12 March, 2010

Mumtaz Ree to Yosreia



Mumtaz Ree (*Farazdac x Bint Maar-ree) is a very classic, traditional Egyptian mare bred by Rancho Bulakenyo. Mumtaz Ree has a most interesting pedigree, as she combines Babson breeding through the mare *Maaroufa, with *Ansata Ibn Halima and *Bint Nefisaa PLUS the Alaa El Din son, *Farazdac, who through Farasha, traces to Yosreia, a Hadbah Enzahiyah mare of the Venus branch, foaled at the RAS, Cairo, in 1943. A daughter of Hind and sired by Sheikh El Arab, one of the interesting aspects of Yosreia's pedigree, is that Hind, a brown mare, was a daughter of Bint Rustem (Rustem x Bint Hadba El Saghira) and the sire called "world champion", Ibn Rabdan. Rustem being a Kuhaylan Rodan stallion mated with a mare that was predominantly Saqlawiyah with a tail female Hadbah line. So, at which point can you say that the horses in this family are really representative of Hadban Enzahi qualities? Can we say it at all? Older pictures are usually not very flattering (either through the photography, conditioning of the horse, and presentation/showmanship) but this mare looks good. Yosreia, to this day is remembered as one of the most beautiful mares of her time.

Her son, Aswan, changed the Russian breeding program for all time. Had Yosreia only produced Aswan, her place in history was assured but she also produced:

Farasha, by Sid Abouhom
Yasir, by Nazeer
Yazid, by Nazeer
Shahrzada, by Nazeer
Mohga, by El Sareei
Shamshoon, by Nazeer
Aswan, by Nazeer
Bint Yosreia, by Nazeer

Yosreia's continuing legacy is found in the qualities of substance, length of neck, balance, and an the ability to cross well with a variety of strains. Mumtaz Ree is representative of this ability, as her pedigree combines Yosreia with the strains of Kuhaylan Jellabi, Kuhaylan Rodan and Dahman Shahwan.

In Thomas Moore's, The Enchantment of Everyday Life, he explains:
"Enchantment is a spell that comes over us, an aura of fantasy and emotion that can settle onto the heart. An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed by beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world..."
I was touched when I read these words by themselves but when read while looking at the photo of Mumtaz Ree, the words became not only meaningful but very real and powerfully electric. It probably won't be the last time that I will be affected in this manner by an Egyptian Arabian Horse but in a life that is really challenging, along comes an unexpected gift like precious Mumtaz Ree and I am restored and revitalized to continue in my journey.

Ralph

05 March, 2010

BROWN GIRL

In the mid-60's,  when *Ansata Ibn Halima was already 6-years old,  he went to Gleannloch Farms to be shown by Tom & Rhita McNair and also,  to breed the mares that the Marshalls had already imported,  before *Morafic arrived in America. In Judith Forbis' charming book called The Gift, she speaks of the relationship that *Ansata Ibn Halima shared with *Bint Maisa El Saghira (Nazeer x Maisa), "My favorite traveling companion was Bint Maisa El Saghira, who often told me to calm down and relax. She became a very stabilizing influence during my show career. A tall bay mare beloved for her beauty and charm, she won admirers wherever she went. She too collected many halter championships as well as performance championships in English pleasure. Together we were wonderful ambassadors for the Egyptian Arabian horse because we were kind, handsome and athletic.Truly we blazed the trail for others to follow."  Dahmah Shawaniah is the result of the affection that both horses shared for each other. I don't think a greater love story exists in any breed, let alone the Arabian breed, across all bloodlines.  Like her parents, Dahmah Shahwaniah was a very sweet mare. I met her at Bentwood, well before the dispersal of the horses through the Sotheby sale, when she was sold to Count Federico. An aged mare at the time I met her, she was still a pretty mare and one of my favorites at Bentwood, not so much for how she looked; she had one of the best temperaments that I had encountered, in any horse, up until that point in my life. I will never forget how excited I felt to actually meet a living daughter of *Bint Maisa El Saghira, one of my most favorite Egyptian mares. Dahmah Shahwaniah is as close as I ever got to *Bint Maisa El Saghira.

Dahmah Shahwaniah was physically, very Dahman in her appearance. I always believed that Dahmah Shahwaniah should have been bred to one of the best Dahman Horses of our time, Ansata Halim Shah, who was so superb, so typey and so harmonious. However, I think that in the recent past, the decisions that were made for breeding Egyptian horses did not take into account how the individuals complemented each other or for the resulting quality they would produce together; as it was for producing a horse with "big name parents" who could bring a good sales dollar or what did they call "it" in those days?

ROI:  RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

During this visit to Bentwood, having also met Prince Fa Moniet for the first time and many of The Egyptian Prince daughters; I became impressed over The Egyptian Prince's siring ability. The Egyptian Prince was out of *Bint Mona, *Morafic's full sister in blood. It made sense to blend the blood of Dahmah Shahwaniah with the blood of a concentrated Saklawi horse, like The Egyptian Prince, especially because her dam, when bred to *Morafic, produced the influential stallions Shaikh Al Badi and Amaal, as well as the mares Radia, Nafairtiti and Rihahna. So, Dahmah Shahwaniah was also bred to *Morafic, producing the stallion, Shahid, as well as to the other popular Saklawi-strain horses of the day like *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, (AK Shah Moniet) and the *Ibn Moniet El Nefous son, Moniet El Sharaf (AK Salima Sharaf). However, as great as these horses were,  it would be TheEgyptianPrince who would nick well with Dahmah Shahwaniah, producing what my friend Oliver Wibihal called "Dahmah Shahwaniah's masterpiece" - AK Nawaal. Her German-born son by Maysoun, Authentic Ibn Nawaal,  bred by Rosi Kolster, was recently purchased from Al Waab Stud and imported to the United States. He's a fabulous horse, a "total package" having won in 2000, the Reserve Junior Champion Colt at the International Cup in St. Poelten, the Junior Championship at the German Nationals in 2002 and a gold medal at the annual Stallion Show, completing the performance part of the German Stallion Show. It is important to mention that Dahmah Shahwaniah was then bred a second time to TheEgyptianPrince, producing a full sister to AK Nawaal named Dahmah Reshan. 

Dahmah Shahwaniah was bred twice to *Ibn Hafiza producing two bay colts: Ibn Dahmahn and Almawardy. She was bred to *Sakr and produced the colt, Dar Al Salam. Dahmah Shahwaniah was bred to another father and son, her maternal brother Shaikh Al Badi, producing a popular colt named AK Ishmael and Ruminaja Ali's full brother, the stallion named Ruminaja Bahjat, producong a bay mare by the name of ZT Bahshahwaniah, a prolific broodmare who has produced a number of daughters.

Although her children may not have all been consistently magnificent in their phenotype, the legacy of Dahmah Shahwaniah becomes obviously apparent through her many grandsons and granddaughters. It is in this generation that one starts to develop an appreciation for her influence.

Enjoy your horses,
Ralph

Johnny Johnston captured the essence of Dahmah Shahwaniah forever in the first photo. This photo subsequently appeared in the early volumes of the Pyramid Society Handbooks, when Dahmah became part of the Bentwood breeding program. 

01 March, 2010

Preserving Fabo: Revised and Revisited


Fabo and AK Bint Serra were the last straight Babson Egyptian horses with the tail female line to Bint Serra.
There are NO straight Babson Egyptian horses alive anymore, with a tail female line to *Bint Serra. They are gone...really gone, as in FOREVER gone.
Going forward, the only way to incorporate the influence of *Bint Serra, in straight Babson Egyptian form, is through the sire line. What makes Fabo unique is his dam, Misimma (Fa Serr x Fay Khedena), who was pure-in-the-strain Saqlawi, as Fa-Serr was a *Bint Serra son and Fay Khedena was a great-grandaughter of *Bint Serra. Misimma was the real reason that Walter purchased Fabo for his breeding program, in the spring of 1977. Fabo was already an aged horse. A few years ago, I purchased a senior horse care book, which was written by Dr. Karen E.N. Hayes and published by the same company who produces Arabian Horse World, Primedia. Imagine my surprise, when I saw a picture of Fabo in the book and learned of the feeding challenge that Fabo presented to Walter, in his old age. He didn't have any teeth, so he was not able to chew anymore and he didn't like anything soupy and mashy. By accident, Walter learned that he loved to eat Wonder bread. So, that's what Fabo ate.

Fabo was bred by Mr. Bruce C. Huss and prior to this purchase, Fabo lived the life of a treasured family pet. Fabo's lifetime foal count was 81, breeding mares from 1966, right until the very end, in 1992. Fabo died on November 15th. Some people have said that Fabo was about 16 hands (163 cm), when he was all snort and blow but I seem to remember that he was not very tall. He sure had a lot of charisma.
"Well, I start to feel like Superman
Then I pick a fight
Only to find that my opponent's
Holding kryptonite
You'd think I'd learn my lesson
But, I'm still paying dues
Each time I drink and start to think
I'm ten feet tall and bulletproof."-Travis Tritt, from his song, Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Walter Schimanski was a phenomenal Dahman strain breeder, maybe only eclipsed in his greatness, by Judi Forbis of Ansata Arabian Stud. His breeding program produced some of the most beautiful (and sweetest) Dahmah mares that I have ever personally known. I mourn the loss of Walter Schimanski and find myself wishing that he had more time, to accomplish all of his goals. Fabo, although a Saqlawi horse by strain AND by phentoype, had a very strategic role in the breeding program.
"incorporating the Saqlawi type brings length back to neck and leg, which can be lost with intense use of Dahman and Kuhaylan strain types. It also yields finer bone structure and produces flatter and less prominent muscling. Too much Saqlawi can produce a long back and ears. Dahman type brings back an overall balance and harmony, including more dished heads and larger eyes, and shorter backs, but also has the tendency to produce shorter necks and legs, heavier muscling, and more bone."-Walter Schimanski
I visited the Cerebellar Abiotrophy testing website, which lists the status of the horses as they are tested, for the presence of the genetic markers that produce the disease. Thanks to this new test, Arabian Horse breeders can use the disclosure of this information to guide them in breeding healthy foals. My friend, Laurence Perceval Hermet of France, said the following,
"This test is to be taken as is: another breeding tool! Get the knowledge to not breed carriers to carriers. But may I remind a carrier is not a SICK horse...he just wears the wrong gene/jean...! So keep breeding these rare lines."
For those readers who may be visiting here for the first time and may not have read the articles that I have written, I must admit to you that I love Babson horses. Of all the Egyptian bloodlines, Babson horses are my favorites. Maybe, it is the influence that Gail Carmona had on my life, being exposed to her Babson horses at an early age. Everything I treasure, every quality I want in a horse, is found abundantly in these horses. No matter how you group Egyptian Arabian Horses and over the years, I have witnessed the cataloguing of horses by The Pyramid Society, Al Khamsa, the Asil Club, Sheykh Obeyd and Heirloom; Babson Horses always qualify by right of their bloodlines. They are precious. When I visited the CA web site, I did not expect to see any Babson Horses listed. When I found two Fabo-sired horses listed as carriers of this disease, I was stunned. And I was not sure what to do. Originally, my shock and my dismay over this discovery, paralyzed me. It took a few weeks to get to the point where I could even write how I felt. A horse like Fabo is crucially vital to our gene pool, as he is a source of Bint Serra blood, in the combination of horses that were imported to America in 1932 by Henry Babson, with no additional bloodlines added. By bloodline and by virtue of the impact that this horse can have on our breeding community, Fabo is extremely valuable, in order to preserve the influence of *Bint Serra for future breeders. As an individual and by his phenotype, Fabo is also valuable, as he offers the breeder great pigmentation, classic type and harmony of body, with the added bonus of abundant charisma. Fabo was a most charming horse. Most people, having seen him, were left in awe, never to forget him. His lasting impression was THAT HUGE.
So, when I saw Fabo's name on the list, I became distressed. What to do?
Over the years the number of *Bint Serra horses kept shrinking and shrinking and shrinking. The *Bint Serra horses that remained suddenly became vitally important, as the only connections we have available to her. Had the remaining horses been bred to produce at least one replacement in SBE form, where would we be today, in terms of the horses that we would be enjoying? A mare like *Bint Serra powerfully conveys the importance of preservation breeding and the permanence of the loss to an entire community. Here we are today, 2010, trying to grab any connection to *Bint Serra, so we don't lose the influence of this most precious mare completely and then, I clicked on the CA link and I saw Fabo's name on the list. How do you resolve this news about a special, a beautiful and most charismatic horse? How do you avoid the reality that CA affects all Arabian Horse bloodlines and the resulting sadness that a most favorite horse may be a carrier. How do you move forward, when you want to incorporate his influence into your tiny program, producing one foal every few years? Lisa Campiglio of Szed Arabians said,
"...there is no indication that FABO himself was a N/CA CARRIER. He has been cited 11 times on a list of 1470 horses, most of which are as a maternal sire. Posted is one N/CA daughter, Masada Fa Khedena, which is out of a known carrier mare; one N/CA son, Masada Sherif out of an untested/undisclosed mare and the rest are all as grandparents. Unless FABO appears as a sire of a tested horse out of a tested N/N Clear mare, it is impossible, unfair and unethical to put a label on him as a carrier."
While Lisa's statement is a bit more comforting and although I feel much better, than how I felt when I saw Fabo's name on the list, the most important fact remains, that the line of *Bint Serra is slowly dying out, unless we do something about it immediately. And yet, this is more than just about *Bint Serra, as how many other Egyptian lines face the same fate today as the line of *Bint Serra? We need to think of preservation more...it is really the best gift we can give to each other in our community.

Please, don't forget a special horse like Fabo and the precious *Bint Serra family of horses, from which he descends,
Ralph

Glorieta Gazaal


Glorieta Gazaal was a beautiful horse, who was uniquely bred, his bloodlines being a little different, as compared to the pedigrees of today’s most popular horses. While Hadban Enzahi in strain, tracing to the root mare Venus in his tail female line, I always believed he looked more like a Saqlawi horse. Glorieta Gazaal died twelve years ago, on New Year’s Day, 2007. Of all the pictures that I have seen of him, the one above, taken by Polly Knoll, has to be my favorite, as it captures the dramatic facial features of this horse, as well as his beautiful, slender and long neck, with a very nice length of poll. He was a charismatic horse and it seemed that his very full, very black, very luminous eye enchanted all who saw him. Thousands of year’s worth of living, in close proximity to humans, is contained in the blackness of his eye. In a day and age when a degree of white has become more acceptable in the eye of an Arabian Horse, it is very nice to be reminded how beautiful a completely black eye is. While Gazaal’s face was not exotic, his dryness is faithful to the desert that fashioned his features, to insure survival in a harsh environment. I like his larger-sized jowls with enough width between them that a man’s fist can fit comfortably up in there. I like nostrils, especially when nostrils are large and elastic, helping the horse to “drink up” large amounts of oxygen, when aerobically stressed to the limit, be it in racing or some other athletic endeavor. His neck is set high; with a nice angle and with the little we can see of his chest, we know it is wide and muscled.

Glorieta Gazaal disappeared for a while and I wondered what had happened to him. I didn’t see him advertised anywhere. As beautiful a horse as he was, soon, we learned that Gazaal had fallen on hard times. I was speaking to a friend once, about the cruelty that Arabian Horses experience a little more frequently than other breeds of horses. It is as if the extreme beauty of this breed brings out the worst behavior in people. I wanted to believe that the sheer beauty and elegance of the Arabian Horse would inspire people to be more like their horses. Egyptian Arabian Horse breeder, Lisa Busch of Utah, kept a close eye on Glorieta Gazaal over the years and when questionable things started happening to him, Lisa, together with Jody Cruz of Rancho Bulakenyo rescued Gazaal from a bad situation. Grossly underweight, he was nourished back to health, through the kindness of Lisa and Jody. They are my personal heroes for what they did for Gazaal, in his time of need. Marty Ryals, shortly thereafter, expressed an interest in the horse and Gazaal soon found himself moving to Louisiana, where Ryalswood Arabians was originally located. Eventually, Gazaal moved to Arizona, under the care of Kimberli Nelson at Zee Ranch, who together with Jon Michael of Hidden Hollow Preserve, helped Marty to further the influence of this glorious horse and make him more easily available to Egyptian Arabian Horse breeders.

Born in 1980, Glorieta Gazaal was a son of Ansata Abu Nazeer, an *Ansata Ibn Halima son out of the imported mare, *Ansata Bint Zaafarana, who, became a show champion mare and dam of champions like US Top Ten stallion, Ansata El Nisr. Her dam, Zaafarana, was a top producer of race horses in Egypt, no surprise, as she was a Balance daughter out of the mare Samira, one of four siblings whom Judi Forbis nicknamed “The Fabulous Four”. A full sister to *Talal, she was a more compact horse, as compared to *Talal, who was a bit stretchier than his sister. I find it interesting that *Ansata Bint Zaafarana produced foals only with *Ansata Ibn Halima, despite being bred to the Saqlawi horse, Ansata Ibn Sudan. Unfortunately, she never conceived to Sudan. I always think, “what if?” over a pure-in-strain Saqlawi horse that would have been born from this cross. However, she “nicked” extremely well with *Ansata Ibn Halima and produced the sons: Ansata Ali Pasha, Ansata El Mamluke, Ansata El Alim, Ansata El Nisr, Ansata Abu Nazeer and the daughters: Ansata Fatima, Ansata Aziza, Ansata Divina and Ansata Zariefa. Ansata Abu Nazeer was purchased by Mike and Kiki Case, for their Glorieta Ranch and became a very good sire, particularly of daughters like Glorieta Zaarina, Glorieta Zaafira, Glorieta Maarqesa, Glorieta Dalima, Glorieta Rabdania and Glorieta Sayonaara. In a May 1982 advertisement in Arabian Horse World, titled Ansata Abu Nazeer: Creating a dynasty of his own! Glorieta made this statement about the horse,
“In 1980 all three of our straight Egyptian foals: Glorieta Gazaal, Glorieta Maarqesa and Glorieta Zaafira, were sired by Ansata Abu Nazeer. The quality was so outstanding and the type so very consistent we were elated. He is proving to be a prepotent producer of the extreme type of Halima and the classic elegance of the Egyptian.”
Glorieta Gazaal was out of the mare, Glorieta Gambolia (pictured to the right), a daughter of Char Echo and Anchor Hill Hamla. What is also interesting is that Gambolia was bred to *Ansata Ibn Halima, the sire of Ansata Abu Nazeer, the year before she produced Gazaal. From this cross, Gambolia produced Glorieta Angelima.

Of the recorded progeny for Glorieta Gazaal, his percentage for siring daughters is approximately 80%. I shuddered when the thought initially entered my head…were we in the midst of a strong broodmare sire and we missed the opportunity to take full advantage of this phenomenon? Could Glorieta Gazaal have been the kind of sire whose influence would be felt primarily through his daughters?