Wisteria’s long eyelashes
Jeanne Craver just sent me this headshot of my Wisteria CF (by Triermain x HB Wadduda by Mariner), which Charles Craver took a couple days ago at Craver Farms. They made my day.
There is something unique about the eyes of every Arabian horse. Sometimes it’s the shape. Or the size. The darkness. The bulge. The sparkle. The white in the eyes. Some horses have all these features. Others only some of them. In Wisteria’s case, it’s the long, long eyelashes that make her look almost human. I’ve always had a soft spot for Arabian mares with long eyelashes. Maybe it’s because I like Arabic poetry. Arabic poetry, mainly that of the pre-Islamic kind, is replete with descriptions of the eyes in general, and of eyelashes in particular. It can be women eyes (often), camels’ eyes (even more often), or horses’ eyes (somewhat less often).
I think it is human nature to look first at the eyes of a fellow human or other creature. Not only that, but long eyelashes to me mean a veil against the wind and dust of the desert. Camel eyelashes are just so wonderful!!
The eyes are the mirror of the soul-in the brute creation also-I think.The eyes of the arabian horse is one of the best examples.My wife means the same.She “chats”across the eyes of our foals.
László
Ah, the lovely Wisteria! Such a beautiful mare. I am anxious (ok, obsessed with) finding a beautiful asil mare here in Italy. Can anyone give me any information as to reliable breeders here? I know there are no Davenports here in Italy (I am going to France on 24 August to visit Regalia CF and Flamboyant CF), and I know there are many Arabian breeders here, some within a stone’s throw, but the trick is to know who breeds the real thing. Will be very grateful for any info. Thanks.
Louis Bauduin, Jean-Claude Rajot, Fabienne Vesco, Sophine Balthasar, and the Deblaise family, all breed the real thing in France. Asil lines from Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and France. Very different from anything else you have seen.