Driving without GPS - Disconnected Thoughts on an Autumn Road

While our trees are not displaying the flaming colors of autumn yet, they are still, for the most part, green; our outside temperatures have been cooler than normal the past week, heralding the arrival of autumn, much to my dismay. As I turned my key in the ignition and surprisingly, the thermometer flashed 38 degrees early Sunday morning (am I seeing that right?), I realize that I can no longer continue to deny that summer 2020 is now, well, officially over and winter is in the neighborhood. Ugh. 

That most wonderful American pop standard, September Song, as sung by Frank Sinatra, is my favorite. I try to listen to the song as much as I can during the month of September, as we transition from one season into the next. The lyrics are especially poignant, at this time of the year: 

"Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame" - Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson

And yet, if in your life, you have had to say goodbye to somewhere or someone you really enjoy, like or even love, the songwriters have buried that particular feeling of melancholy, within the song. To me, the song reminds me that the changing seasons of spring, summer and fall mirror one's own life and it is in the autumn of our lives, when we suddenly realize that youth, with all of its promise, has faded. It hits me especially hard this year, as I already feel that my flame flickers like a candle and for certain dreams, well, time may have already run out completely. 

So, despite September Song and the beautiful colors of autumn, do you know that I really don't look forward to the arrival of fall each year? It's not the autumn that is the problem, it's the dreadfully bleak season that comes immediately after fall that I dislike. And this year, in this strange new world that COVID-19 has created for all of us, I am not looking forward to the arrival of the colder weather and the looming danger that threatens our freedom to live life without fear.

Over the weekend, I received an email blast from Arabian Essence, announcing their newest edition: issue 50 of Desert Heritage Magazine  I have embedded the link in the previous sentence and I encourage you to read the magazine, as you will find some great articles about Al Amin Stud in Egypt, the horses of Tarek Hamza and the exciting up and coming stallion, Nadeer Al Rashediah from Bahrain. However, my favorite article would have to be an excellent feature written by Monika Savier, Breeding Like 50 Years Ago for Preserving Tomorrow's Straight Egyptians. Focused on the Katharinenhof breeding program, Monika includes an interview with Dr. Hans Nagel. I enjoy Monika's articles, she is one of my favorite authors and I have found over the years that she asks very thoughtful questions, the kind of questions that I would want to ask, requiring answers that go deep within the heart and soul, to reveal the very essence of the Katharinenhof breeding program, as created by one magical man, from whom, dreams became horses of flesh, bone and blood. 

"I don't deal in percentages. They are a purely mathematical point of view and give no more that a crude reflection of the bigological dimension. My approach is getting to know the true genetic composition of a breeding horse, which is possible and feasible via DNA analysis." - Dr. Hans Nagel, in response to Monika Savier

If you have been following this blog, specifically over the last six months or so, you will have noticed that I have been using percentages more, to determine the influence of particular individuals, their strains, as a tool to better understand a specific horse. Percentages, for me, are only one of many different ways to identify the horses who are consistent, in reproducing the type that I and you appreciate. For example, this weekend, I was studying the pedigree of a mare named Nouriyah RAF (Nour Al Kamar MH x Atiq Dimona), bred and owned by Jamie Zissis of Rosehaven Arabians. 

Nouriyah's tail female line, through her dam, Atiq Dimona, as bred by Tzviah Idan and Kuti Aharon of Idan Artiq Stud in Israel, runs to 10 Hosna, one of the more popular lines coming out of Babolna. By virtue of her tail female line, Nouriyah is Hadbah by strain but really and truly, she has a minimal amount of Hadbah strain in her: that of her tail female line plus two other lines through the stallion, *Simeon Shai (Simeon Safanad, who is also 10 Hosna by the way) and the mare, Fasarra (*Farazdac x *Masarra).  What about other strains, you ask? Well, Nouriyah has only four Dahman lines (25%) and of the 25% Dahman influence, *Ansata Ibn Halima is responsible for 15% of that number, however, please consider that in Simeon Sharav, flows the blood of Halima, the dam of *Ansata Ibn Halima, so if you include that line, together with the 15%, the Halima coefficient increases to almost 16%. Over the years, the impact of mtDNA analysis has really changed long held beliefs and whether you accept (or not) the lines that come through Maar Hala and 223 Ibn Galal I as "Kuhaylan Jellabi" or "Saklawi Jedran", will determine the influence of these two strains. If you do count the blood as Kuhaylan Jellabi, then her Kuhayan influence grows to 43.75%, while her Saklawi influence (through the 4th generation aka great-great grandparents) is 0%. If you agree that the previously considered Kuhaylan Jellabi lines are in fact, Saklawi, then her Kuhaylan influence drops down to 31.25%, while her Saklawi influence increases to 12.5%. However, contrary to what Dr. Nagel has said in the interview in Desert Heritage, this is where mathematical analysis, in the form of strain percentages may be helpful, as I think both her body type and the mathematical analysis complement each other, providing the student with a definitive answer and that is,  Nouriyah was more impacted by the Kuhaylan strain, than any other. And what's more, she carries a wide diversity of Kuhaylan blood, as she is 25% Rodaniyah, 6.25% Krushiyah  and 12.5% Jellabiyah. You know what is also interesting? *Morafic...or rather, the absence of *Morafic blood. There is no *Morafic blood in Nouriyah, through the 5th generation. TheEgyptianPrince appears in the 5th & 7th generations and the *Morafic daughter, Nasra, appears also in the 7th generation (through Aziza Samira), Considering how  far back in the pedigree we find *Morafic, we can understand that his influence is minimal, less than 3%. It makes Nouriyah, well, interesting in a breeding program that is trying to hold the influence of *Morafic to a bare minimum. I spoke with Jamie and she is looking forward to starting this mare under saddle in a performance career where her intelligence will continue to prosper and flourish, bringing joy to all who know and love her. 

And maybe, finding joy, as challenging as that may be in these days, is perhaps, the greatest lesson that we can receive from people like Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Their lives provide encouraging inspiration in the form of perseverance, dedication and for lack of a better way to say it, spiritual and physical toughness. Their joy was realized in the great things they were doing. One man, considered to be the greatest breeder of Arabian horses in the world; while one woman is recognized as a great defender of the American Constitution. At an age when most people feel the best in life is over, Ruth Bader Ginsburg at 60, wrote the greatest chapter of her life, as a Supreme Court Justice. Dr. Hans Nagel, at 90, is breeding the best horses of his 50+ year career! Maybe, just maybe, the summer of my life has yet to be discovered and there is still time left for me to breed that one notorious horse of the south!

Happy Fall everyone!