The Vulnerability Hidden Behind A Number

Aleah Noelani (*Fayad Al Shaqab x Hadaya Nemrah) 2021 filly bred by Robin Lee, Aleah  Arabians

I remember reading an article within a popular monthly equine magazine that at the time, reported on the worsening horse market and how 100,000 broodmares were going to suddenly, become unemployed and find themselves in search of homes, at a time when the supply of horses exceeded the demand.  As a point of reference, The American Horse Council reported 9.2 million equines living in America, circa 2003.  So, 100,000 broodmares represents one percent of the total equine population. At the time, the number of 100,000 seemed gigantic to me and I spent alot of time wondering what it would look and feel like, if you gathered 100,000 horses, all in one place, all at one time. Would there even be a venue large enough to hold that many horses all at once? I couldn't stop thinking about each individual mare and how unfair life can be to horses.  Once, these mares were highly esteemed, their value defined by her role in producing foals that created and established profitable markets for their owners. Once the money dried up and those lucrative markets disappeared, so did the esteem felt for their mares. It was easy for these owners to get rid of them, in order to get out from under the expense of keeping them. And for me, that's the greatest tragedy, the absence of affection, within a relationship that should have been experienced on a deeply intimate level, between two species. I imagine these mares as foals, so irresistible for anyone, even for people outside of the horse community. Now mature horses, maybe not as lovable as the foal, I find myself thinking once more about them, still vulnerable, helpless and unprepared to meet their fate, at the hands of the people who bred them. If there is one thing that horses have taught me about life, it is that life, really is a miracle. When that newborn foal is delivered safely, without injury to his dam, life is a profound and humbling event. I am embarrassed to say that I took life for granted and I was part of the problem.  Uterine infections, poor semen motility, reabsorption, fibrous uterine walls; I learned how delicate, how frail, how precious new life really is. It doesn't always happen, no matter how much we want it to. Even that really scary, black spider that causes me to become light-headed when I see it, is a living miracle. Life is sacred, in all forms: the good, the bad and the ugly. So, where am I headed, you ask? All this came to mind, when the deaths from Corona Virus in America surpassed the even larger number of 400,000 late last week. And if that number doesn't hit you like a ton of bricks and brings tears to your eyes, the CDC expects another 100,000 people to die from the virus over the next 4 to 5 weeks. Like the 100,000 broodmares, what would it look like to be in the same place where 400,000 - 500,000 people are assembled together? I don't do well in crowd situations but I would endure it 100 million times, if it meant that we could get the 400,000  people back. And what about the 100,000 expected to die over the next month? That news made the hair on my head stand on end. Will I be one of the 100,000? Will it include you, dear reader? That's the new reality that we live in. In the face of the new variant strains of Corona Virus, recently discovered by UK scientists to be 30% deadlier than the strain we dealt with last spring, anyone of us is susceptible to infection. At the time that I am writing this blog, one American is dying from Corona Virus every 30 seconds. So, dear reader, it's challenging for me, on a deeply personal basis, to blog about horses when so many people are dying, every day. It's difficult to rave about a particular horse, lament about horses that should have been bred together that weren't, a breathtaking performance at a show or bloodlines that are in danger of disappearing from our community, when deep in my heart, I recognize that another beautiful human being, died before reaching their true potential in this world. The world is less brilliant without this person in it. And, to make it even more sorrowful, they died alone, without their loved ones by their side. How can I reconcile all these feelings, on a moral, ethical and spiritual basis? Yes, I am struggling with life's injustices, especially for those who are so vulnerable and helpless, like the 100,000 broodmares I mentioned at the beginning of the blog. Who will speak for the Corona Virus victims? Who will remind others of the special person that existed just a few weeks ago? Who will console the families that these people left behind? So, please forgive me, for my reduced activity level within the confines of this blog. I'm not going away, I'm just struggling to understand and accept the tragic loss of life that for now, knows no ending. Promise me, that in the next few weeks, you will wear a mask when you spend any extended time indoors with people who are not living with you, in your household. Make sure that your mask has multiple layers of fabric or if not, wear two masks.  Pay attention to the CDC standards. Do everything in your power to prevent infection, until you are able to receive the vaccine. Your life is precious and without you, this world will grieve the loss of your unique, beautiful and miraculous life. 

*Nebras Al Rayyan

*Nebras Al Rayyan (Ansata Hejazi x Naama Al Rayyan) as photographed by Brandy Phillips

There really isn't another horse bred quite like *Nebras Al Rayyan in North America. He is a son of the "King of Kuwait", Ansata Hejazi (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Sudarra) while his dam, Naama Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Majesta) was a full sister to the multi-champion and beloved Qatari-bred stallion, Ashaal Al Rayyan. Genetically, *Nebras Al Rayyan offers the straight Egyptian breeder a pedigree that is somewhat different and increasingly rare in our community - that is, in a post-Ansata age, *Nebras Al Rayyan is primarily an Ansata-bred stallion (75% Ansata breeding) with NO Prince Fa Moniet blood! Therefore, one of the most important things that I can say in this blog about *Nebras Al Rayyan is that in one horse, the majority of the pedigree represents the Ansata foundational bloodlines: *Ansata Ibn Halima, *Ansata Bint Bukra,  *Ansata Bint Misr, *Ansata Bint Mabrouka and *Ansata Bint Misuna. The 25% of *Nebras Al Rayyan's pedigree that falls outside of the Ansata foundational bloodlines reflects the breeding programs of Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel, Katharinenhof in Germany (18.75%) through the horses - Salaa el Dine & Aisha; plus the sire of Ansata Malika: *Jamil, while the dam of Ansata Malika, JKB Masouda (Madkour x Maymoonah), was a mare bred by Jean Kayser of Belgium, who was leased by Ansata. She contributes the remaining 6.25% of influence in the pedigree.

*Nebras Al Rayyan, as photographed in January 2015 by Diana Cantey

The name "Nebras" in Arabic means "light", as in the electromagnetic radiation perceived by a human eye or simply said, a source of energy harnessed within the flick of a switch, the flame of a candle or the rays of the rising sun to brighten what once, was dark or absent of light. It's especially significant to me that this particular horse's name translates to "the light of Al Rayyan Farm". Think about this for a second. His name reflects the feelings that he inspired within his breeder at birth. I can use a million words to describe the significance of *Nebras Al Rayyan and yet, all my words would fall short of the transforming power held within the meaning of his name.  Foaled in 2006, *Nebras Al Rayyan is now 15 years old. When so many of the Hejazi sons have been sold overseas and are now, out-of-reach for American breeders; it is somewhat of a miracle for American breeders to have access, on our shores, to a breeding stallion who also incorporates the bloodlines of many of the American-bred Ansata mares who are not as available to American breeders, as they once were. 

*Nebras Al Rayyan, as he appeared on the Arabian Horse World cover in October 2011, Carol Maginn photo

As previously stated, *Nebras' maternal grand-sire is the Salaa El Dine son, Safir, out of the Ansata Halim Shah daughter, Aisha, a Ghazala (Ghazal x Hanan) daughter. When Safir matured into a marvelous breeding stallion, surpassing​ the expectations that had been held for him, Al Rayyan incorporated four of his daughters into the breeding program: Mabrouka Al Rayyan, Turkiya Al Rayyan, Al Wajba Al Rayyan and Naama Al Rayyan, the dam of *Nebras. In the December 2002 issue of Arabian Horse World magazine, Susanne Boesche, in her feature for Al Rayyan Farm, described Safir as: 

"Big, dark eyes in a chiseled face, he is attentively watching the surroundings, his neck is proudly arched, his tail carried high, and small, hard hooves are stamping, self-assured on the ground - an appearance that he might have inherited from his father, Salaa El Dine (Ansata Halim Shah x Hanan)."

The maternal lines of both the sire and dam in Ansata Hejazi's pedigree are noteworthy. It's much more than just saying that both the sire and dam have a tail female line to the EAO mare, Bukra, although in our breed, it is our tradition to honor the influence of our horses, through the lineage of their dams. In Ansata Hejazi's pedigree, each dam (maternal and paternal) is a result of blending Ansata Shah Zaman (*Morafic x *Ansata Bint Mabrouka) with the bloodline of *Ansata Bint Bukra. (Nazeer x Bukra). In the case of Ansata Rosetta, it is *Ansata Bint Bukra herself, while with Ansata Delilah, she is a result of breeding Ansata Shah Zaman to *Ansata Bint Misr (Sameh x *Ansata Bint Bukra). Combining Ansata Hejazi with Naama Al Rayyan, multiplies the lines to *Ansata Bint Bukra, who now, appears 5 times in *Nebras Al Rayyan's pedigree. A 6th line to Bukra comes by way of the stallion Ghazal, the maternal great grandsire of Safir. Ansata Hejazi offered breeders a very concentrated source of blood to Bukra. Now, it is only through his sons and daughters, like *Nebras Al Rayyan, that we are able to tap into this rich resource of Bukra blood.

Ansata Majesta (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Malika) is the dam of Naama Al Rayyan, a full sister of Ashaal Al Rayyan and the mother of *Nebras Al Rayyan. Ansata Majesta was much loved, as she enchanted everyone with her great beauty. Do you know that at the Qatar International Show, she was named Champion or Reserve, every year from 1991 to 1999! 

*Nebras Al Rayyan, at home, enjoying life as a horse

Sometimes, in the fraction of a moment, one horse will remind you of another horse from another place, another time. If you are lucky, you might capture this moment through the lens of your camera. With 4 lines to Ansata Halim Shah (50% of *Nebras' pedigree is influenced by this stallion), no surprise to see that *Nebras Al Rayyan looks alot like his grandsire, great grandsire and twice great-great grandsire. 

*Nebras Al Rayyan is a proven breeding stallion and in the resources that I have available to me, I found 16 registered foals (14 American born, 1 Belgium born and 1 Qatari born) which breakdown as follows: 8 mares, 6 stallions and 2 geldings, primarily out of a diverse group of straight Egyptian-bred mares and one Polish-bred mare, Pustynna Tarcza, a Pamir (*Probat x Parma) daughter. Carol Maginn, *Nebras' owner, shared what she feels are *Nebras' strength as a sire and what he personally means for her program,

"Nebras brings to our program extreme exotic type and refinement...He is an exceptionally beautiful stallion with great legs, flag tail carriage and charisma." 

Bred to a Halim el Mansour (*Ansata Ibn Halima x RDM Maar Hala) daughter, out of an Ansata el Sherif great-grandaughter, *Nebras Al Rayyan sired a beautiful filly, Fa Bint Savanna Moon, for long-time straight Egyptian breeder, Marilyn Lang of Fantasia Arabians, in 2012.  She remains one of my favorites of the *Nebras-sired foals.

Fa Bint Savanna Moon (*Nebras Al Rayyan x Fa Savanna Moon) as photographed by Suzanne Sturgill

As I wrote in the blogs for *Hadban Al Shaqab, Thee Revolution and Fa Ali Bey, no horse lives forever and the same reality that exists for the horses we discussed in November 2020, also exists for *Nebras Al Rayyan, who actually, is a "cousin" to Hadban Al Shaqab. In this community, I have seen too many really good stallions die, underused at stud, only to read breeders quickly express their "if only I had...". Well, here's a "heads-up" from me to you dear breeder...NOW IS THE TIME. Nothing lasts forever. Will you be ready when forever gets here?