A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
Little Wujra, Wadha’s new filly by the Bahraini stallion Shuwaiman Al Rais, was put down yesterday at the veterinary hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She only lived three weeks, two of which at the hospital. She was born dysmature (with a “dummy foal syndrome”) and was afflicted with soft tendons. At first she was … Read more
This morning Lyman Doyle bred Kinza to Jenny Krieg’s magnificent Bashir Al-Dirri for a 2024 foal. They are from two different branches of the Basilisk female line: Bashir traces to the Peraga branch (*Mirage x Slipper), of which he is the last asil representative, while Kinza traces to the better represented Rabanna (Rasik x Banna) … Read more
The little Ma’naqiyah filly seems to be doing well at the Doyle Ranch in Oregon. I named her Shams — the Arabic word for the sun. Because she is a welcome ray of sunshine after a string of colts — three very nice ones but still not helping with keeping this precious strain going. Second … Read more
After four years of trying, SS Lady Guenevere (“Guen”) gratified me with a filly yesterday, born at the Doyles’ ranch in Oregon. The filly’s sire is Cascade DE, a young Doyle stallion. I have been leasing Guen and her daughter Pippa by Chatham DE from DeWayne Brown in the hope for a filly. She is … Read more
Another horse photo I had favorited on my smartsphone is this head shot of a Bahraini stallion of the Musannan strain at Jenny Lees in the UK. I forget his name now.
Going through some photos on my smartphone, which has an admittedly nice sample of the horses I like. This is the outstanding Jabinta (Jadib x Bint Malakah by Subani), a 1969 Saqlawiyat al-‘Abd (*Wadduda line) and the maternal granddam of my Jamr Al Arab. As my father would say in Lebanese Arabic, ya haik khail … Read more
Kate found this “new” photo of the early Crabbet mare Bozra, by Pharaoh out of Basilisk. Both sire and dam were desert-bred, and both of the strain of Saqlawi ibn Dirri — a branch of the Saqlawi Marighi, itself a branch of the Saqlawi Ubayri (not Jadran). This mare would not be out of place … Read more
My black stallion Mushahar Bex recently foaled a beautiful black colt out of one of the mares of Sha’laan Ibn Jlaidan of the Shammar. This colt is going to be a stallion in the future, in my opinion.
Today the vet found Barakah Al Arab (Wadd Al Arab x Jadah BelloftheBall) 22 days in foal to Monologue CF. I am very excited about this foal prospect, expected in mid April 2024. A foal from Monologue is something to look forward to, especially at his age.
Can anyone guess the origins of this stallion? A/ Babson Egyptian B/ New Egyptian C/ Davenport D/ Syrian E/ Bahraini F/ Saudi G/ None of the above
Muhammad Ma’sum al-Aqub has got a nice filly by my black Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion, out of his Ubayyah Sharrakiyah mare, from a Shammar strain that traces back to the Sba’ah. It’s the strain of Habbo al-Shgayyif of the Thabit Shammar.
Another desert scene from the collection of French enthnographer Robert Montagne shows the tents of town merchants that use to stay among camel herding Bedouins on a seasonal basis. They would sell them the necessities that the desert environment could not produce: sugar, tea, coffee, dates, rice, spices, metal utensils, etc. Bedouins, their leaders in … Read more
A nice desert scene from the collection of Robert Montagne at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, showing sheep herders in the Syrian desert, around 1930
From the collection of Jesuit priest, pilot and archaeologist Antoine Poidebard at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this photo of a group of sheep herders from the Shammar tribe. The back of the photo has the following writing in French: “Berger bédouin de la tribu Chammar / Haute Djéziré / Cliché Poidebard”- manuscrit … Read more
From the collection of French anthropologist Robert Montagne at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this photograph of a vivid desert scene showing a desert well and a camel (in the back) pulling waterskins out of the well.
A gorgeous photo from yet another collection at the Musee du Quai Branly, this time that of famed French anthropologist Robert Montagne, who studied Bedouin society and culture. The title in French is: “Desert de Syrie — Reunion dans la tente d’un grand chef bedouin de la tribu des Rwalla”. The young man to the … Read more
Also from the Varliette body of photographs at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris comes this beautiful photo of a camel-herding tribe marching. The palanquin of the daughter of the chief of the tribe is in the middle of the picture. The photo is also associated with Albert de Boucheman’s masterpiece “Materiel de la … Read more
From the Varliette collection at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this stunning photo of a “Tribe Marching” (Tribu en ordre de marche). It was taken between 1920 and 1934. The photo seems to have been published in Albert de Boucheman’s foundational study “Matériel de la vie bédouine”, of which I own a rare … Read more
From the Varliette collection of photographs at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris comes this photo taken between 1920 and 1934 of a Bedouin sheep herders’ encampment near Palmyra in Syria, titled “Campement de Bedouins Moutonniers”. Sheep herding tribes present in this area and at that time include the ‘Umur, the Fawa’irah, the Lhayb, … Read more
Title: From the same Jacques Edinger collection as the earlier photos on this blog, housed at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris comes this photo titled “Chameau entravé de la tribu des Rwalla.”
From the same collection at the Musee du Quai Branly as the pictures in the earlier posts.
From the same collection of Jacques Edinger at the French Musee du Quai Branly: inside a chief’s tent: the divider separating the public area of the tent from the private quarters (now a rare, highly sought-after item); a barebones camel saddle, and the falcon on his perch.
Also from the collection of Jacques Edinger at the French Musee du Quai Branly — Jacques Chirac is this photo of a Bedouin leader and his beautiful mare from the Negev/Naqab desert around the city of Beersheba/Bi’r al-Sab’. Note the prickled ears, the small muzzle, the protruding eye sockets and the broad, flat forehead on … Read more
From the collection of Jacques Edinger at the French Musee du Quai Branly comes this bueatiful photograph titled “Fils de chef bédouin tenant le cheval de son père” (“Son of Bedouin chief holding his father’s horse), and taken between 1930 and 1937 in Syria.
I seldom post photos of horses for sale on this blog, if at all. Once in a blue moon, I make an exception for horses I would have liked to acquire myself. This one is one of them. Bev Davison has a gorgeous black colt for sale. Pedigree here. His name is SpiritWind Sahmadhi by … Read more
I am so taken with Belle’s new colt by Jamr, born a couple months ago at the farm of their new owner Moira Walker. Moira named him Belisarius. He is a throwback to the USA Arabians of a hundred years ago, those you find in black and white photographs of horse magazines and books. At … Read more
Today Barakah Al Arab was bred to Monologue CF for a Sharp foal of the *Nufoud Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz tail female of King Ibn Sa’ud; and Madinas Miracle was bred to Jamr Al Arab for a foal from the rare Ubayyan strain belonging to Ibn Jalawi.
I have not looked at my “Aldahdah Index” in a while. It is a compendium of standardized entries on older Middle Eastern Arabian horses, mostly Syrian and Lebanese, in the style of the Raswan Index. I will publish it one day. I looked up the entry of the Khdili stallion of Abbud Ali al-Amud, who … Read more
Below is a photo of the young filly that my father traded Dahess for. She was 10 days old in the picture. Her name was Amshet Shammar, born in 1995. Her sire was al-Aawar, the desert-bred Hamdani Ibn Ghurab stallion, and her dam was the old bay Krush mare Ghallaiah, which Radwan Shabareq had acquired … Read more
This afternoon I scanned some photos from a trip to Syria my father and I took in 1995 (almost 30 years ago, yikes!). I am more aware than ever about the need to put old analog records in digital format and online. Starting with Dahess, the handsome Ubayyan Suhayli stallion my father had just traded … Read more
I have been trying to go back in time as far as possible with the pedigrees of modern Syrian Arabian horses, looking for male ancestors as early as the 1930s and 1940s. It’s a difficult task, because the registration of Syrian foundation horses (the first wave in Volume 1, and the second wave in Volume … Read more
A photo of Tarff (*Fadl x *Turfa) I had not seen before — he is in two of my mares. What a good mare *Turfa was, perhaps one of the best ever imported to the US. I second the old saying among US Arabian horse breeders that the more *Turfa in a horse, the better … Read more
Very happy with how Shaman is turning out (look past the winter coat ), and he is not three yet. I am inching closer towards the type of horses I want to see. I like them built like tanks, the stallions very masculine and the mares very feminine, all very dry and superlative movers. No … Read more
The Sba’ah ‘Anazah had a first-class marbat of ‘Ubayyan Sharrak known as Ubayyan al-‘Awbali. The ‘Awbaliyyat were the Ubayyan Sharrak mares of al-‘Awaabilah clan of the Mihlif of the Mawayiqah of the Sba’ah. The Nawwaq clan owners of Kuhaylan Nawwaq are from the Qasim (Gasim) section of the Rasaalin of the Sba’ah. The Ma’naqi Sbayli … Read more
The last horse I bred in Lebanon before moving to the USA in 2000 was this handsome young colt, by the Ma’naqi Sbayli stallion Dinar (Al-Aawar x Aseelah) out of my Saqlawiyah Sha’ifiyah Fadwa (Al Kaher x Loumah, by Faisal x Hababah). Fadwa was a striking bay mare, the outcome of an Egyptian-Syrian cross as … Read more
Two more pictures of the authentic desert-bred stallion Barazan (Odeilan x Asfourah), a Saqlawi Marzaqani bred by the Shammar Bedouin. Photos by Gudrun Waiditschka in 2006 in Syria. Look at the striking similarity of the the bottom photo of Barazan with that of *Haleb, another desert-bred that was imported to the USA in 1906. True … Read more
Khalid Rakhlani runs a beautiful page on Facebook, called Arabian Horses in Syria. It features numerous photos of Arabian horses of 100% Syrian stock, registered in the Syrian Arabian Horse Studbook. This morning’s photo of the stallion Barazan caught my eye. He represents a type of desert horse that is rapidly disappearing: small, yet well … Read more
There was another important aspect of my recent series of conversations with Abu Tamer, Hammad Jaddu’ al-Jaz’aa, the venerable Tai Bedouin owner of a hundred year old marbat of Saqlawi Jadran Arabian horses known as the Saqlawiyyat of Dari al-Mahmud (or Saqlawiyyat Dariyyat as they have been calling them these days). It relates to the … Read more
This evening I was chatting with Hammad Jaddu’ al-Jaz’ah (Abu Tamer). We chat regularly about the horses about the horses of the Syrian Jazirah more generally and the horses of his family in particular. They have been breeding a well established (mathbut) strain of Saqlawi Jadran since the 1920s. At around 85 years old, Abu … Read more
Khalid Rakhlani’s Facebook page “Arabian Horses in Syria” has a nice photo of Khaldee (al-Khaldi) that I had not seen before, courtesy of Sha’lan al-Ahmad Khaldee is the most prominent stallion in modern Syrian breeding.
Mostly a note to myself.. I finally found a document that establishes the breeder of Krush Juhayyim, the foundation stallion of modern Syrian Arabian horsebreeding. A breeding certificate mentions that the sire of a grey ‘Ubayyah mare is “Krush Juhayyim from the marbat of al-Abd al-Muhsin (Sattam al-Hawwas)”. Sattam is the son of Hawwas the … Read more
Lady is the very last Al Khamsa mare from the female line of Ferida of Lady Anne Blunt. Hers is one of the glorious lines of American Arabian horse breeding. She is 24 this year, and will likely not get pregnant anymore, but I have four frozen embryos from her. This is as good a … Read more
This young mare (b. 2016, so I guess not that young anymore) can look pretty when she wants to..
A photo of the young Jadah BelloftheBall “Belle”, with her dam Belladonna CHF, at her owner’s Mary Sue Harris in 2002. Photo by Randall Harris.
I am scanning old photos, and these two from the Syrian Kuhaylan al-Khdili stallion Sa’ad Al-Thani (Al-Aawar x Leelas) emerged from the lot. I am happy he has a tail male going, with Dahjani Al Arab in France and Abul Hol in Syria, a Kuhaylan al-Mimrah (#1857 in the Syrian Studbook). Photos taken in 1995 … Read more
A photo of the desert-bred mare and Davenport import *Wadduda I had not seen before. Not a single surviving photo has done justice to this mare. PS — Jamr is a direct female descendant of *Wadduda.
… and so does the beautiful young girl that inspired it. I love searching the DOW archives for mid-January blog entries to see how much my older daughter has grown over the years.
This is a stylish stallion with a superb pedigree and very clean pedigree. The fact that I recall most of his ancestors in the fifth and sixth generations must mean that I am getting old.. I remember Adeelah, Obeirah, Mokhtar, Maseh, Al Kahirah, Mobarak at Basil’s, Marzouq, Aseelah, and their son Shaddad at Kamal Abdel … Read more
The Arabian Horse Archives, a project which this blog supports, has an online digitized copy of Cecil Covey’s 1982 booklet “Crabbet Arabians”. It features a photo of Ibn Yashmak I had not seen before. Now I see why the Blunts imported him from Egypt to use him on their Crabbet mares.
Jeanne Craver recently shared with me these threephotos of the 1967 mare Nauwas (Al Khobar x *Muhaira), an Ubayyah from the strain of Ibn Jalawi of Easter Arabia. The photos are from/by George Hooper, who had owned Nauwas in her later years. An article I had written some fourteen years ago on this blog featured … Read more
Frolicking in the Wisconsin snow at her new owner’s Moira Walker.
Warriors of the past and warriors of the present. Gender roles reversed. Two radically different worlds side by side. Today both worlds interact through the desert Arabian horse. The median breeder of desert Arabians in the US is a woman, while young Bedouin men are claiming back their old horse heritage.
Richard Pritzlaff riding. Photo gleaned off the internet, without a source. Rabanna, like her contemporary the Doyle mare Gulida, is a boon for any breeder to have in the pedigree of their horses. So much of the real Abbas Pasha blood in these two mares. Much gratitude for dedicated breeders like Sheila Harmon and others … Read more
Somebody has been bugging me to help set up Arabian racing in Southern Africa. I can’t help but wonder what the members of this group think. If “per definition” (i.e. Skowronek, etc.) WAHO Arabians are allowed, is it really Arabian racing?
From time to time — I am not sure why — I have intense flashbacks of Yemen, where I spent perhaps the most memorable stays of my life. I visited it often between 2005 and 2015, traveling around the country from the ancient cities of San’aa, Dhamar, Ibb, Ta’izz and al-Mukallah to the remote villages … Read more
This should be the first foal of my Mayassa Al Arab (Clarion CF x Cinnabar Myst by ASF David). She will then be ten years old (below, at two years old). So grateful to Deb Mackie for having made it happen!
The origins of the three horses presented by Shibly Bisharat to King Faruq of Egypt are currently somewhat obscure, as the only information we have at present comes from Shibly’s son Midhat Bisharat’s correspondence with Dr Hans Nagel, which gives their strains and includes the fact that they were purchased from the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force … Read more
The second issue of the Bedouin Horse Journal of South Africa has an upcoming article on Belle and her rare Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz strain.