all for the love of a horse...: Asal Sirabba

20 November, 2011

Asal Sirabba

"In each family a story is playing itself out, and each family's story embodies its hope and despair."- Auguste Napier

Asal Sirabba, a 1958 grey mare, bred by Mrs. John E. Ott, was sired by Sirecho and was out of the Babson mare, Habba. By virtue of her pedigree, she is representative of the type of horse that defined the breeding program of Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik. No surprise, as both *Nasr, the sire of Sirecho and *Fadl, the sire of Habba, were bred by the Prince, as was Mabrouk Manial, the sire of Baiyad. When combined with the other horses in the pedigree bred by Abbas Pasha Hilmi II, Ahmed Bey El Sennari, Prince Ahmed Kamel, the percentage of true Egyptian blood reaches almost 98%! Which means that the percentage of Blunt desert breeding was very low in this mare, about 2%. The only Blunt horse appearing in the pedigree is Kazmeen, the sire of Bint Sabah. While this pedigree history helps us to understand the horse we breed today, how do these long ago horses continue to remain significant and desireable, to today's breeder? While Asal Sirabba was bred to *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, producing the mare AK Nadira in 1976; I believe the answer is found through the family of horses that resulted from breeding Asal Sirabba to *Ansata Ibn Halima, a stallion who also traces to El Dahma, through his tail female line. It would make sense, because of the intense concentration of El Dahma blood, that Asal Sirabba's daughters by *Ansata Ibn Halima: Silima in 1966, Raalima in 1967 and particularly, Siralima in 1971, would be her strongest and most outstanding progeny...to the present day.

Raalima was a prolific mare for Bentwood Farm, producing daughters by the stallions, *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, The Egyptian Prince and Shaikh Al Badi. Among those daughters are AK Shahlima, Bint Raalima, Ak Tarifa, AK Zayaadah, Thamin Amira, Latifa Raqqasa and Our Kibriya.

Silima, when bred to Hadbah, produced the stallion Anchor Hill Halim, who went to Germany and became a successful sire, having produced daughters like Mona I, Moregha, *HS Mayeda amd *Moshana.

"I remember in the old days the very best horses belonged to people of moderate means. A man who has one foal, especially if it be well-bred, feels that it is a part of himself, and gives it every possible attention."-Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik

My favorite daughter of Asal Sirabba was Siralima, pictured at right. I feel she was the best producing mare of the three daughteres and was owned by Bob Cowling (the same man who owned Fa Halima). Siralima was bred primarily to *Ibn Moniet El Nefous and produced AK Monalima, AK Jamila, AK Il Malika and AK Latifa, who was sold with her Imperial Al Kamar filly, Imperial Kalatifa to Ariela Arabians in Israel. AK Latifa would produce four foals for Ariela, who would eventually become Israeli National Champion horses!!!

Imperial Kalatifa, when bred to Imperial Imdal, produced the multi-champion halter mare, Loubna. This wonderful mare has earned more prizes, in more countries, as proof of her outstanding beauty. She is now owned by Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman Stud.

World Champion Mare at the Salon du Cheval
Dubai Champion Mare
All Nations Cup Champion Mare
European Champion Mare
Middle East Champion Mare
Egyptian Event Europe Champion Mare
Israeli National Champion Mare and Filly
Gold Champion Mare, Abu Dhabi

However, it is AK Latifa's son, Laheeb, also by Imperial Imdal, who has spread the influence of Asal Sirabba all over the world having stood at stud at Janow Podlaski and Michalow Stud in Poland, at Al Badeia in Egypt; as well as in America, at Ferlita Arabians in California.

It is amazing to consider what this family of horses has accomplished, when one considers all of the progeny who descend from this beautiful grey mare, Asal Sirabba and how they remain as a vital, relevant part of the straight Egyptian breeding community.

EnJOY,
Ralph

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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.

20 November, 2011

Asal Sirabba

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