Window of the Soul

The late EAO stallion, Tagweed (Gad Allah x Tee) as photographed by Mohamed Abdo

A long time ago, or so it seems, the presence of any white in an Arabian horse's eye was considered to be a major flaw, no matter how completely wonderful the rest of the horse was. I find the number of modern Arabian horses possessing a varying degree of white in the eye, to be a disturbing trend. 

This weekend, I was once again reading Count Waclaw Rzewuski's book, Concerning Oriental Horses and Those Originating From Oriental Strains, as translated by James E. Luck and annotated by Andrew K. Steen and found the following passage, which I want to share with you:

"The anatomy of his eye, the black which predominates in the part that is white in other horses and colors the eyeball, and his black eyelashes endow this horse with excellent vision. It seems that nature has adorned his eyes with such a perfect blackness in order to better concentrate the beams of light entering them." 

The late Ansata AlMurtajiz (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata Samsara) as photographed by Jennifer Ogden

In another part of Concerning Oriental Horses, Count Rzewuski further writes,

"The eye is large, protruding, black and alert. The countenance gentle and intelligent is characteristic of Nejdis. The pupil is elongated and straight, of a deep blue color toward the upper part of the pupil. The globes are quite strong and irregular; they should resemble truffles. The rest of the orbit is blackish, brownish; the darker it is, the more the Arabs like it."

The great Michałów-bred stallion, Ekstern (Monogramm x Ernestyna) as photographed by Ewa Imielska-Hebda

In these times, when many of us are pursuing a more authentic horse; how and why have we been convinced that white in the eye is as beautiful as a large, fully black, luminous eye? And how do we get back to where we were so many years ago, when breeders did not accept the presence of any white in the eye? 

***This blog post is lovingly dedicated to a mentor, friend, master breeder and authority on the Egyptian Arabian horse, Marilyn Lang.  Since the early 70s, Marilyn has been breeding straight Egyptian horses! It is only because of Marilyn that I have learned to fully appreciate a black, large and luminous eye.***

****If you haven't yet purchased a copy of Count Rzewuski's book, I encourage you to contact Andrew K. Steen, at Tales of the Breed.****

*Wadeea

*Wadeea (Zahi x Ferial) as photographed by Scott Trees

*Wadeea, a 1976 chestnut mare, was bred by the late Sayed Marei of Albadeia Stud in Egypt. Both her dam, Ferial, by Anter, and her granddam, El Ameera (Nazeer x Zaafarana), are recognized as "Dams of Distinction", as published in a May 1984 Arabian Horse World magazine study.

*Wadeea was purchased and imported to America by the late Don Ford of Lancer Arabians in 1977. After the dispersal of Lancer Arabians, *Wadeea was purchased by Imperial Egyptian Stud and incorporated into the breeding program, producing a US National Top Ten stallion, Imperial Alamonra by Ansata Imperial, as well as a full sister, Imperial Imwasama (both sired by Ansata Imperial) and Imperial Oreeyah by *Orashan. Eventually, she was sold to Valour Arabians and was bred to Imperial Imdal, producing Valour Wadalah and then to *Ibn Safinaz, producing Valour Sadeea.

By virtue of her tail female line, *Wadeea is Saqlawiyah by strain, tracing to the RAS mare, Zaafarana, a daughter of Samira by Balance, who is a full sister to the celebrated stallions, Hamdan and Shahloul.  Beloved author, breed historian and authority on the Egyptian Arabian horse, Judith Forbis, coined a name for the full siblings sired by Ibn Rabdan and out of Bint Radia. She called them "the fabulous four".

One of the more interesting things about *Wadeea is her sire, Zahi. A son of *Ibn Hafiza, he is out of Bukra. Why is this interesting? In straight Egyptian breeding, Bukra (Shahloul x Bint Sabah) is largely represented in combination with *Ansata Ibn Halima and *Ansata Bint Mabrouka, as bred by Ansata Arabian Stud. In German straight Egyptian breeding, particularly through Ghazala, bred by Katharinenhof, the Bukra bloodline prospered, thanks to her son, Ghazal (Nazeer x Bukra). In Kuwait, Bukra is also represented by Bait Al Arab's Latiefa (Hamasa Khazzan x Hamasa Tarifa), who descends from Nagwa (Sameh x Bint Bukra) through her daughter Menha by Mohawed, as bred within George Olm's Hamasa breeding program. In the case of *Wadeea's son and daughter by Ansata Imperial,  I personally found the multiple lines to Bukra, through different sources, to be particularly interesting and clever. 

Fa Gamal MH (Fayad Al Shaqab x Imperial Baedrah) as photographed by Christine Emmert

"Ibn Hafiza is very strong in producing smoothness of body and a tremendous hip. Which gives his get a lot of action. They are bred to move." - Judy Gunzner, Green Mountain Arabians, who owned *Ibn Hafiza at one time, as quoted in Sameh, A special section presented by The Arabians and written by Peg Davis Johnson

How is the legacy of *Wadeea represented today? Earlier this year, at Rancho Bulakenyo, Imperial Baedrah, a great-grandaughter of *Wadeea, foaled a spectacular colt, Fa Gamal MH, sired by Fayad Al Shaqab (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Exotic Tremor MH). Not only does this colt possess four lines to Bukra, he also carries two lines to *Ibn Hafiza, as well as uniting a sire and dam whose maternal lines are anchored by Inshass breeding. He is a strong-bodied colt with an impressive hind end, both in size and shape and yet, he has not lost the refinement which the Bukra horses are noted for passing onto their get. Again, just very clever breeding, which resulted in what I believe, is a very promising colt, who will further the Bukra legacy, in combination with the Inshass blood, further in this wonderful world of straight Egyptian horses.  

Khartoum RA

Khartoum RA (Baha AA x Bint Anjalima), as photographed by Holly Reuter

Earlier this week, I read a new comment posted within the 2016 blog I had written about *Bint Moniet el Nefous. Jo Lynne is interested in horses of Pritzlaff breeding and wondered if anyone was still breeding these lines exclusively. Crockett Dumas, Sheila Harmon, Jane Bohn and Pam Studebaker were the breeders who instantly came to my mind. As I searched for other Pritzlaff breeders, I stumbled upon a magnificent stallion named Khartoum RA. 

Khartoum RA is a 2016 son of Baha AA (Al Ayad x Baraqa AA) and out of the mare, Bint Anjalima (Al Maraam x Anjalima). He was bred by Inga Applequist of Rosecrest Arabians and is now owned by Holly Reuter of Holly Arabians. He is Dahman by strain, tracing through Ansata Justina to the Farida daughter, Futna, eventually reaching El Dahma. In sire line, he traces through several generations of German straight Egyptian breeding to Nazeer and ultimately, to Saklawi I.

Khartoum, in Northeast Africa, is the capital of Sudan. The name "Khartoum" has a wide variety of meaning, depending upon the scholarly theory you choose, however, this is a story of a horse named Khartoum and the most relevant translation comes from the Beja people, who inhabit the region of Sudan, Egypt and the Eritrea. They called this place "hartoom", a place of meeting, where the Blue Nile and the White Nile rivers "meet". The White Nile gets its name from the clay carried in the water, which differentiates it from the Blue Nile and yet, despite the difference in color, both rivers combine to form the great Nile River, as it flows north to Egypt. In a similar way, one can say that the Ariela-bred horses meet genetically with other sources of Egyptian breeding, resulting in Khartoum RA.  For example, let's look at the clever cross of Baraaqa AA (on the paternal side of the pedigree) with Al Maraam (on the maternal side). Baraaqa AA is a Laheeb daughter out of a Vision daughter, while Al  Maraam is an Imperial Imdal son (Laheeb's sire) out of The Vision HG.  The stallion, Baahir (Ibn El Mareekh x GF Nasra Bataa), whose presence as the sire of Baraqai AA (the dam of Baraaqa AA) plays a role like the clay in the White Nile, introducing several outcross lines that serve to keep two similarly-bred horses different from each other. By the way, Baahir, through his tail female line, traces back to Richard Pritzlaff's black mare, the 1958 import, *Bint El Bataa (Nazeer x El Bataa).

Khartoum RA (Baha AA x Bint Anjalima) as photographed by Holly Reuter

Conformationally, my eyes were drawn to Khartoum's deeper heart girth. I also appreciate his close-coupling, smooth, strong back, the added length to his neck and poll, as well as the nice underline to his neck and the powerfully muscled, laid back shoulder. He is airborne in this particular photo, the moment of suspension when the energy from the hind end is driving the horse forward. While judging the self-carriage of a horse at liberty, without a rider on his back, is a bit different from a horse balancing the added weight of a human; it is photos like this one which inspire me to think: what does it feel like to ride a horse like this?

The Vision HG (Thee Desperado x Belle Staar) appears twice in Khartoum's pedigree. She represents approximately 20% of Khartoum's pedigree. She is the maternal great-granddam of Baha AA, as well as the paternal granddam of Bint Anjalima. Khartoum is strong in his look for this most beloved black mare. You don't even have to look at the pedigree to know she is part of the genetic fiber which resulted in Khartoum.

As the years pass, the appreciation that I feel for Al Maraam deepens.  I wish that I had realized the significance of exactly who he was and the impact that he would have as a breeding stallion, when he was alive. For many years, Al Maraam lived his life, while I lived mine; neither life intersecting with the other. I knew of him, I admired him and unfortunately, I acted as if he would live forever.  He didn't. Holly Reuter, on her website said, "Khartoum has a kind easy going disposition and is a pleasure to be around." As soon as I read her words concerning Khartoum's character, I thought of Al Maraam. In spirit, Al Maraam was kind, easy-going, sweet and people-oriented. Many of his get are like him, that is, easy horses to live and work with. In reading what Holly Reuter said about him, I think the 25% of Al Maraam in the pedigree had an impact upon Khartoum RA. 

I found it interesting that Holly Reuter also owns an Al Maraam daughter named Desert Treasure EF. A 2009 straight Egyptian mare, she is out of Desert Shimmer (Gatsby CC IASB x SF Malachite). She is a Kuhaylah Rodaniyah in tail female line, as she traces to Bint Bint Riyala, one of the two Rodania line mares imported to Egypt from the Crabbet Stud.

Desert Treasure EF (Al Maraam x Desert Shimmer), as photographed by Christina Rousseau

If Desert Treasure was my mare, I would breed her to Khartoum RA, as the resulting foal, which hopefully, a filly by gender, will carry almost 40% influence of Al Maraam! 

Through the pages of this blog, I have expressed the deep sorrow that is felt whenever a beloved horse dies, whether the horse belongs to me or not. Love is love, despite ownership and the heart still breaks in the same way. Perhaps, one of the greatest lessons that I have learned from the life of Al Maraam is that life is far too precious for any of it to be taken for granted or even, wasted.  As uniquely special and beloved as Al Maraam was, maybe, continuing to grieve his physical absence from this world might be an unintended injustice to the horses of the present, who are equally special horses within their own expressed individuality. Still, a great horse will always be a great horse. For that, is what Al Maraam will always be for me...GREAT.

“I remember when your name was just another name that rolled without thought off my tongue. Now, I can’t look at your name without an abundance of sentiment attached to each letter. Your name, which I played with so carelessly, so easily, has somehow become sacred to my lips. A name I won’t throw around lightheartedly or repeat without deep thought.” - Jamie Weise