all for the love of a horse...: Why I love M & M's

30 May, 2010

Why I love M & M's

While John Travolta danced the night away in movie screens all over the world and everyone was infected with Saturday Night Fever; a beautiful and potentially significant mare named Madinah (Ibn Galal x Mona II) was born, bred by the Tauschkes of El Thayeba. Bred to the stallion Messaoud, Madinah produced the mare, Mesoudah M in 1985, a full sister to Imperial Madheen. Bred to Ansata Sinan, Mesoudah M produced *Mishaal HP in 1996. It always amazes me when I consider the length of time that it takes for a program to produce an extraordinary horse. In the case of *Mishaal, it was 18 years, which is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of the breeders behind all the horses who are part of the ancestry of this marvelous horse! Shown once, at the prestigious German stallion show, *Mishaal was rated platinum, which is the highest rating that a horse can earn.

"The judges characterized him as the stallion with the most exceptional head and Arabian type. "-Nancy C. Ryan, from her article, Mishaal HP: Shaping a New Generation, published in Arabian Horse World

Having loved and admired the German-born stallions, *Orashan and Imperial Madheen, I was excited over the presence of Messaoud in the pedigree of *Mishaal HP. A Madkour (*Morafic x Maisa) son, out of the Hadban Enzahi daughter, Maymoonah; in his tail female line, Messaoud traces to Halima, the dam of *Ansata Ibn Halima and a Farida grand-daughter. I loved Messaoud and I always believed he was phenotypically, a magnificent living representation of the classic Dahman Shawan stallion. When you look at the silhouette of Messaoud (and unfortunately, he is no longer alive, having died in 2007), it would be difficult to not notice the strength of his body, particularly the area of his hip, hindquarter and croup. He was powerfully smooth in this area, of rounded lines and I believe this is an attribute that comes from Farida. He is balanced, harmonious and while an elegant horse, he has much substance. So, in looking at these *Mishaal fillies at Thornewood farm and noticing the same qualities evident in Messaoud's physique, I wondered, "Is the Farida blood still so powerful, that she is making a very visible impact through *Mishaal? Farida appears in Mishaal HP's pedigree 3 times: through *Ansata Ibn Halima and twice through Malikah.

While *Mishaal's pedigree is predominantly a blend of the Saqlawi and Dahman lines (with more than a few Hadban sprinkles here and there), I am reminded of Walter Schimanski's philosophy in breeding elegant Dahman horses,

"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

One of the most celebrated and greatly admired mares of all time, Moniet el Nefous, appears 10 times, through her Sid Abouhom daughters Mabrouka and Mouna, and through her son by *Morafic, *Ibn Moniet el Nefous. Perhaps the elegance and refinement that we see in *Mishaal HP, this ethereal quality, comes from the influence of Moniet and underscores the importance of Walter's advice. On both sides of the pedigree, male and female, the presence of this mare is only overshadowed by the presence of Nazeer. I lost count of the number of times that Nazeer appears. more than 16 times!

Mishaal HP has sired a number of lovely horses and has crossed very well with Thee Desperado, as he was purchased by Arabians Ltd., to use specifically as an outcross stallion. One of my favorite *Mishaal-sired horses is the 2005 mare Saniyyah RCA, out of the Thee Desperado daughter, My Shooting Star. She is now owned by Ariela Arabians in Israel, who showed her to her win as the Israeli National Champion filly. This filly traces to Faarecho (Sirecho x Faara) in her tail female line. Saniyyah represents a very unique blend of Egyptian bloodlines, which when combined, emphasizes the benefits that I believe Thee Desperado offers straight Egyptian breeders. I am grateful that the Arabians Ltd. search for an outcross stallion, led them to Mr. Horst Preuss and the fabulous *Mishaal HP.

May the horse continue to inspire you,
Ralph

PS I really like the Stuart Vesty photo of *Mishaal HP, it is my favorite photo of this stallion.

2 comments:

TzviahTuesday, June 01, 2010 5:58:00 AM
A beautiful story, Ralph, about the power of Mishaal to produce incredible daughters. Last winter we saw a Mishaal daughter out of a Bint Magidaa daughter, if I am not mistaken, that was sensational in every way.
Saniyyah RCA is growing up at Ariela to be a real beauty and it will be really interesting to see her Laheeb foals.
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AnonymousFriday, July 15, 2011 8:55:00 AM
I think this is a wonderful story. For my birthday a couple years back, I went to Arabians Ltd., an met all these wonderful horses with a tour. It was truly life changing, all those amazing horses. I think my favorite was Mishaal, the lovely stallion you talk of.
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MY FAVORITE WEBSITE

If you want to understand the desert Arabian horse on a deeper level, then you will want to visit Daughters of the Wind, a blog maintained by Edouard al-Dahdah, since 2008. It's my favorite place to visit, on a regular basis. For me personally, the information that Edouard presents is at times so profound, that I find myself weeks, even months later, still thinking about what he has written. I consider him a treasured source of inspiration and for the times that I don't feel like writing anymore, a significant source of encouragement. In one place, you will be able to read of the horses, their heritage; as well as the culture, traditions and the geography of the land, from where they originated. I strongly encourage you to visit his blog to broaden your understanding and deepen your appreciation for the Bedouin-bred horse.

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE X 2

The Horse In Word and Picture is the blog of Rania el Sayed, a very talented photographer, whose equine photography is second-to-none. I still remember when I first learned of Rania, it was all because of the late Dr. Nasr Marei. At the time, Nasr published an article that featured Rania's photography. I was thrilled by the photography and later, "meeting" Rania was one of the highlights of my horse life. I loved her photo of Mangooma and Rania, in an act of kindness never to be forgotten, let me use her photo in my blog. Thanks Rania for all of your support. You'll love Rania's blog and all of the equine topics she covers, including the straight Egyptian Arabian Horse. She really pushes me to think deeply about things that I haven't thought in a while. And you don't have to join Facebook, to read her posts. .

MY FAVORITE BOOK

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Judith Forbis', The Classic Arabian Horse, published in 1976, is MY FAVORITE BOOK...EVER. Prior to the publication of this book, we really didn't have anything that compiled the history, the bloodlines & breeding practices and conformation (including breed type) of the straight Egyptian horse in one volume. You had to dig through multiple sources, sometimes in languages foreign to one's own, to try and develop an understanding of the Egyptian Arabian horse. So, this is my recommendation to you today, especially if you are just starting, this is the most important book you will ever own. You can find the book on Amazon, previously owned, at a very affordable price.

A NEW FAVORITE BOOK

Many times, I have heard other enthuiasts say, "if only I could get into the mind of this breeder and understand the Arabian horse as he or she does!" Dr. William Hudson, a long-time breeder, weaves together his lifetime of experiences including the latest developments in equine genetic science with the history, art and culture of the Arabian horse. This is not the type of book that you will read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. You will find yourself turning to this massive 1,500 page, 2-volume set, over and over. If you love Arabian horses and want to understand the breed intimately, on a deeper level, this is the only book you will ever need to own. If you are breeding Egyptian Arabian horses, I urge you to purchase this 2-volume set before you breed one more horse!

MORE FAVORITE BOOKS...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Previously, I mentioned Judith Forbis' THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE which is a great introduction to the breed and to Egyptian Arabian horses specifically. But now, you have read that book and are ready to go deeper. So, this is the book that I recommend reading (VOLUME II ) without hesitation. It's fantastic. The depth of this book, within tail female lines, sire lines and strains found in Egyptian (EAO) breeding is not found anywhere else. If you are serious about the Egyptian Arabian horse, whether a breeder, student or enthusiast, you must read this book, at least once!

STILL MORE FAVORITE BOOKS

In the Preface, Dr. Nagel wrote, "Since it is claimed that the Arabian horse breed is one of the oldest on earth, one has to accept that it is also in the crossfire of many opinions which sometimes clash vigorously. There are obviously many doubts and errors, and the advocates of different concepts seem to be not ready to settle on a common stance. It should encourage the reader to think...The refreshing variety of thoughts surrounding this noble member of the great family of horses should not be lost." Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nagel, is not what is important but rather, the resulting thought that this book will inspire. I can't even tell you how many times I have read this wonderful book cover-to-cover. It's one of the more provocative books that I have ever read and each time I have read it, a part of the book that had not impacted me previously, will cause me to think deeply for days, weeks and even months at a time. So, dear reader, I recommend this book to you, in the hope that it will inspire you to think deeply about our breed and examine why, you feel the way you do.

"The ideal Arabian type is recognizable at sight to the experienced horseman and novice alike. It falls short of the ideal if it reminds one of another horse or breed. It falls short of the ideal if it is so plain and uncertain of type as to require a sign: 'This is an Arabian horse.' It falls short of the ideal if it is so coarse and masculine as to remind one of a small Percheron, at one extreme, or so highly animated and elf-like as to remind one of a gazelle at the other extreme. The ideal type stands out alone. You know it immediately when you see it."-Ben Hur, from his 1951 Western Horseman article, Type in the Arab

In the summer of 2006, when I discovered Blogger, the last thing on my mind was creating a blog. At the time, I had been participating in a popular Egyptian Arabian horse website and desired to find a website that would allow me to "cut-and-paste" the posts that I had written for future reference. From those humble beginnings, this blog was born. I'm not a professional writer and although I want to say that writing is a hobby; I think it is better to say that I write for the love of the breed. I've had the good fortune to meet a number of horses who are now considered legendary, as well as some really wonderful people, who are equally legendary. Over the years, people have suggested that I charge a subscription fee or pursue paid sponsorships but you know how money changes everything and this blog, after all, is a labor of love. So, there you have it, the story of the blog. Many thanks to the people who make this blog doable, for example, where would I be without any of the photographers, the "visual storytellers" of our breed, who allow me to post their pictures and to the authors of the many books and magazine articles that I have read over the course of 45 or so years, helping to educate a long ago kid, crazy in love with Arabian horses. And finally, an overwhelming amount of gratitude for you dear readers, for coming here to this place, to read, discover and celebrate this common ground we share, all for the love of an Arabian horse.