Treff-Haven Sabeel, the lifeline
This stallion, Treff Haven Sabeel is, in my opinion, a ray of hope for US-based Egyptian breeding. I was saying on Facebook that such strong couplings, short backs, high, prominent withers and exceptionally strong shoulders have all but disappeared from New Egyptian horses. That’s because the halter shows for which most of these horses or their recent ancestors were bred do not take these primary qualities into consideration. That these qualities should still be found in Sabeel is reassuring.
He happens to have no lines to Nazeer. Not that Nazeer was a bad horse, on the contrary; it’s just that the use that was made of Nazeer sons, grandsons and great-grandsons was not conducive to the perpetuation of the above-mentioned qualities. Just look at the Serenity horses. There is plenty of Nazeer in there, but the horses were bred differently and used for different purposes.
Photo by owner Kate from Van Alma Arabians.
dear Edouard: The way he’s moving shows wonderful length of the shoulder- good high withers reminiscent of Sid Abouham. He looks like he’d be a very good outcross for u.s. mares of other domestic lines too..
best wishes
Bruce Peek
Edouard, I would like to thank you for such a powerful headline regarding our Sabeel. It certainly was unexpected and much appreciated. Sabeel possesses qualities of a horseman’s horse, even having drawn interest outside of the Arabian breeding world by simply putting his head over the stall door to be pet. He is, as my husband states, impressive. Standing around 15.3 with appropriate substance and bone to support it, he does not sacrifice beauty or function. Having seen many of his family, including full and half siblings of both his sire and dam, this is a family of quality reminiscent of the Arabians with which I fell in love as a kid. I would like to note that, without the foresight and dedication of Homer and Tina of Treff-Haven Arabians, this small family of horses would no longer be in existence.
A very very interesting horse with most interesting ancestors like Hosam, Sabeel, Gassir ( one of my favorites ). In europe we had a most wonderful non Nazeer mare Kaythara ( sabeel x rakia ), Salhia ( sameh x saklawia II ) and Golson ( tuhotmos x tamara ). All and each of them remarkable broodmares !
In North America presently, I count 12 living non-Nazeer straight Egyptians, (including Treff-Haven Sabeel) that trace only to the post 1958 importations (post-Babson,Brown etc.). These are stallions and mares ranging from 23 years old down to 6 years old. This group exists largely due to the Penniman family as well as Helma Cairns, Barbara Bowden, and Kate Rhodes. So with good foresight this could continue for generations if breeders are aware of it now. Crossing this group with the long established pre-1958 Egyptian blood in North America could be a key to extending genetic diversity in the closed Egyptian breeding group for a good many years, not to mention broaden the chance to preserve the very rare sire line to the Blunt’s Mesaoud within SE lines.
… actually I was wrong, it turns out there are 14 non-Nazeer straight Egyptians (EAO/Inshass breeding), not 12, in North America from ages 4 to 23. Perhaps a few others in other countries also but the point is worth noting.
Is there a list available of those non Nazeers post 1958 horses?
Brigitte – Joe Ferris and I worked on this list together some time back for a book he is writing. The list I have is in my head and Joe’s may be written down and more accurate. My count at the moment is 13 total – 7 stallions and 6 mares. Barbara Bowden unfortunately lost 2020 twin fillies by Treff Haven Sabeel x Asmarrah, with other breeding losses in the past few years that would have bolstered these numbers through another generation. It’s a great concentration of breeding that produces excellent individuals.
Hi Kate, tell me, is he available for shipped semen?
Great looking horse. I’ve seen similar with Philippe Paraskevas’ horses in Egypt. As Edouard said in his original post, it is about how the horses are bred, not just what is in the pedigree.
Thank you, Anita. His breeders were true horsepeople with a vision far before their time, so were very unheard and misunderstood when they were active. Sabeel speaks for himself and his babies are phenomenal.