me both photos, told me that was first in training and second in performance test at Medingen in Northern Germany in 1978. Habib is in the pedigree of my Jasminah.
Now aged 25 years old, Hayoun (Hashem x Palmirah) is a grandson of Hamdan II (Hamdan x Folla) and looks like him. He is 50% Iranian, 37.5% RAS/Inshass Egyptian, and 12.5% Tahawi to Folla. Photo S. Freitag.
Photo gleaned off social media without a source. If you know it’s source please share. [Update: Kate tells me rthat there was another photo of King Faisal on the same horse at ctesiphon.com]
On their journey back from Hail to Bagdad in early 1870, Lady Anne and Wilfrid Blunt met the Al Kathir tribe, which she refers to in the plural as “Ketherin”, with their leader Mutlakh, and nearly purchased a handsome Wadnan Khursan horse from them. The Al Kathir are part of the larger Bani Lam tribe. The edition by Archer and Fleming of Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence is so truncated here that it’s not immediately obvious that Mutlakh’s tribe is the Kethirin. This becomes plain once they are in Persia, when they make the connections to other Bani Lam there. Her Journal entry for February 17, 1879 is upbeat, and in my opinion, one of the nicest sections of her J&C, complete with scenes from Bedouin hospitality and description of horses and nature: “We have spent an interesting day. As agreed we and Mohamed and Mutlakh went to the latter’s camp […]. Shatti said the owner of a horse would bring it to show us from these tents and presently two people on a delul came leading a bay colt with three white feet (two fore and near hind) and star — a beautiful little horse he looked as far…
This is just to have an idea of the people behind the horses. I found these on a (human) genealogy website. His brother is Abdel Khan, mounted on a dark Arabian horse. His father’s full name including titles is Gholam Hossein Khan Sardar Mohtasham Bakhtiar (Haji Ilkhani). His grandfather’s full name is Emam Gholi Khan Haji Ilkhani Bakhtiari (Esfandiari) (1819 – 1896). The latter is likely the Bakhtiari Khan Lady Anne and Wilfrid set out to meet in 1879, and the father of Ali-Qoli the young man they journeyed with on the way back from his pilgrimage to Mecca. The young Ali-Qoli Khan had promised the Blunts an introduction to his father (re-reading the J&C now to check if it actually happened). Ali-Qoli Khan was to have a distinguished career later on.
Through Kina Murray also comes this short movie about an ealier iteration of the centuries-old, seasonal migration of the Bakhtiari tribe. The sequence of the horse falling, hitting a rock, rolling then rising again as if unhurt is stunning.
Reposting this old photo of Fanaira (Fanifeh x *Muhaira), a bay 1962 Ubayyah mare of the strain of Ibn Jiluwi, bred by the Searles in the USA, entirely from Ibn Jalawi’s breeding. She is in the same style as my AAS Nelyo, who traces to her five times. The tail set and carriage, the croup, the length are similar.
The lovely Sotoudeh, a 1998 Iranian Asil Meleihieh of the strain of Ghassem Ali Zargani of the Zarqan/Zargan Bedouin tribe of Iran. I wrote about Ghassem Ali Zargani (multiple spellings) here. Photo courtesy of Jens Sannek, who just like me, is awed by this strain.
A screenshot of a fine chestnut mare from the movie “Migrate to Survive” on Mary Gharagozlu’s horses, around minute ten.
THe Encyclopedia Iranica has an interesting article on the Arab tribes of Iran, which takes a long historical perspective over thousands of years. The following excerpt on the tribes of Khuzestan is informative: There are numerous Arab tribes in Ḵūzestān, all of which still speak Arabic. The most important ones at the turn of the century included: (1) north of Ahvāz:
Lately, I have been digging into the origins of Iranian Arabian horses. Using authoritative works in the Arabic language such as ‘Abbas al-‘Azzawi’s monumental “Tribes of Iraq” in four volumes and other sources, I was able to identify several of the older, original horse breeders mentioned in the first studbook of the Asil Stud of Khuzestan (ASK), excerpts of which Jens Sannek shared with me. This is the precursor of the Iranian Arabian horse studbook. Gassem Ali Zarqan (abbreviated GAZ in the ASK) is one these Arab tribal breeders. He is the breeder of a Meleihe (Mlayhan) stallion, Meleihe GAZ, which features prominently in early Iranian Arabian horse pedigrees. I found a reference to Gassem Ali Zarqan in Azzawi’s “Tribes of Iraq”: عشائر اخرى متصلة بكعب وهذه العشائر منها فى العراق لا سلطة لامارة كعب عليها، ومنها فى الحويزة ولا تخلو عشيرة من عشائر خوزستان الا ولها أصل فى العراق ومن أشهرها.الباوية : وأصلهم من ربيعة وليس بصواب عدهم من كعب. يسكنون فى شرقي نهر كارون. قال البسام: “فى جانب البصرة الشرقي الباوية. ألف خيّال تتبع شيخ كعب وهم منتشرون فى أنحاء أخرى من العراق :وهذه أشهر طوائفهم: الزركان. رئيسهم جبار بن قاسم علي (يلفظ قسمه لي). ولهم نخوة خاصة…
Jens Sannek shared with me this wonderful picture of the Iranian Arabian stallion Jallad (Arras x Atlassi by Sepid x Aram), a Wadnan Khursan of the Mir strain. Jallad was from the foundation stock of the Asil Stud of Khuzestan (ASK) and was imported from Iran to Austria by Gustl Eutermoser and Ulrike Marcik in 1979. He spent the later years of his life with Bibi Degn in Germany and in The Netherlands. Jens is unsure of who took the picture, so if anyone happens to know please come forward. Look at the fine skin, the abundant forelocks, the prominent facial bones, and the fine muzzle ending with elongated (not square) nostrils, all hallmarks of authenticity.
Jasminah will be bred to the 2001 stallion Hayoun (Hashem x Palmira) for a 2027 foal — his photo and the hypomating below. Hayoun is the full brother of the dam of Abu Khamseh (photo below), a significant stallion in European endurance comptitions. Abu Khamseh is already in Jasminah’s pedigree.
Thanks to Kina Murray for reminding me of this wonderful documentary, “Migrate to Survive”, about the Iranian asil horses of Mary Gharagozlou. Some really nice mares and stallions are featured, including the black one Mary is seen riding into the mountains in the screenshot below, and a couple of noticeable grey and chestnut mares.
Quoting from her article on the Asil Horse of Khuzestan (full article here on the WAHO website), a good starting point for information on this topic: Of the tribes mentioned by Layard in the first quotation, branches of the Al Khamees, Al Kathir and the Bani Lam are existent today in Khuzestan. The Bani Lam and the Al Kathir are known for the foundation of certain strains, the former for the Saglawi Djadrani, and Nesman (branch of the Koheilan), the latter for the Hamdani Semri, Saglawi Djadran, Wadne and a Wadne branch known as the Zaghieh. The Kaab, under whose name General Tweedie recognizes the Arab of Iran, are a large tribe divided into sub-tribes. Those best known for certain strains are the Jassemi for the Hetli (a Koheilan derivative) and the Sofferieh (a Saglawi sub-strain); the Mojadami known for a branch of the Hamdani, the Sobeili and Beaiyreh (Wadne Koheili). There are the Bani Khalid famous for Soffeirieh and Djelfe (Julfa to Layard); the Seyyids of Hosseini with the Maanghieh (Maneghi); the Seyyids of Tefagh with the Koheilan Adjuz, the Nesman and the Djelfe; and the Ziareh are best known for their Saglawis. However, the strain whose stallion is…
book “Breeding of Pure Bred Arab Horses: “Some Europeans make a big distinction between a Syrian, or desert and Najd horse; etc. All these horses are from the same origin ….. I am often amused to read about horse lovers who have had to deal with Arab horses; they seem to be quite convinced that the best horses are from this or that tribe. But I say this: There are good horses in all the tribes; Arabs are neighbours and warriors, they fight often between themselves and the conqueror takes all the best stock from the other. In this way good horses are taken from one tribe to another, and it is, therefore, more accurate to say that the strongest tribe gets the best.”
The following on the desert-bred stallion Dynamite II is an excerpt from a typed text in my archives, “Les Chevaux de Pur Sang Arabe de Sidi Thabet — Tunisie 1931”. The text looks like it was copied from an anonymous 1931 book the details for which are available online, here. The text cites Dynamite II as one of three Arabian stallions brought from Egypt for the Tunisian stud of Sidi Thabet in 1928. The other two are Nasr and Ibn Fayda. Nasr and Dynamite II were purchased, and Ibn Fayda was gifted by Prince Kemal El Dine Hussein. On Dynamite II: Etalon Dynamite II. de la lignée Hamdani et de la famille simrie, né en 1920, bai, 1,50 m. File de la jument Rayarra [sic] appartenant a l’Emir Hadissi. On ne vendait jamais les produits de cette jument renommée dans toute l’Arabie. Mais ce poulain avait été enlevé dans une razzia opérée par une tribu ennemie qui s’empressa de vendre les chevaux de prise, par crainte de représailles. Le poulain a pu ainsi être acheté a l’âge de trois ans, par un riche banquier libanais, M. Elie Bey Sursock, qui le paya 500 L.E. [Livres Egyptiennes] et le mit aussitôt…
Photos of Moira Walker’s rising three-year-old colt Landrace Belisarius (Jamr Al Arab x Jadah Belloftheball, by Invictus Al Krush) having fun in the snow. Belisarius is a Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz from the Nufoud mare line. While his pedigree is predominantly Davenport, he has Doyle blood from his sire’s dam Jadiba, as well as a line to the Reverend Francis Furse Vidal’s Garaveen (Kismet x Kushdil), and through Garaveen to Roger Upton’s imports Yataghan and Haidee. His dam goes back to the mare Tarrla, a daughter of Henry Babson’s stallion Tarff, so bringing in another Sa’udi-bred mare, Turfa, to complement Nufoud. Belisarius also traces to five horses who each have only a handful of living Al Khamsa descendants. These are the three Hamidie Society imports Mannaky, Galfia and Pride, the Davenport import El Bulad, and Nejdran, the last-mentioned a chestnut Saqlawi Ubayri bought in Beirut by Captain W. I. Gaisford, who imported him to England, where he apparently used Nejdran as a polo pony, before selling him to a Harvard student, who imported him to the U.S..
I am enjoying looking at a treasure trove of photos of Bev Davison’s horses over the years that she has been uploading on Facebook. I particularly like those dark bay horses with high percentage of Ali Pasha Sharif bloodlines. This was said to be the Prophet Muhammad’s favorite coat color in horses. He said: خيرُ الخيلِ الأدهَمُ الأقرَحُ الأرثَمُ ، ثمَّ الأقرَحُ المُحجَّلُ طَلقُ اليمينِ ، فإن لم يَكُن أدهَمُ فكُمَيْتٌ علَى هذِهِ الشِّيَةِ which roughly translates as: The best of horses is black, with a small star and a snip, then that with a small star and three white leg markings except for the right foreleg, and if not black then dark bay with these same markings. This is Sierra Sandarac, a 1974 Saqlawi Jadran of Ibn Sudan, of half Doyle, half Babson lines, who fits these markings. Photos Bev Davison.
The photo below comes from James Fleming’s 1992 booklet, The Courthouse Arabian Stud of Bill Musgrave Clark, published by Alexander Heriot. Solomon was the first foal of his dam. In 1952, he was exported to Italy along with his half-brother Sennacherib, by Joseph. Neither horse left offspring at the Courthouse Stud. Solomon’s sire Atesh was a chestnut Ma’naqi Sbayli, bred by the Gomussa Sba’ah, while his dam, Somra II, was by Fedaan, a grey Saqlawi Jadran, bred by Ibn Zubaynah of the Fed’aan. Atesh was imported to England circa 1922 and bought by Bill Musgrave Clark by 1925, while Fedaan was imported in 1926 and acquired by Clark the following year. Somra II’s dam was the Blunt-bred Safarjal, a brown mare by Berk out of the Daoud daughter Somra. Safarjal was Lady Wentworth’s peace offering to Clark, after she roused his ire by using an agent, claiming to be acting on behalf of a group of Americans, to buy Skowronek from him. She came to the Clarks carrying Sainfoin (by Rasim), who would go on to be a successful show horse in hand and under saddle, as well as a winning racehorse. In the tail female, Safarjal goes back to the…
[One of t]The first mention of the Musinn (Muson, Mosenn, etc) strain occurs in W.S. Rzewuski’s book, “Sur les chevaux orientaux et provenants [sic] des races orientales”. The manuscript at the Polish National Library in Warsaw was published in 2003 with the title “Impressions d’Orient et d’Arabie”: Le fameux el-Mesenneh el-Wehabi, acheté à Abd el-Aziz, prince des Wehabis… vient de mourir à Kuzmindans mon haras. Il m’a laissé six poulains et trois pouliches avec mes juments du désert, et a sailli en1822 mes quatorze juments Nejdiehs Kocheilans, qui sont toutes pleines. In English: “The famous el-Mesenneh el-Wehabi, purchased from Abd el-Aziz, prince of the Wehabis… has just died at Kuzmin in my stud farm. He left me six colts and three fillies with my desert mares, and in1822 he covered my fourteen Nejdiehs Kocheilans mares, all of which are now in foal. Abd al-Aziz (1720–1803) was the second ruler of the House of Saud, and the son of its founder. The House of Saud was famously associated with the strain of Kuhaylan al-Musinn, or Musannan for a long time, which gives credence to Rzewuski’s account. Rzewuski went horse-shopping in Arabia between 1817 and 1819, which provides the earliest dating for…
Said Rzewuski: “Woznah: La fondatrice de cette race très fameuse par ses qualités pour la guerre fut dans l’ère nommée la Djahélieh (le paganisme) consacrée a l’étoile qui précède, de pair avec une autre, le lever de Canope. Race très antique et précieuse. Anti-prophétique. Rarissime. Forte membrée. D’origine des environs de La Mecque.” In English: “Woznah: The foundation mare of this strain renowned for its qualities in warfare was, in the era called Jahiliyyah (paganism), dedicated to the star that precedes, along with another, the rising of Canopus. A very ancient and precious strain. Anti-prophetic. Extremely rare. Big boned. Originating from the vicinity of Mecca.” The “rising of Canopus” refers to the annual reappearance in the late summer of the star Canopus (Suhayl in Arabic, the second brightest star in the sky). In Arabia and the Middle East in general, the pre-sunrise rising of Canopus signaled the end of intense summer heat and the beginning of cooler weather. This annual event was a major cultural marker for Bedouin and farmers. The annual “rising of Canopus” is preceded by the rising of Sirius (in Arabic al-Shi’ra al-Yamaniyyah, the brightest star in the sky), itself preceded by the rise of Procyon (al-Sh’ira al-Shamiyyah,…
Shaykh Al Arab a.k.a “Notch”, a Ma’naqi Sbayli horse that I bred out of a mare leased from DeWayne Brown, has grown into a nice riding horse for the Doyles. Photo and video Lyman Doyle.
Three more photos I found, showing three generations from El Hamdan, pictured age ten; El-Haml at seven and Aja at two. Photographer(s) unknown, but photos graciously provided by Gisela Aschenborn Uijs. El Hamdan above and below El-Haml Aja
I was recently gifted three boxes full of material by my mentor, Gisela Aschenborn Uijs as they’re moving from the iconic Farm Orumbo-Nord where the renowned mares Nabilah and Barakah were guests. One find was four photos that, after a few phone calls, turned out to be Sidi Abu Khai , a 1984 stallion bred by A. W. A. (Jack) Maritz. He traces back to Freiha Al-Hamra (APK) throught the Claude Orpen-import, Barakah. The photos were taken while he was being used at stud by G. N. Viljoen in Namibia.
Chapter II: of the Province of Nedsjed “The Bedouins inhabit a great part of the province. The remainder is mountainous, full of cities and villages, and parcelled out among so many petty sovereigns, that almost every little town has its own Schiech (i.e., Shaykh). Formerly, when the power of the Sherriffes was at its height, many of these Schiech, who were situate in the vicinity of Hedsjas, were obliged to pay tribute to the Sherriffe of Mecca. At present, they pay nothing”. Source: TRAVELS THROUGH ARABIA,AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE EAST, PERFORMED BY M. NIEBUHR, NOW A CAPTAIN OF ENGINEERS IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING OF DENMARK. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY ROBERT HERON WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR; AND ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS. IN TWO VOLUMES. EDIMBURGH, 1792.
Kate McLachlan has identified Carsten Niebhur’s Description de l’Arabie (a contemporary French translation of the German original) as the source for the first list of Arabian horse strains in Western literature. The account can be safely dated to 1765-1766, when Niebhur was crossing Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia on his way back from India to Constantinople: “On sait, que les Arabes font grand cas de leurs chevaux; on pourrait dire, qu’il les divisent en deux espèces. Ils nomment l’une Kadischi, c. à. d. chevaux de race inconnue, lesquels ne font pas plus estimés en Arabie que les chevaux ordinaires ne le sont en Europe ; ils servent à porter les fardeaux & à tous les autres ouvrages. La seconde espèce s’appelle Kochlâni ou Koheyle, c. a. d. chevaux dont on a écrit la généalogie depuis deux mille ans. On veut qu’originairement ils soient venus du haras de Salomon-, aussi sont-ils très chers […]. Les Kôchlâni sont principalement élevés par les Bédouins entre Bâsra, Merdin & la Syrie, ou les grands Seigneurs ne veulent point monter d’autres chevaux. Toute cette race se divise encore en plusieurs familles. On trouve près de Mosùl les familles Dsjùlfa, Mânaki, Dehâlemîe , Seklaui, Sâade, Hamdâni &…
(Translated into English from an Arabic article by Yasser Ghanim on Facebook) Not a day—perhaps not even an hour—passes without seeing a post on Facebook or Instagram praising a specific stallion or mare. In all these posts, the publisher always admires the horse championship, and dazzling beauty. Naturally, this is accompanied by photos and videos displaying “lavish beauty,” exquisite type, and a breathtaking presence—at least, as seen through the eyes of the poster. However, I feel a sense of sorrow because, in most of these cases, I do not share the same appreciation or admiration for the majority of these horses. It appears that the standards of taste and the criteria for beauty have diverged significantly between “Fundamentalists” (like myself) and our brethren whom I call the “Modernists.” Beauty of the Arabian horse has become a completely relative concept with big divergence between the two factions and two very distinct perceptions. What is the standard type of the Arabian horse, if any? Or rather, what are its most typical and most desirable traits? And what are the morphological (visual) traits upon which we build our appreciation of beauty? This is a question that occupies everyone, yet there seems to be…
I really like this horse, Saif Al Daraan, a Hamdani Ibn Ghurab from the marbat of Ibn Ghurab. This is my kind of horse. He is reminiscent of his paternal grandsire Al-Ashhab, a.k.a. Krush Al Naem. I don’t know who took the picture. The Facebook page I took it from rarely give photo credits, unfortunately.
Below is the original French language text (published in 1717) of the account made by the Chevalier d’Arvieux of the mare Touysse, which he saw at Rama in Palestine, near Jaffa. It is in Chapter XI, “Des Chevaux des Arabes”, which starts on page 194 of the French edition. “Un Marchand de Marseille, qui résidait à Rama, était ainsi en société d’une cavalle avec un Arabe appelé Abrahim Abou Vouasses. Cette cavalle appelée Touysse, outre la beauté, la jeunesse & son prix de douze cens écus, était de cette première race noble : ce Marchand avait toute sa généalogie avec la filiation de tous les quartiers, de père et de mère, à remonter jusqu’à cinq cens ans d’ancienneté le tout par actes publics dans la forme que j’ai dite. Abrahim allait souvent à Rama, pour avoir des nouvelles de cette cavalle qu’il aimait chèrement. J’ai eu plusieurs fois le plaisir de le voir pleurer de tendresse, en la baisant & en la caressant. Il l’embrassait, il lui essuyait les yeux avec son mouchoir, il la frottait avec les manches de sa chemise, il lui donnait mille bénédictions durant des heures entières qu’il raisonnait avec elle : mes yeux, lui disait-il,…