Daughters of the Wind

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

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 second issue of the Bedouin Horse Journal of South Africa has an upcoming article on Belle and her rare Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz strain.

This what a “very beautiful head” meant in 1895. Let’s keep it that way.

Samantha Mattocks published this feature on our new book “The Arabian Horses of Abbas Pasha” in the British “Arabian Magazine”

Hamidi al-Dham al-Hadi al-Jarba was the supreme leader Shaykh of the Jarba Shammar. Westerners know him mostly for hosting a delegation of breeders to the Shammar in 1996.

Nelyo looked very “old style” Arabian the other day. I love how fine his mouth amd muzzle look. There was too much visual noise in the background, so I converted the picture to black and white.

Kinza arrived at the Doyle farm in Oregon some ten days ago. She will most likely go to Bashir Al-Dirri in the spring, when she will have put more weight on. Bev Davison keeps her dam Ginger, as well as two siblings, a filly and a colt, and has sold another full sister.

Billy Sheets, who with his father and grandfather before him owned Arabian Stud Farms [ASF] told me some twenty years ago that the bay stallion active at ASF under the name ASF Gersom [Dhahran x Esperanzo Asal Fanifara] was not ASF Gersom, who had died young, but his younger full brother, ASF Jedeciah, the 1977 … Read more

Superb photo of Fragrance CF [Regency CF x Anthesis CF] taken by Carol Mingst in 2012.

Jamr, despite being small, is magnificent. In fact, he does not look small at all when moving. Yesterday, I also took these photos of him walking in hand. He is short [13.3 and a half], I am tall [6 feet], so that makes for titled photos where his legs look shorter and his body bigger. I … Read more

Yesterday I went to see my horses up in Pennsylvania, and took a lot of pictures with my smartphone. Smartphone photos are what they are. This is a head snapshot of little Bassma Al Arab [Jamr Al Arab x Jadah BelloftheBall], now one and a half years old. In this picture, her head looks like … Read more

This is Shaman’s dam SS Lady Guenevere, which I have leased from DeWayne Brown a few years ago, until she produces a filly for me. Click on the low res photos to enlarge them.

This past weekend, Belle left with her new owner, Moira Walker, after some nine years in my ownership. She leaves two nice fillies behind. She is in foal to Jamr for a March 2023 foal. She was the sweetest of mares, especially with my children as they were growing up. Here’s to a long line … Read more

I own the very last Al Khamsa mare alive with a tail female to the 1886 Blunt desert-bred mare Ferida. Her name is CSA Baroness Lady, a.k.a. “Lady”. Lady is now 23 years old, and is available to the right home. Get in touch if you are interested. She is available because I now have … Read more

Laura Fitz is selling this handsome colt, by Monologue CF out of Mi Blue Angel. He has a rare cross to the Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon. She told me that he has had quite a bit of ground work. He loads, clips, lunges, round pens…. He was 14.1 the last time she measured him. The … Read more

Just a quick update about the mares. Sidi Bint Maistro will be coming here around the middle of October. Her paddock is already picked out. I’m going to have a hard time letting her go. Assad Princess Surrayah is a different case entirely. After nine years of living on almost nothing, the moment she got … Read more

Jadah BelloftheBall, Kuhaylah ‘Ajuz in foal to Jamr Al Arab Mayassa Al Arab, Kuhaylah Krush, in foal to Anecdote CF Wadha Al Arab, Kuhaylah Hayfiyah,  in foal to Shuwaymaan Al Rais [Bahrain] SS Lady Guenevere, Ma’naqiyah Sbayliyah, in foal to Cascade DE

Yesterday, I finally received my own copies of our book “The Arabian Horses of Abbas Pasha – New Discoveries: The 1860 Abbas Pasha Sale List and Other Original Documents” in the mail. It really does look very nice.    

Just looking again at this nice 2016 photo of my Kuhaylat al-Ajuz mare “Belle”. It’s the Arabian horse equivalent of that 1950 Edward Hopper painting “Cape Cod Morning” with the woman looking out the window at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.  

Perhaps it’s time to share my latest attempt to keep the gene pool in my horses as broad as possible. It’s also a story of dedication, steadfastness and perseverance by Jessie Heinrick, who made it all happen. The bottom line up front is that some time ago, I acquired sight unseen an 11 year old … Read more

Young Sharif really is a looker. DeWayne Brown who owns his dam Pippa, visited the Doyle farm last weekend and took the pictures. You gotta love the Doyle motor on this Ma’naqi colt. And the black skin around the eyes. Terry Doyle is standing in the background.