Daughters of the Wind

Who was the George O’Brien who imported *Munifeh and *Munifan from Saudi Arabia in 1947? Was he a US politician? or an ARAMCO executive?

Folks from the Jazirah area of Syria have been sending me pictures and stories of horses that remain there. This beauty is one of them. I also saw pictures of other gorgeous horses of the Rabdan, Rishan, Saadan, Jilfan and Khallawi strains. You would be stunned. It would seem like the Bedouin’s pool is bottomless, … Read more

Another surprise from this past week’s visit to my horses was little Barakah (Wadd Al Arab x Jadah BellOfTheBall). She is now three years old. I left her a little filly. She is now a young mare who cycles and all. She measured at just above 14 hands, which is a good size for this … Read more

In other news, Monologue CF is back home in Pennsylvania, after spending several months at Laura Fitz in Michigan. Two of her mares are in foal to him for this spring. Laura took great care of him, and he has never looked better in many years. This horse has been moved around so often over … Read more

Last Thursday, I managed to take a day off while in the US for work and drove out to Pennsylvania to see my horses. I had not seen them in a year. I feel terrible about that. The young ones have grown so much. Jamr, at seven, is now a fully grown stallion. He certainly … Read more

If only I did not have enough horses, the Kuhaylah Hayfiyah filly ADA Tharwat al-Awdah (Porte CF x Pirouette CF) would have found a way to my barn.. Photo by Michael Bowling.

I am irked that we still know so little about this horse. We know his color (chestnut), his name and his date of birth (1885). I also read somewhere that he was thought be a “high caste Arabian”. Probably a race horse, or an army horse. Probably exported from Basrah, or Kuwait to Bombay. Bombay/Mumbai … Read more

I am back in Washington, D.C. for a few days. How I miss that place, especially in the fall season. I biked by the statue of General George Henry Thomas on the circle that bears his name. I wonder which horse served as a model for this statue. It looks nice, but certainly not as … Read more

Bev Davison posted these photos on Facebook. They feature the white belly spots of DA Ginger Moon (top) and her full sister DA Moon Sister (bottom). This follows an intense discussion on this blog about extreme white markings.

and Ginger is still wonderful. What a grand broodmare she is. Neck, hip, withers, ears, and what style on top of that. Jabbar is also a very good sire, and I think he deserves to be used more. Photo by Bev Davison who keeps her for me. I always quote this passage from Lady Anne … Read more

This is Nahaab, a yearling born March 2018. I just love the “son of the desert” look and feel on him. The level croup. The high set tail. The authentic lineage. He looks like he came straight out of a black tent of Arabia. He would be a good match for my Kuhaylat. Might even … Read more

Thanks for Kate for sending me this beautiful video.

Photos by Bev Davison who keeps her for me.

For those who haven’t seen it, since Jeanne was mentioning it.

Also from Ibn al-Kalbi’s Book of Horses, my translation: David, the Prophet of God, was very fond of horses. He could not hear of a horse cited for his bloodline (‘irq), its authenticity (‘itq), it’s beauty (husn) or its speed (jari) without sending for it, until he gathered a thousand horses. There were none other … Read more

I always found this story very touching. It is related in Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi’s book of horses, one of the earliest such compilations by Muslim authors: We were by the coastline; a stallion was brought to be bred to his mother; he refused. So they brought her into a house, threw a cover the door, … Read more

From Jeanne Craver comes this photo of the Davenport mare Adorned (Prince Hal x Moth by Tripoli), with the reference to the earlier discussion on pronounced white markings.

This is Royal Court Jester. He is not an Arabian horse (no panic yet). He carries less than 0.2 percent pinto blood from a single cross at the 10th generation. The remaining 99.8 is general list Arab blood. Tobiano is a dominant gene, so at least one parent need to carry it. I wonder, through, … Read more

I am looking up the horses Kate mentioned in the previous entry. Below is Fenwick Orion, another 100% Crabbet of Australian lines. His markings are quite striking. They are so unusual that one is tempted to look for non-Arabian blood (of which there is a little, way back), and attribute his coat color pattern to … Read more

Very interesting white markings on this 100% Crabbet stallion (with multiple lines to Skowronek and Dargee) and a tail female line to the Kuhaylat al-Krush desert-bred mare Dafina. The VIIIth century CE Arabic horse books (kutub al-khayl) describe such markings at length. There must have been more Arab horses with such markings in the past, … Read more

Much ink has been spilled on this subject, and I guess the short answer to the question is that one can say both. “Arabian” refers to “Arabia” the land, like “English” does to “England”. When one says “Arabian horse”, they link the horse to “Arabia” the land. When one says “Arab horse”, they link the … Read more

A nice photo of the 1896 Hamidie mare Zitra (Mannaky x Galfia), a Hamdaniyah Simriyah. She has this “upper class” look for an Arab horse. This is the tail female to Antan, Regency CF and other greats at Craver Farms. Photo courtesy of Jeanne Craver.

*Werdi was one of the Davenport imports. I may have identified the owner of her dam, as mentioned in her hujjah, but I am awaiting confirmation from sources in Hamah. Here is the available information meanwhile: It can be inferred from *Werdi’s hujjah that her dam was the “grey mare of Faris Agha al-Turkmani of … Read more

*Werdi was one of the mares imported by Homer Davenport to the USA in 1906. Her hujjah (certificate of authenticity) is particular among the hujaj of the Davenport imports in that its front side is for a bay mare that is *Werdi’s close relative, most probably her sister, but not *Werdi herself. The hujjah belongs … Read more

This is the third time I come across the name of this Damascene horse owner in primary sources about horses exported to the West. He amazingly connects together three Western horse figures: Wilfrid Blunt (concerning Saladin), Homer Davenport (concerning *Simri), and Khalil Bistany (concerning *Al-Mashoor). Check this out: From Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence, October … Read more

I also read “the Horse” by Al-Asma’i today. I came across this mention: It was mentioned that Hisham [the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, died in 743 CE] said: “I desire to see al-Dhaa’id [a horse] defeated. So they brought him a birdhawn of the Berbers [birdhawn barbari], called al-Mukatib, after a disease had … Read more

Today I read Hisham Ibn al-Kalbi’s (d. 819 CE) “Horse Lineages in the Jahiliyyah and Islam” from cover to cover. It is a a quick read, and the earliest of the Arabic books on horses. I was looking for specific things, but I found this fascinating story, about a specific horse named al-Dubayb. My translation: … Read more

Muhammad Othman Abdallah Saoud al-Tahawi, also known as El Tahawy Saoud, is a folk historian of the first order, a preservationist extraordinaire and the guardian of this tribe’s heritage and history. With yours truly at my house in Cairo in 2014. How I miss those Cairo evenings, the endless conversations, the taste of sugarcane juice, … Read more

It is so nice to see Hazaim Alwair’s Davenport breeding program grow. His two Hayfi mares Provance CF (Triermain CF x Anjou CF) and Confetti CF (Triermain CF x Domina CF) produced beautiful colts by Gilaad Ibn Dubloon (Dubloon CF x Genuine Tes by Tesio CF) in 2018. They are Jabal Alasil to the right, … Read more

This beautiful, well balanced mare is now with Michael Bowling. If I am not mistaken, Valse Triste TW carries the highest concentration of Tripoli blood in a living Davenport Arabian. She is by Trilogy (by Prince Hal who was by Tripoli out of Trill by Tripoli out of Moth by Tripoli) out of a Brigantine … Read more

In the name of God the Most Merciful and Compassionate City of Riyadh Region of Najd Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 11 Rabi’ the second 1378 corresponding to 25 October 1958 I, Mutlaq al-‘Atawi, supervisor of the royal horse stables of his Highness King Saud ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, declare that the following testimony is correct: The … Read more

There has been a lot of speculation about the sire of the desert-bred Davenport import *Mowarda, in particular whether he was the horse that was imported to the USA by one of Davenport’s companions and later registered as *Abbeian 111. The Arabic language famously lacks the verb “to be”. Phrases like “the dog is big” … Read more

She is growing by leaps and bounds, and has filled up. I like the dark skin around the muzzle, and the long ears, and the setting of the neck. I would like to calculate the percentage of Crabbet and Abbas Pasha blood there (Gulida, Ghadaf, Rabanna, Bint Serra, Bint Rissala, Bint Durra, Kazmeen, Nusi, etc). … Read more

Bev’s mare GulastrasSpirit SDA had a beautiful filly by Sierre Cheyenne four days ago. I just love these horses. So much style, such true old type. Photos by owner Bev Davison.

This post continues the series on the Nasiri book. In an earlier post, I had referred to the ten groups of horses featured in one of the sections: that from Hijaz, Najd, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, North Africa, etc. They were generally classified by region, and called ansaab, which translates as “lineages”. I speculated … Read more

This son of the Doyle stallion Tamaam DE and the rare Sarita Bint Raj does not cease to amaze me. Look at the withers-shoulder-neck complex! Photos by Lyman Doyle. Pippa is the mare in the bottom.

This black mare, of the Ma’naqi Sbayli strain tracing to Haidee, is the maternal grandmother of my SS Shadows Aana. Her formidable build, her high withers and her very deep girth, are some of the reasons I like this line so much. Mares like her can be the cornerstone of an entire breeding program.

Ma shaa Allah, as we say in Arabic. At 27 years old, Popinjay (Banter CF x Persimmon by Brimstone) just looks glorious. Photo by his owner Maria Wallis.

[Updated on September 12, 2019] I just happened upon an online copy of an animal dictionary from the XIVth century, “Hayat al-Haywan al-Kubra” (“The Great Life of Animals”). It is by a Cairene author, Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa ibn ‘Ali al-Dumayri (1341-1405). It defines several horse-related terms like hisan, khayl, and faras. I realized … Read more

[Edited September 1, 2019, with new sections translated] From the Nasiri book: The breeding of horses (al-khuyul) is divided into three parts: one is the breeding of Arab horses (al-khuyul al-‘arabiyyyat); the second is the breeding of the hamaaliij and countrybreds (al-biqaa’iyyat); the third is the breeding of donkeys and Armenian mules. In this chapter, … Read more

As to the breeding of mules, the best mules for carrying loads are those produced in Armenia, and after these the North African mules. In breeding them, a donkey with excellent conformation and long and wide ears is put on the ramakah (see below); in this case, the offspring turns out to be a large … Read more

Lyman Doyle took this photo of Jenny Krieg’s young stallion Bashir al-Dirri (Tamaam DE x Sarita Bint Raj), a 2015 Saqlawi Jadran stallion tracing to Basilisk. He carries some of the very last lines in Al Khamsa to the stallions *Mirage, *Euphrates, and *Al-Mashoor. Photo by Lyman Doyle. This stallion has superlative action and near … Read more

I have recently leased the Ma’naqiyah Sbayliyah mare SS Lady Guenevere (SS Dark Prince x SS Lady Galadriel by El Reata Juan), from DeWayne Brown. She is Pippa’s dam. Photo by Lyman Doyle She was bred to Kashgar DE during her last heat cycle, and came back in heat this week. Terry and Lyman Doyle, … Read more

Most modern (i.e., XIXth century onwards) Arabic dictionaries offer similar definitions for the birdhawn (translations mine): The al-Ra’id dictionary defines it as an “animal lesser than a horse, with thick body parts, stocky, especially used as a pack animal“. The al-Wasit dictionary defines it as “a term for non-Arab horses and mules, from the equus … Read more

From the Nasiri book, again, my translation: The knowledge of the authentic (‘atiq), enduring (sabur) and generous (karim) horse needs [some] citation and demonstration, because all past horsemen of the Age of Ignorance [jahilliyah, before the advent of Islam] have featured horses in their poetry and mentioned them [along] with their characteristics. The Prophet of … Read more

[Updated on September 12, 2019] From the Nasiri book (1333 CE), citing al-Waqidi (d. 823 CE) Al Waqidi recited that the first to ride horses after Adam was Ishmael son of Abraham peace be upon them; and after Adam, they had become wild, untamed, until they were subjected to Ishmael who rode them, and he … Read more

From the Nasiri book: Al Kalbi recited that God Most High brought a hundred horses out of the sea for our Lord Solomon, and they had wings, and that they were called “goodness”. And God knows best.

The epitome of the Arab horse, and a hero of the British Afghan campaign.

My quick translation of this creation story from the Nasiri book, which took it from a much earlier account by VIIIth century chronicler Wahab Ibn Munabbih; the translation can be improved, but this is a good start: From Wahab ibn Munabbih, who said: “I was told that when God Most Glorified and Most High wanted … Read more

The Damkhiyyat (feminine singular Damkhiyyah, masculine singular Damkhi) are most likely a reference to Damkh, a mountainous range in Najd and its surrounding area (photo below). It lies some 300 km west of Riyadh, by Halban, on the highway from Riyadh to Mecca. Arab geographers and poets starting from the 700s CE alike made several … Read more

[Edited September 1, 2019] I have been enjoying reading a scanned Arabic copy of the manuscript “the Complete Guide to the Professions of Veterinary Medicine and Horse Breeding”, which Hylke Hettema recently pointed me to. This is the medieval treatise otherwise known as the “Nasiri Book” in English or Le Naceri in French. It was … Read more

This afternoon, I spent a good two hours with Hylke Hettema combing through her online version of al-Kitab al-Nasiri (The Complete Guide to the Professions of Veterinary Medicine and Horse Breeding, Called “The Nasiri Book”). This is the equestrian treatise which Nicolas Perron famously translated and published between 1852 and 1860 under “Le Naceri, la … Read more

This is my fourth and last attempt to breed — please don’t make fun of me — my lame, old, maiden mare SS Shadows Aana for a 2020 foal. She came in heat last week and Sue Moss had her bred by Jamr. We know he is fertile since another old mare of mine, Nuri, … Read more