Mah Deluque

Mahrouf (Fabah x Aaroufa)

Mah Deluque, a 1982 grey stallion, was sired by the chestnut-colored Fabah son, Mahrouf. In 1981, with Carolyn Gardner in the saddle, Mahrouf, then a 10-year old stallion, was Region 11's Champion Park Horse, in addition to his Class A Championships in Formal Combination and Formal Driving. In that time period, John Vogel, a Cal Poly graduate, had been employed by the Babson Farm as a trainer, showing the Babson horses in halter, while Carolyn Gardner was showing the Babson horses in performance. His son, Mah Deluque, would grow to become a special favorite of John Vogel. In 1982, the year in which Mah Deluque was foaled, the Babson Farm stood "the mighty four": Mahrouf, Ibn Fa-Serr (Fa Serr x Fa Deene), Amir Ibn FaSerr (Ibn Fa Serr x Serr Beth) and Serr Rou (Ibn Fa-Serr x Bahrou). Mah Deluque's dam, Bah Habba, was a paternal sister to Mahrouf, as both horses were sired by Fabah. Bah Habba was a solid, powerfully-built mare with long forearms and short cannon bones. Her shoulder was heavily-muscled and set at a comfortable angle and her neck was remarkably different from other Babson mares of her day; not short in length and proportionately balanced to the rest of her strong body. It is important to highlight these points, to show you, the reader, where Mah Deluque inherited his "look", as Mah Deluque physically, was very different from the stereotypical image that most people have of the  Babson horse. The majority of Mah Deluque's pedigree traces to the Dahmah Shahwaniyah mare, *Bint Bint Sabbah (about 3/4 of his pedigree) and his phenotype confirmed her significant influence upon him.

Mah Deluque (Mahrouf x Bah Habba)

To me, Mah Deluque embodied a look more like that of an "old school" (pre-Prince Fa Moniet) Ansata horse, rather than the straight Babson Egyptian horse he was. I often wonder (my big what if) what if Mah Deluque had been bred to select Ansata-bred mares? His pedigree, from strictly a paper perspective, was so complementary to the Nazeer horses who carry multiple sources of Mansour blood, because of Mah Deluque's many crosses to Ibn Rabdan. If anything, it would be the chance to concentrate the RAS foundation (pre-EAO) bloodlines as represented in the Babson Farm program, with the newer blood which resulted from the breeding practices instituted by General Pettko Von Szandtner of the EAO. While this chance may no longer exist with Mah Deluque, he did sire progeny, who can carry his influence into the future:

• 1987: Fay Abba (out of the Mahrouf daughter, Bint Serr Abba)
• 1989: Mah Serretta (gelding, out of Fa Serretta)
• 1989: Mahlisa (out of Serr Rous Amira)
• 1989: Ser Mah Habba (out of Mah Habba)
• 1989: Mah Nefous (out of Fa Hanah)
• 1990: Mahquee (gelding, out of Fa Bah Roufa, who is out of Bah Roufa, a Fabah daughter)
• 1991: Almoraima Sarita (out of LCA Bint Serabah, who contributes two more lines to Fabah)
• 1991: Delabba (full sister to Fay Abba and Mahroufs Hafid, out of Bint Serr Abba)
• 1992: Mahrouf's Hafid (out of the Mahrouf daughter, Bint Serr Abba) shown through Second Level, Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association
• 1997: Mah Bint Roulena (out of Bint Roulena)
• 1997: Bint Regal Heir (out of Amirs Regal Heir by Amir Ibn Faserr)
• 1997: Serr Lena (gelding, out of El Bint Roulena)
• 1997: BintBint Serrabba (out of Bint Serr Abba)
• 2002: EF Salome (out of the Ra'adin Inshalla daughter, Shalimar Bedu)

Diana Johnson, a longtime breeder of Babson Arabians, remembered the following about Mah Deluque:

"...Mah Deluque is a strong moving stallion with a lofty trot. Mah Deluque's full brother, Mah Hab (represented in our herd by Bint Roulett), shared this eye-catching action."

Mah Deluque (Mahrouf x Bah Habba)

I met Mah Deluque, near the end of his life, after he had been purchased at the Babson Farm dispersal by Margaret Albertine of Belleville, NJ in 1999. He was no longer the striking dappled grey horse that I remembered from his advertisement in Arabian Horse World and the horse was limited in his movement, due to a hock injury he received in California. He had matured into a sparkling white vision, who was dry and elegant, as we know senior-aged horses to be. He really was a wonderful, sweet horse who had the most indescribable air about him. Standing approximately 15 hands, he was a harmonious individual; smooth of body and well-balanced. He was not short and chunky like a pony, possessing a bit of length about his body to give him scope, including a proportionately elegant neck which was neither thick or heavy in the throatlatch, like the kind of neck you would expect to see on a draft horse. While I delighted in his presence and the opportunity to bask in his shadow; there was just something about him that made me catch my breath. I knew that I was in the presence of a very special horse. It was like the feeling that you get when you are in the holiest of places and yet, I kept reminding myself that I was only standing in a stall, looking at a horse. How can a horse manifest this feeling in a person? Maybe, Mah Deluque helped me to understand that we are all connected, through life, whether human, horse or vegetable. Maybe, horses like Mah Deluque grab our attention and remind us of how precious and sacred life is and how hard we have to work, to fight the influences of this world, which trick us into believing that life is not the great miracle we believe it to be. Maybe, I was at a point in my life where I needed to be reminded of these things. Maybe, I was at a point in my life where I needed Mah Deluque.

"I can personally attest to how much horses can improve one's basic qualities...they taught me, sometimes painfully, to be kinder and more tolerant...they increased my awareness, my perceptivity and my compassion."-by Robert Miller, from his book: Understanding the Ancient Secrets of the Horse's Mind

While this blog is written to celebrate the life of this great horse and help to perpetuate his memory into the future; I can't help but feel sad over his ending, while I stood by and watched it all unfold. He lived his last days, unrecognized, on a Standardbred Race Horse farm in central New Jersey, while his owner waged a courageous fight with cancer, which sadly, she lost. Margaret Albertine and I shared common ground through our love for the straight Babson Egyptian horse and also, through John and Betty Fippen, having purchased horses from them. I wish so much that I had pursued (more actively) the purchase of Mah Deluque and lovingly cared for him in his mature years. Who would have thought, back in the early 80's that Mah Deluque would one day live in New Jersey and that I would be so unprepared for his arrival...if only.

EnJoy,
Ralph