*Ecaho

*Ecaho (*Proton x Etruria)

On Wednesday of this past week (8/21), *Ecaho (*Pepton x Etruria) died. This particular photo, taken by Anette Mattson is one of my favorites, because of his large, expressive eyes.  Carl Raswan once wrote, "the indwelling gentle spirit of Arabian horses finds expression in their intelligent, sympathetic features, the glory of their beautiful countenance and in their soulful eyes."

Bred by Janow Podlaski and foaled in 1990, *Ecaho was 29 years old. There are so many interesting things to say about this great horse and because this blog focuses on horses of Egyptian bloodlines, do you know that *Ecaho was approximately 20% Egyptian in blood? His dam, Etruria, was a daughter of Palas, who was 75% Egyptian, being a son of Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia) out of the Nil (Sid Abouhom x Malaka) daughter, Panel. You will remember that Nil was known in Egypt as Azmi, before he was exported to Russia.

*Ecaho was also of the celebrated Ibrahim sire line:
*Ecaho-*Pepton-Bandos-Negatiw-Naseem-Skowronek-Ibrahim
and in phenotype, was representative of the type we associate with horses of the Saklawi strain. However, it is very interesting that *Ecaho traces in his tail female line back to Woloszka, an 1810 mare foaled at Slawuta Stud and foundress of the Polish female family #10. Dr. Edward Skorkowski only classified Woloszka as Saklawi, because she embodied the characteristics of the strain to the highest degree. Why is this important? Authentic Saklawi horses are all about length, that is, longer heads, longer necks, longer legs, longer back and *Ecaho, like Woloszka, was loyal to the strain, as this horse was blessed with an amazing amount of scope. Visually, *Ecaho was a celebration for the eyes, as correct conformation and classic Arabian horse type formed a harmonious union.

A Polish National Champion stallion, *Ecaho is also the son of national champions, as his sire *Pepton was a Polish National Champion stallion and his dam, Etruria, was a Polish National Champion mare. Americans love this Polish legacy of champion blood, as *Ecaho, his sire and grandsire, all called America their home, whether temporarily, as it was for *Pepton or permanently, as it was for *Bandos and *Ecaho. But all of these interesting "facts" pale in comparison to the most interesting fact about *Ecaho. He was an important and consistent sire...of daughters. He sired handsome sons like Skoroneek IA but it is through his daughters that *Ecaho has and continues to exercise an impact. Think of his beautiful daughter, Emanda (out of the *Eukaliptus daughter, Emanacja). She in turn, when bred to Gazal Al Shaqab, produced the beloved mare, Emandoria. Some of my favorite crosses using *Ecaho, were with the *Eukaliptus daughters like for example,  Esklawa, who produced Esturia. And with strong Kuhaylan type horses, *Ecaho sired mares like Palmetta and Alhambra (out of *Fawor sired mares).

*Ecaho, for me, is one of those horses, very few in number, whose appeal builds bridges and propels them into the consciousness of a diverse group of enthusiasts, regardless of program.  When an extraordinary horse like *Ecaho dies, you can't help but wish that there were more horses like him. There is a Polish saying that I dearly love, "A man without a horse, is like a body without a soul." It is horses like *Ecaho whose life gives truth to this statement. Without him, our souls would have been so much poorer. With him, our souls were enriched and deeply blessed.