Re: endless dilemma
We in Syria always judge horses by their breeders and where they come from, an Arabian horse is as good as his breeder.
When we have a horse bred by a legend we never ever question the purity because we take the word of men as a contract and when they swear by the name of the mighty god we do not listen to what other people think or say about the purity of our horses and modern registration does not mean much to people who are still concerned about their Asil horses, specially the legendary Bedouin breeders.
We are very proud we still call horses by their strains and breed them by their strains and non in the world does that apart from us or may be in Bahrain.
We do not talk about other people’s horses and it is considered a bad character to talk about Asil horses and doubt their purity and it is against being a man as it is like talking about our women and their purity.
Since old times the Arabs recognised the Asil from non Asil and there were always people whose job is to recognise these horses but the Arab did use non Asil horses in the wars and travel but never mixed them with their noble creature as it was considered a bad gesture and you loose respect for that and over every thing you lose the superiority in the breed to survive, of course greed changes people and it is a test for manhood and nobility, this is why an Arabian horses is as good as his breeder.
Omar Ibn Elkhatab has sworn by god not to put the Asil horse in the same class with the non pure as he witnessed the difference in performance in the battle of Damascus.
Since old time there were only few horses from pure blood lines and there will be only few left but enough to keep this noble breed going , it is not protected by WAHO, Alkhamsa or you , it is protected by God and the real men who gave their lives for this breed.
It is not fair to Ibn Gourab and Ibn A’afytan or Ibn Shayan, or Ibn Haythmy or Ibn Touyresh or Ibn Sbayel on Ibn Zodgom or Abou Sayefan ….etc to accuse horses from being non Asil specially we are the source of your information, and if your judgement based on one man who has long passed away and he was a horse dealer we can still help you and put you out of your dilemma and give you any information you want about any horse you think it is not legitimate.
If I were you I will take your Dad advice he is well regarded and well liked man in the whole country because he knows well what an Arabian horse bred in Syria means and knows Syrian breeders and what their horses mean to them.
Am sure you noticed traditional Syrian breeders do not know anything about Arabians outside Syria and do not talk about them and do not care, they will never breed to them not because they are not pure but because since the Arabs bred their horses they put very strict rules about the breeding ways and they have never ever bred to a horse they do not recognise where it come from so for example even if u swear that davenport horses came from us, but we don’t know how they bred and who bred them with all the respect to every man involved in that project, you will find hardly anyone to cover his Nawakeiah or Ma’anakeiah with the Haifi of Davenport while we have the Haifi of Aljabri still going…
It is not fair for people who gave their time and effort to protect these horses and protect their owners, it took 8 years and some people like Basil Jadaan and Saleih Srouji from their money and time and family, then we start accusing the Arabian horses in the stud book being non pure based on rumours or jealousy and with no evidence. When Basil Assad asked Saleh Srouji to register horses in the horse club out of around 80 horses, only the Nawakeiah was pure and bred by a respected marbat, and even when the companions of prophet Mohammed tried to organise what he said after his death they found thousands of false words referred to him not long after his death…..we are dealing with human beings and they are not the same in ethic or morals but I can reassure you any horse came from a well known breeder is pure with no doubt, when I bought my Nawakeiah it took me years but when I found the man I did not even question her pedigree because that man who bred the mare who produced Husam Alshamal which you discussed in your site, that man’s words are contract and will never ever lie for a horse so I bought the man’s word before the horse.
We are very happy to investigate about any horse who you think has got issue providing there is evidence or people witness to what you say but we prefer you come back to us in Syria and ask us first before you start accusing our horses from being non Asil in direct or indirect way, it is not just national pride it is honour and dignity these creatures mean to us.
For the mare in the stud book which her sons and daughters all over the place , people like yourself always talked about her and you know she is from the same strain as Elnasser or one of his ancestors is, your information only based on what Alhemamy god bless his soul said . I really think if you have more information you should share it with us, specially we can put you in touch with Ahmad Eltaha’ son and you can speak to him and try to get more information.
As for Elderee myself and Basil Jadaan we were involved in this matter, we do not know anything about this horse but we were asked if we know Sheikh Aljbour and we have put the person who claimed his grand dad have presented a horse to the Royal family of Egypt at the time, in touch with the person who is asking to speak to him, we did not falsify any information, all what we did we organised a talk between two people one from the States and one is a grand son of a very respectful sheikh in the Syrian desert.
As we have been always the source of Arabian horses to the entire planet we will continue to do so even with a small number of pure horses we feel honoured and proud to carry on this responsibility and duty
Dr Hazaim Alwair
what are the qualifications of Dr Hazaim Alwair in the Asil Arab horse field,and who is this ” mare in the stud book which her sons and daughters all over the place”?
he is a good guy..
he knows the origins and pedigrees of the Syrian horses well and cares about them. he knows the old people of the horses well. he knows how to ask the right questions to the right people, and is not afraid of telling the truth. that’s how i know him but i have not been in touch with him for a year now.
but he is also very proud of his country, its culture and its horses and does not like it when “dirty laundry is washed outside the household”
more on the mare later.
Hi Edouard,
I will have to re-read this long letter from the Dr. at least 2 more times in order to understand it better.
That said, I have been mulling over very seriously your endless dilemma since you first posted it. I thought I had finally arrived at a decent response, though long-winded, that involved genuine works of art vs. forgeries.
However, after reading al volo this post I have a simpler answer.
I bought Murad Mandour because (1) I had your word on the breeder (Louis) and (2) because when I met Louis I had an instinctive trust–also connected to you.
Your word meant everything to me. And I was right to trust you. A “word” such as yours, based as it is not only on honesty and integrity but reams of information and scholarship has a value that cannot ever be calculated in this world.
So…..bearing in mind the very sage warning of Jeanne Craver who said “First protect yourself and your family,” it would be a great loss should you ever start second-guessing yourself.
The horse world is nuts and can be dangerous. I think we all know that here.
I am more grateful to you than I can express.
Dr Hazaim Alwair said it better:
>>so I bought the man’s word before the horse.>>
Elena
“”it is not fair to accuse horses from being non Asil specially we are the source of your information, and if your judgement based on one man who has long passed away and he was a horse dealer we can still help you and put you out of your dilemma and give you any information you want about any horse you think it is not legitimate.””
after reading this part of Dr Hazaim Alwair letter ,it seems that, according to him,somwhere you gave wrong informations on some horses.The man seems angry.
Yes he is angry. But I did not give wrong information. So far I have given only positive information about the Syrian horses on this blog. Information which is otherwise verifiable.
He thinks that the negative information which I have with me and which I have not given yet on this blog is just rumors. This is contradictory, because, as he says above, he is the source of such information.
He also seems to be making veiled threats,’ If I were you I would take your Dads advice he is well regarded,’. In apparent reference to your fathers instruction that its better to keep quiet when you know certain horses are likely to be impure if they are connected to the local geopolitical bullies.
Well if everybody else is afraid to say it, I am not, because for the sake of true discussion, clarity and respect for the good work that the pillars of the arabin horse community have done it needs to be said. If you know some horses have questionable backgrounds let the facts speak for themselves. For the sake of the breed its better to ,’out,’ that knowledge than to cover it up like the Polish Breeders did with Skowronek. Honor and integrity can be a two edged sword.
Best wishes
Bruce Peek
With plenty delay I hava read text „RE: endless dilemma“ written by Mr. Hazaim. For me text is very interesting and, what is especially important written by one Arab. I possess a lot of books about Arabian horses, bat written by people from west contries and USA, and I have feeling that Authors did not completely understood way of life Beduins, their philosophy of life, their customs, relationship with horses etc. For that reason with maximum attention I have read all texts written by Mr. Hazaim. Texst „endless dilemma“ mainly I understand and this text is largely confirmed by the fact that I knew well before. In Bosnia we began to breed Arabian horses 1895th when was founded the state stud farm in Sarajevo. Between 1895.and 1905.year on the Middle East has been sent five delegations with the aim to buy Arabian horses for stud. In total was bought 27 original desert mares and an unknown number of stallions. In the book of breeding stallions was registrated 11 desert horses. Breeding stallion from Syria desert were: Kohejlan Abou Argoub, 1886. From Beni Sacher, Massud, 1889. From Beni Sacher, Maneghie Abaali, 1890. , Simhan, 1891. From Beduin Fajahi, Ferhan En Nedjd, 1893. From Roala, O’Bajan Esh Sheraky, 1890. From Anaze EL Sbaa, Shehun 1900. From Khelan Kruz, Meshur, 1901. From Hamdani Semri, Gazal , 1903. From Hamdani Semri, and El Hafi from Hamdani Semri. Breeding mare from Syria were: Hadbe, 1890.; Maneghie; Gidran, Hamda Esamra El Nedjd, 1890.; Shararije; Nidzme and Bent Abou Gerios. Probably some of this namas are wrong eritten. Report of each delegation said that the Bedouins are not given any written pedigree, but that their words and shake hands have value as each contract. All what Bedouins say about horses is 100% correct and nobody check it. We have not more information about these horses, if mr. Hazaim od somebody else have we would be grateful. Bat the main reason of this writing are not new data about horses purchased more than 100 years. We have wonderful horses and are very proud. I personally have a great desire to arrange one turist trip to Syeia and spend a few days in desert with Bedouins, of course if it is possible. If somebody from this forum have some ideas or can give me suggestion or contact person, it will be nice.
Best regards for all lovers Syrian Arabians. Enver Z.
Thank you for this information. Not much is written in English about Syrian Arabian, though our Davenport Arabians have this blood