10 FEET TALL & BULLET PROOF: The Story of an Equine Superhero

Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah)

I was looking for something else last weekend, related to the blog about Ansata AlMurtajiz, when I stumbled upon the tragic news that the straight Egyptian stallion, Nagsous, had died in Spring, 2018.  I had to stop for a few minutes, collect my thoughts and regain my composure, as I was not expecting to read the word "died" with the name "Nagsous" written in the same sentence. No horse lives forever, I know, and Nagsous, by virtue of his birth year was 26 years old when he died,  a senior aged horse. Still, that hurt.

I wrote a short email to express my condolences to his longtime owner, which generated a surprise reply from Tina Penniman, who said,  "having Nagsous in our lives brought great joy indeed. I got very close to him in his last several months and the bond made it very difficult to see him go." Such was the power that one horse had on the people who loved him, appreciated his value and realized comfort in his company.  Over the years, I have missed almost magical opportunities to own and breed some truly wonderful horses but Nagsous was like the "last chance Texaco" for me. I believed that someday, I would not only meet him, I would also have the opportunity to breed a mare to him, to produce a daughter similar in quality, to the daughters he had consistently sired for Treff-Haven Arabians. If Superman was engaged in "a never ending battle for truth, justice and the American way", then why not Nagsous, as the equine superhero in what certainly feels like a never ending battle to hold onto all of my dreams? As old as I am now, you would think I would already know that you never have as much time as you think you have, until the day you finally realize you don't have any time left at all.

Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah)

Nagsous was a spectacular 1992 bay stallion, a son of the dazzling white stallion, Makhsous (*Sultann x Nabda) out of the beautiful bay mare, Nagliah (*Ibn Hafiza x *Nabilahh), bred by Gleannloch Farms. Nagsous was purchased by Homer and Tina Penniman of Treff-Haven Arabians in Waldron, Arkansas at the Gleannloch Legacy Sale. Nagsous was an important sire, right up until his death, in the Treff-Haven Arabian's breeding program, which focuses on straight Egyptian horses with reduced percentages of Nazeer, or no Nazeer blood at all. Nagsous, by virtue of his pedigree had 6.25% Nazeer blood, through the stallion *Morafic (Nazeer x Mabrouka) and the mare, Kamar (Nazeer x Komeira), both appearing in the pedigree of Nabda, the dam of Makhsous.

Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah)

If I had to very quickly, list what impressed me most about Nagsous, it would have been his strength of body and correct conformation. His shoulders, his neck set, broad chest and pronounced wither were about the best that I have ever seen on an Arabian horse. Power and extraordinary strength flowed through his body, as well as the freedom to express it. He had a well-sprung rib-cage, with appreciable depth in the heart girth. His hind end was equally powerful, well-muscled right down into the gaskins. The elasticity in his hocks were typical of horses influenced by Sameh (El Moez x Samira) and he was able to get way under his belly, using the muscles in his back to drive his powerful body forward.  It is interesting to point out that Nagsous carries 25% of Sameh's influence in his pedigree, as Sameh is the paternal grandsire, on both sides of the pedigree, through his sons, *Sultann and *Ibn Hafiza. In the third act of Henry V, at the French camp near Agincourt, a conversation about horses takes place between the Constable of France, Orleans and Dauphin, who says of his horse, "When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air. The earth sings when he touches it, the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes." I feel that Shakespeare was psychic, when he wrote this scene, as he must have seen into the future and wrote of the horse that we knew as Nagsous.

Treff-Haven Nia, sired by Nagsous and out of  Treff-Haven Aashea

What's even more note-worthy is that he passed his strength of body and electriying movement forward. His chestnut daughters like Treff-Haven Nia, Treff-Haven Salina, Treff-Haven Lakiya and Treff-Haven Leina are absolutely gorgeous mares, who competed successfully in Class A shows and named Champions, Reserve Champions and Most Classic Head. While I am partial to the color chestnut, it would be a travesty if I didn't mention his bay daughters like Treff-Haven Savana or Treff-Haven Salma, full sisters of Treff-Haven Salina and equally lovely mares, who are all out of Alidance, an important foundation broodmare for the Treff-Haven program and a Prince Ibn Shaikh daughter out of an Alidaar daughter.

Treff-Haven Salina, a Nagsous daughter out of  Alidance

I found it interesting that Nagsous, through the sire lines of his grandparents (*Sultann, Nabda, Wahag and *Nabilahh), traces to Gamil el Kebir, an 1870 chestnut stallion bred by Ibn Subeyni of the Mhayd Fid'an Bedouin tribe and purchased for Prince Ahmed Pasha Kamal. Sometimes, depending on the historical source that you are reading, Gamil El Kebir, as known in the RAS History book, is also called "Jamil El Kebir" or "Jamil El Ashkar El Kebir". If you follow the sire lines of each grandparent, you will notice two things: first, that the sire line to Gamil el Kebir is brought forward by two Saqlawi strain horses: Sameh (Ibn Fayda)) and Anter (Ibn Rabdan) and second, there is a pattern to the utilization of the sire line, which alternates, that is, Ibn Fayda on top (through the sire) and Ibn Rabdan on the bottom (through the dam). In a breeding community dominated by the sire line of Saklawi I, it is very important, for the health of our Egyptian gene pool, to have alternate sources, like the sire line of Gamil el Kebir.

Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah)

*Nabilahh, Nagsous's maternal grand dam was my personal favorite of the Farasha daughters, as I believe she was a very consistent producer of horses that in turn, created influential families. The combination of Anter with Yosreia represented the historic formula of combining Ibn Rabdan with Mansour, which was an esteemed cross that yielded some of the most unforgettable horses Egypt has ever produced. Gleannloch, recognizing the importance of Anter within the EAO program, imported ten Anter daughters from Egypt. One of the  ten Anter daughters was the mare, *Nabilahh. I can't think of a more powerful statement, that would underscore the importance of Anter  within the Gleannloch breeding program and the role that *Nabilahh would have, in furthering his influence. Bred to Zaghloul, Nagsous' dam, Nagliah, who was also a *Nabilahh daughter, produced Asmarr in 1979, who in turn, when bred to TheEgyptianPrince, produced AK Amiri Asmarr, the dam of Thee Desperado. This is the legacy that is part of the genetic fiber of the horse we knew as Nagsous.

Moniet el Nefous produced three chestnut daughters by Sid Abouhom: Mabrouka, Mouna and Lubna. In America, we incorporate the influence of Lubna, primarily through her son, *Sultann or her daughter, Safaa (think of the *Morafic son, Al Fattah and daughter, Muzahrafa). In Germany, Lubna is primarily represented by her son, Ghalion.  In American straight Egyptian breeding, Mabrouka, (through the influence of her son, *Morafic) is the more prevalent way to access Moniet el Nefous in combination with Sid Abouhom (and on a lesser note, that of Mouna). It is interesting that in Nagsous, with his lower percentage of Nazeer blood and a more concentrated source of Sameh, we would also find a source to Lubna, to underscore yet again, how valuable the pedigree of Nagsous was, for all of the outcross opportunities.

Nagsous (Makhsous x Nagliah)

It is uniquely bred horses like Nagsous whom we lament the most when they die, as too late, we realize the genetic potential that a horse like he, offered. His champion daughters are proof that utilizing a low percentage Nazeer horse like Nagsous does not mean that you have to compromise breed type, as some breeders have been led to believe.  Nagsous represents what is really needed to insure the future health of the straight Egyptian Arabian horse, that is, the diversity that results from having a variety of alternative bloodline choices to offer straight Egyptian breeders, outside of the highly-marketed choices.