all for the love of a horse...: The Pearl

16 May, 2021

The Pearl

Ansata Nile Pearl (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata White Nile)

The cross of Ansata Hejazi and Ansata White Nile not only produced the unforgettable stallion, Ansata Nile Echo; the cross also yielded one of the most beautiful mares of our time, Ansata Nile Pearl. I remember an Arabian Horse World magazine article Mr. Bart Van Buggenhout (then manager of Al Rayyan in Qatar), sharing his impression of the straight Egyptian breeding programs established in Kuwait. Within the article, Bart mentioned the breeding nick that he felt existed between Ansata Hejazi (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Sudarra) and the mare, Ansata White Nile (Prince Fa Moniet x Ansata Nile Gift). While Ansata Nile Echo, aka "Mr. Trot", generated the buzz for this cross, we can't forget that the cross also yielded the stallion Shahm ElKuwait in 2002 and the mares, Wafaa ElKuwait in 1998 and Wardah ElKuwait in 2002, in addition to Ansata Nile Pearl in 1997. In Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel's significant book, The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and The Art of Breeding, he discusses the concept of "nickability", that is, "when a certain sire and a certain mare always produce perfectly nice foals." However, Dr. Nagel also shared, "two sirelines could work perfectly together in one way or the other; they could work when both ways a nickability effect occurs when breeding sire and dam's sire together. This system is confirmed as working well when a good foal is the offspring of a certain stallion and mare which is the daughter of another specific stallion. When both stallions complement each other, then they nick perfectly together. It is an art which takes effort and careful testing to discover such a satisfactory combination of sires."

Intrigued by what I had read and now understood, I asked Judith Forbis for her opinion on the cross and she replied, "The combination of Ansata Hejazi and Prince Fa Moniet in particular goes back in history to the horses of the 1932 importations and leads up to their combination with the later imports from the 50's on. It was a 'nick' and I am always grateful to those 'Divine Appointments' along the way. And of course one must remember - patience is a virtue."

“Pearls don’t lie on the seashore, if you want one, you must dive for it.” Chinese Proverb

Sometimes, when I have more questions than answers, a study of the pedigree is very helpful to understand a particular horse's genetic heritage better. In the case of combining Ansata Hejazi with Ansata White Nile, the "adhesive" that holds both horses together is Moniet el Nefous, primarily through her Sid Abouhom daughter, Mabrouka. You may scoff at the 14.0625% that Moniet exerts, however, remember, we are talking about a mare foaled in 1946 and the closest we find her within the pedigree is the fifth generation. More often than not, her genetic influence can be out as far as the seventh generation. She appears in the pedigree 11 times! It's interesting that more of the Moniet el Nefous influence is represented through the cross of Nazeer with Mabrouka, however, we find one line through Mabrouka's full sister, Mouna and another line through *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, which helps a little to diversify the sources of Moniet el Nefous. What I found really interesting is the presence of *Ansata Ibn Halima (25%), especially, in combination with Moniet el Nefous, through his son, Ansata Ibn Sudan. He is a maternal great-grandsire of Ansata Hejazi AND the maternal grandsire of Ansata White Nile. While the Babson horses represent only a small part of the pedigree (2 lines), the common ground in the Babson lines is *Fadl (2.34125%) and if you include the percentage for his full sister, *Maaroufa, that coefficent increases to almost 4%! In my opinion, the Babson horses are outcrosses, as are Sameh (El Moez x Sameera) and Maysouna (Kheir x Shams) within a pedigree, the majority of which, is focused on Moniet el Nefous.

Haifa Al Khalediah (F Shamaal x Ansata Nile Pearl)

Sadly, Ansata Nile Pearl died in 2014 but her legacy lives on through her progeny, for example, Haifa Al Khalediah, a 2007 daughter, sired by F Shamaal (Maysoun x Sarameena). You will remember her from a previous blog I wrote, when she competed at the 2019 World Championships. She is owned by HRH Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Akmal Stud, Saudi Arabia. It's interesting that through Sarameena, more Moniet el Nefous blood was added, as both her sire (FA Ibn Sar) and dam (Flabys Joffa) were both sired by Sar Ibn Moniet (*Ibn Moniet el Nefous x Sariella). While the majority of Moniet el Nefous blood comes by way of Mabrouka, Sariella introduces the bloodline through the mare, *Bint Moniet el Nefous, while doubling up on *Ibn Moniet el Nefous. We also find an additional line to Mouna, which comes by way of Kis Mahiba. It's a bold pedigree, resulting in a mare who is extraordinary in her beauty, as deeply influenced as she is, by Moniet el Nefous. And yet, one bold move deserves another. If she were my horse, do you know what I would do? I would breed her to Ansata Nile Echo. Yes, that is what I would do, to reinforce the magic that Judi alluded to that resides deep within the combination of Ansata Hejazi and Prince Fa Moniet.

***This blog is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Irina Filsinger, a beloved equine photographer, who died on April 28, 2016. She is deeply missed.***

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MY FAVORITE WEBSITE

If you want to understand the desert Arabian horse on a deeper level, then you will want to visit Daughters of the Wind, a blog maintained by Edouard al-Dahdah, since 2008. It's my favorite place to visit, on a regular basis. For me personally, the information that Edouard presents is at times so profound, that I find myself weeks, even months later, still thinking about what he has written. I consider him a treasured source of inspiration and for the times that I don't feel like writing anymore, a significant source of encouragement. In one place, you will be able to read of the horses, their heritage; as well as the culture, traditions and the geography of the land, from where they originated. I strongly encourage you to visit his blog to broaden your understanding and deepen your appreciation for the Bedouin-bred horse.

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE X 2

The Horse In Word and Picture is the blog of Rania el Sayed, a very talented photographer, whose equine photography is second-to-none. I still remember when I first learned of Rania, it was all because of the late Dr. Nasr Marei. At the time, Nasr published an article that featured Rania's photography. I was thrilled by the photography and later, "meeting" Rania was one of the highlights of my horse life. I loved her photo of Mangooma and Rania, in an act of kindness never to be forgotten, let me use her photo in my blog. Thanks Rania for all of your support. You'll love Rania's blog and all of the equine topics she covers, including the straight Egyptian Arabian Horse. She really pushes me to think deeply about things that I haven't thought in a while. And you don't have to join Facebook, to read her posts. .

MY FAVORITE BOOK

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Judith Forbis', The Classic Arabian Horse, published in 1976, is MY FAVORITE BOOK...EVER. Prior to the publication of this book, we really didn't have anything that compiled the history, the bloodlines & breeding practices and conformation (including breed type) of the straight Egyptian horse in one volume. You had to dig through multiple sources, sometimes in languages foreign to one's own, to try and develop an understanding of the Egyptian Arabian horse. So, this is my recommendation to you today, especially if you are just starting, this is the most important book you will ever own. You can find the book on Amazon, previously owned, at a very affordable price.

A NEW FAVORITE BOOK

Many times, I have heard other enthuiasts say, "if only I could get into the mind of this breeder and understand the Arabian horse as he or she does!" Dr. William Hudson, a long-time breeder, weaves together his lifetime of experiences including the latest developments in equine genetic science with the history, art and culture of the Arabian horse. This is not the type of book that you will read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. You will find yourself turning to this massive 1,500 page, 2-volume set, over and over. If you love Arabian horses and want to understand the breed intimately, on a deeper level, this is the only book you will ever need to own. If you are breeding Egyptian Arabian horses, I urge you to purchase this 2-volume set before you breed one more horse!

MORE FAVORITE BOOKS...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Previously, I mentioned Judith Forbis' THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE which is a great introduction to the breed and to Egyptian Arabian horses specifically. But now, you have read that book and are ready to go deeper. So, this is the book that I recommend reading (VOLUME II ) without hesitation. It's fantastic. The depth of this book, within tail female lines, sire lines and strains found in Egyptian (EAO) breeding is not found anywhere else. If you are serious about the Egyptian Arabian horse, whether a breeder, student or enthusiast, you must read this book, at least once!

STILL MORE FAVORITE BOOKS

In the Preface, Dr. Nagel wrote, "Since it is claimed that the Arabian horse breed is one of the oldest on earth, one has to accept that it is also in the crossfire of many opinions which sometimes clash vigorously. There are obviously many doubts and errors, and the advocates of different concepts seem to be not ready to settle on a common stance. It should encourage the reader to think...The refreshing variety of thoughts surrounding this noble member of the great family of horses should not be lost." Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nagel, is not what is important but rather, the resulting thought that this book will inspire. I can't even tell you how many times I have read this wonderful book cover-to-cover. It's one of the more provocative books that I have ever read and each time I have read it, a part of the book that had not impacted me previously, will cause me to think deeply for days, weeks and even months at a time. So, dear reader, I recommend this book to you, in the hope that it will inspire you to think deeply about our breed and examine why, you feel the way you do.

"The ideal Arabian type is recognizable at sight to the experienced horseman and novice alike. It falls short of the ideal if it reminds one of another horse or breed. It falls short of the ideal if it is so plain and uncertain of type as to require a sign: 'This is an Arabian horse.' It falls short of the ideal if it is so coarse and masculine as to remind one of a small Percheron, at one extreme, or so highly animated and elf-like as to remind one of a gazelle at the other extreme. The ideal type stands out alone. You know it immediately when you see it."-Ben Hur, from his 1951 Western Horseman article, Type in the Arab

In the summer of 2006, when I discovered Blogger, the last thing on my mind was creating a blog. At the time, I had been participating in a popular Egyptian Arabian horse website and desired to find a website that would allow me to "cut-and-paste" the posts that I had written for future reference. From those humble beginnings, this blog was born. I'm not a professional writer and although I want to say that writing is a hobby; I think it is better to say that I write for the love of the breed. I've had the good fortune to meet a number of horses who are now considered legendary, as well as some really wonderful people, who are equally legendary. Over the years, people have suggested that I charge a subscription fee or pursue paid sponsorships but you know how money changes everything and this blog, after all, is a labor of love. So, there you have it, the story of the blog. Many thanks to the people who make this blog doable, for example, where would I be without any of the photographers, the "visual storytellers" of our breed, who allow me to post their pictures and to the authors of the many books and magazine articles that I have read over the course of 45 or so years, helping to educate a long ago kid, crazy in love with Arabian horses. And finally, an overwhelming amount of gratitude for you dear readers, for coming here to this place, to read, discover and celebrate this common ground we share, all for the love of an Arabian horse.

16 May, 2021

The Pearl

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