all for the love of a horse...: December 2021

30 December, 2021

A Yule Prodigal

"Hi Marky, it's me. Just calling to tell you that I hung the ornament you made for me on the tree today. Remember that? I love you and miss you so much. Please honey, come home soon." I knew my Mom well enough to recognize that her voice, so warm and soothing, was holding back a sob. She was trying hard to sound strong and courageous. I thought of my mother and of the loving home that she created for me, all these years. Gosh, I lost count of how many times I must have broken her heart, including tonight.

HOME...

"I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love
Even more then I usually do
And although I know,
it's a long road back

I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas."-from the song, I'll Be Home for Christmas, written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent

Like Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz movie, I wanted to click my heels together and say, "there's no place like home" and find myself walking the long gravel driveway that led back to the farmhouse with red shutters, a warm and inviting glow radiating from all the windows. Home...my home. My heart fluttered. How I missed home. I imagined opening the front door, to fall into the waiting arms of my loving mother. Nothing could define home more concisely than my mother.

When I left home, I was determined to become my own person and do all the things I wanted to do, when I wanted to do them and never apologize.

LIVE FAST and DIE YOUNG.

Life, for me, was meant to be lived on the edge, played hard and loud...like rock music. And yes, I had done exactly that...except that I hadn't bargained on living a life that was less than full, a life that paled in comparison to the quality of life I lived when, yup, you guessed it...when I was home. I was ready for a change and now, listening to my mother's voice...well, I was not so proud of my so-called independent life. And yet, I knew that no matter what I did, what I said or how ugly I got, I knew that my mother would still love me. My mother still believed in me, even when I wasn't worthy of her trust. I craved forgiveness and I was struggling with the whole concept of redemption...and God. "Maybe, that's how I need to think of God...like I think of my mother, a person whose love knows no limits, always there for me. That's how God must love me too, maybe...even more."

"Preparing for Christmas means looking deep within ourselves and asking if our hearts are truly at home in the lives we are living. "-Mary Lou Redding, from her book, While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent

I really needed to do something, maybe I needed to accept this gift of love that I had been given...and so, I picked up the receiver and dialed.

One...two...three rings...no answer...

...just when I was ready to hang up...

"Hello?"

*pause*

"Hello?"

I was quiet for a second, thinking of all I wanted to tell her and couldn't. I was afraid.

"Hello?

*pause*

Is someone there?

*pause*

Marky? Is this you?

*pause*

Please, Marky, say something...anything," she pleaded.

*pause*

"Mom...uh, yes...it's...it's Marky." I paused and said, "Mom...uh..I'm sorry...for everything. I've been so wrong about so many things...and..about Christmas, well, can I come home?" as I finally started to tear down the walls of anger and bitterness, that kept me separated from the people and the place I knew as...

HOME.

***This is an oldie too, maybe 10 years old or more. It just came to me one night and I was lucky enough to have paper and pen at that moment. I try to publish it at Christmastime each year. Apologies, for the delay and thank you dear reader, for visiting the blog over this past year.***

19 December, 2021

2021: Your Favorites

The straight Egyptian stallion, *Nebras Al Rayyan (Ansata Hejazi x Naama Al Rayyan), your 8th favorite blog of 2021

When a year is as challenging as 2021 has been, should we be surprised (or delighted) to find ourselves a couple of weeks from celebrating the New Year? The news has been awful over the past month, in the face of the new Omicron variant and the impact it is quickly exerting upon our daily lives. Things are feeling so uncertain again, as we move forward into 2022.

What did the blog mean for you in 2021? I hope it offered respite to you, that is, a chance to get away from the intensity of COVID-19, even if only, for a few minutes.

Over the past year, you have visited the blog 35,000 times...THANK YOU. Including this blog, I will have published 75 blogs in 2021 and you will have left 41 comments. While I don't want the blog to become like a forum, it still is rewarding to read your comments, as the realization for me is that you are reading the published content and therefore, the memory of these wonderful horses will now live on, through you...THANK YOU.

There are a couple of ways to present this end-of-year review. The list below reflects your overall favorites, in order of most clicks received, regardless of when the blog was written and published (a couple of them go all the way back to 2006).

However, if I consider only the newly-written and published blogs of 2021; which ones are your favorites? The following list is the result, your 2021 top ten, in order of most clicks received:

I hope that 2022 will usher in a year filled with joy, prosperity and good health for you and your families, dear reader. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for your kindness and support, all for the love of the Arabian horse.

Happy Holidays,

Ralph

05 December, 2021

Mare Power

Emira (Laheeb x Embra)

An email blast sent by Arabian Essence for the beautiful show mare, Belladonna AT (Wadee Al Shaqab x Om El Bellatrix), led me to Al Thumama's extraordinary website, which is where I found the above photo of the Laheeb daughter, Emira, out of the Monogramm daughter Embra. The power that is radiating from this mare's body is impressive and out of all the beautiful mares pictured on the mare page, it was this one photo that captured my attention. The elasticity in Emira's hocks, the generously muscled hindquarter and the ability to drive herself forward must be why someone was inspired to coin the phrase, "poetry-in-motion." The way in which Emira is using the muscling in her back and abdomen, allows her to move with a powerful and yet, a supple and free stride that many Arabian enthusiasts recognize as "floating." That moment of suspension, when the horse strikes off the ground and for a fraction of a second is airborne, remains fascinating to me, no matter how many times I see it. She's a beautiful mare, bred by Michalow Stud in Poland, who has won many prizes over a long halter career, beginning in 2001 when she was named the Polish National Junior Champion filly but for me, it's a single action photo, captured within one stride in a free-moving liberty session that makes her unforgettable. I can't make out the photographer's signature in the photo, so I "googled" to see if I could learn the name of the photographer.

Złota Nić (Emigrant x Zlota Orda)

And that's how I found the photo of the pure Polish Emigrant daughter, Zlota Nić, also bred by Michalow. If I thought that the elasticity of Emira's hocks is amazing, is there an English word to describe the feeling I experience when I see Zlota Nić? A 2005 mare, owned by Polia Arabians and sold to Morocco, she is a maternal granddaughter of Zagrobla, also a Monogramm daughter like Embra. Zlota Nić also uses her back well, as she drives herself powerfully forward like Emira.

Taghira B (El Thay Mameluk x 211 Zohair-2)

And as it always happens for me, that is, one horse will remind me of yet another horse and in this case it is none other than the straight Egyptian Taghira B , a 1995 mare sired by El Thay Mameluk and out of the Zohair daughter, 211 Zohair-2, bred by The Babolna Stud. She is photographed by Gigi Grasso, who owned her together with Paolo Damilano of Alfabia Stud. We see the same type of movement in Taghira B, as we see in Emira and Złota Nić.

The late classical riding master, Egon von Neindorff, in his literary masterpiece, The Art of Classical Horsemanship, speaks of another book written by Lieutenant Colonel Otto de la Croix, published in 1902 and specifically a particular section which emphasizes the importance of the back, in helping a horse to move powerfully but in a supple manner. He wrote, "it is the hindquarter activity and primarily the back which resembles a feathering spring that builds an elastic bridge between the horse's forehand and hindquarters." All three mares share common ground in their excellent use of the back muscles, naturally. The challenge, as it is with any horse, is to replicate the same movement, while balancing the added weight of a rider on her back. With the World Championships a week away, it is reason to celebrate purebred Arabian horses who move like these mares do. It is poetry-in-motion.

***with many thanks to Arabian Essence. You can't imagine what an email can do for people like me, in love with the Arabian Horse, as he exists, all over the world.***

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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.