The Extraordinary Story of Ekstern

Ekstern died yesterday, April 25th, 2022. Early this morning, I received an email sent by polskiearaby.com, concerning the Excalibur EA son, Sulaiman EA, who is standing at stud in Poland. There was a Facebook link listed and so, I clicked it. I don't have Facebook, so I am never really sure of where the click will take me but in this case, I made it to Polskie Araby's page and because it is written in Polish, I couldn't read the words that captioned an Ekstern photo but I poked around and found the link to the page of the equine photographer, Ewa Imielska-Hebda, whose photos of Ekstern I have absolutely loved and that's  where I noticed the series of broken heart emojis, followed by the letters: RIP. In that most unexpected moment, overwhelmed by sadness; I recognized that life had forever changed, as Ekstern, was no longer part of this world. Will there ever be another just like him?

It was a year ago, when I found new photos taken by Karolina Misztal of Ekstern, age 27. The photos were honest and showed Ekstern for what he was at the time, a mature, aging stallion. He was still the absolutely gorgeous horse that I always admired but the photos reminded me that even great horses, just as people do, age and well, become elderly.  Ekstern was 28 years old at the time of his death. A long lived life, yes but when you cherish this horse and wish there were more just like him, I'm sorry but 28 years is not long enough.

One of my favorite photos of Ekstern, taken by Anette Mattson

In my opinion, Ekstern was one of those rare Arabian horses who appealed to a variety of people, regardless of bloodline. He was beautiful and for many people, the type of horse who immediately comes to mind, when you think, "Arabian horse". As a show horse, Ekstern exuded charisma, winning the love of the audience, wherever he was shown. He was the Polish National Junior Champion in 1995, Polish National Senior Champion, All Nations Cup Champion, European Champion and World Champion, all in 2000. In an article written by Monika Luft and published by polskiearaby.com, Jerzy Bialobok, the Michalow Stud Director, was quoted as saying, 

"Ekstern always liked to show, it was clear that it gave him pleasure." 

Ekstern possessed unbelievable breed type. He was close-coupled with a strong and smooth top line. He was well-muscled, harmonious, with a body comprised of circular lines. His head was short and wide, dry and elegant with eyes that were both dark and luminous. He had great tail carriage, very fine, black pigmented skin, large and elastic nostrils that maintained a beautiful shape when fully dilated and short, tippy ears. All of these qualities came together to create the magnanimous personality that so defined this horse. His inner sparkle conveyed a strong spirit of joy that was both, playful and charming. You see some of this spirit in a You Tube video, taken in August of 2015 at Michałów State Stud. My favorite part remains when Ekstern picked up the potted plant and moved it to another part of the arena. Oh, how I loved this horse! He was photogenic but to experience the full essence of Ekstern, one had to see him at liberty, where his physical beauty, his brilliant movement and engaging personality all came together in a most overwhelming way. 

The most amazing thing about Ekstern's life is that it almost didn't happen at all. His sire, Monogramm (Negatraz x Monogramma) did not appeal to Andrzej Kryztalowicz, the Director of Janow Podlaski and an old-time Polish breeder, who did not like chestnut colored horses. If Monogramm were to go to Poland, it would depend solely on the enthusiasm of the highly esteemed master breeder, Ignacy Jaworoski, the Director of Michalow, who together with Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka had fallen in love with the horse at the 1988 US Nationals. Bill Bishop, who had purchased the horse from Dick and Kay Patterson of Patterson Arabians in Sisters, Oregon, was not interested in leasing him to anyone. What seemed at best to be a very remote possibility, became reality five years later, setting the stage for not only Ekstern, but also, for the return of the *Bask line to Poland, as well as that of Mammona, who was captured and taken from Poland as a foal. Monogramm was used for the 1993 and 1994 breeding seasons at Michalow and was so successful, that he continued to breed mares (through frozen semen) until 1997. Ekstern was born in 1994, one of 29 Monogramm-sired colts in his first foal crop. In the Monika Luft article, published by polskiearaby.com, Jerzy Bialobok, the Michalow Stud Director, also said of Ekstern, 

"Already during his first days we could see the great beauty of this horse." 

How significant was Ekstern? Despite a very pronounced Saklawi phenotype, in sire line, he traced from Monogramm-to-Bask-to-Witraz-to-Ofir, the Kuhailan Haifi son taken from Poland as a six year old. In tail female line, Ekstern traced through his dam, Ernestyna (Piechur x Erwina) to the *Naborr daughter, Estebna and from her, all the way back to Milordka, bred by the Sanguszko family of Slawuta Stud and foundress of Polish female family number 5.  As Monogramm restored the *Bask line for Poland, *Naborr did the same for the Ibrahim sire line and it is especially touching to find both of these horses in what is for me, a unified Polish pedigree (pre-war & post-war), which reads like a celebration of Poland's continuing love for the Arabian horse. It is also interesting to consider that Dr. Edward Skorkowski, who strongly believed in maintaining a balanced breeding program to insure the survival of distinct strain types, considered Milordka a Saklawi strain mare, because she strongly embodied the characteristics of the strain. No surprise that her descendant, Ekstern, would also embody strong Saklawi type.

Ekstern, as photographed by Ewa Imielska-Hebda

In thinking about Ekstern, I am reminded of something I once read by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a popular Indian mystic who was also known by the name of Osho, 

“...to help you die to the mundane and to the ordinary so that the extraordinary explodes in your life. ” 

A great horse is just that, an "explosion", the beauty of the horse so overpowering to the senses, that it is not possible to continue thinking about horses in the same way. The force at which Ekstern comes into a person's life has the power to turn everything upside down and inside out. I hope that when you think of Ekstern today that you will be inspired by a sense of awe and wonder from what was  an extraordinary horse's life. He really was that...EXTRAORDINARY. 

 ***Many thanks to polskiearaby.com, it was only because of their email, that I Iearned of Ekstern's death. There have been several articles written about Ekstern, which you can find online. My favorite article and one of the most comprehensive on Ekstern was written in 2015 by Monika Luft. You can find Ekstern- 20 Years of Success on polskiearaby.com. In closing, this blog is lovingly dedicated to Ignacy Jaworoski, Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka, Tomasz Skotnicki and Bill Bishop in recognition of all they did to provide Poland with the stallion, Monogramm, making a most wonderful horse like Ekstern possible.***

NK Nabhan

NK Nabhan portrait created by the talented artist, Katja Sauer, and presented to Dr. Hans J. Nagel for his 90th birthday 

Earlier this month, I received an email from Tutto Arabi with an embedded link for the latest issue of Desert Heritage Magazine. Inside, you will find an article written by Dr. Hans Nagel: The Noble Mares of Katharinenhof, which I intended to read, until I turned to page 143 and found a photo of the stallion, NK Nabhan, taken by equine photographer, Joanna Jonientz. I was so surprised, that from that point on, my concentration was severely tested and I was challenged to finish reading the article, when all I really wanted to do was stare at the photo of this horse! NK Nabhan is an incredibly typey, elegant and super-refined bay stallion, foaled in 2013.  He was sired by NK Nadeer, a son of the late NK Hafid Jamil and out of NK Nerham, a NK Hafid Jamil granddaughter. And this is where it starts to get really interesting, as NK Hafid Jamil represents 37.5% of the pedigree; while Lotfeia, through her daughter by Salaa el Dine, Nashua, provides the matriline for both sire and dam (which by the way, makes NK Nabhan pure-in-strain Hadban Enzahi). NK Hafid Jamil and Nashua, combined as they are in the pedigree, dominate the majority of the pedigree, approximately 62.5%! The balance of 37.5% is divided among 3 horses: Adnan, Nahaman and Ansata Ken Ranya. At first glance, you may not realize how closely related these 3 horses are to each other (as well as NK Hafid Jamil and Nashua) and that's what I find so interesting, as these 3 horses are all sired by Salaa el Dine, an Ansata Halim Shah son out of Hanan or in other words, they are paternal siblings. Furthermore, if you study the influence of Salaa el Dine within the pedigree, you will find that he is a vital ancestor of NK Nabhan, appearing 8 times, approximately 43.75% of the pedigree. However, Adnan and Nahaman share additional blood ties to each other, beyond Salaa el Dine and that is, through their dams, as both stallions are out of Hanan daughters; while Ansata Ken Ranya is out of Ansata Prima Rose, a Jamil daughter, who is a full brother of Ameera, the dam of Nahaman. I remember reading an article written by Monika Savier some time ago, which included an interview with Dr. Nagel. NK Nabhan is living proof of the development of the breeding program over the years, or rather, "experiment", the term which Dr. Nagel uses frequently, when he refers to his breeding efforts. In NK Nabhan's pedigree, we observe the use of the imported root mares, bred to carefully selected stallions over the course of 5 generations, to result in a horse of the caliber of NK Nabhan, a masterpiece of Dr. Nagel's program. And he is bay, a tribute in the present day to the continuing influence of the Alaa el Din daughter, Hanan.

A Candle for Laheeb

Bar Hajaj Photography took this photo of Laheeb last year, for his 25th birthday

“Laheeb is a dream horse. His disposition is unbelievable. I have never seen a stallion as gentle and as peaceful as Laheeb, all without losing a bit of any of the traits that you want in a stallion.” - the late Nasr Marei, from Tzviah Idan's Laheeb article, published by Desert Heritage Magazine

On March 4th, Laheeb, a 1996 son of Imperial Imdal+, out of the Bentwood-bred mare, AK Latifa (*Ibn Moniet el Nefous x Siralima), died. He was 26 years old, having celebrated his birthday two months earlier, on January 2nd. The news of his passing this past week was a shock, as Laheeb was a most beloved horse and the closest equivalent we had today to Nazeer. Like most straight Egyptian horses, Laheeb carried multiple lines to Nazeer (9), however, he was more like Nazeer than most, as he sired a high degree of quality with impressive consistency, across a wide variety of bloodlines. Just as Nazeer changed the course of the RAS/EAO breeding program, Laheeb's influence changed the course of the Polish breeding programs too. He was the first straight Egyptian stallion to stand at stud in Poland, chosen for Michalow in 1999 and then, Janow Podlaski in 2000. Maybe today, we are more accepting of combined bloodlines and don't really understand the fuss, but at the time that Laheeb was chosen for breeding by the Polish State Studs, this was huge news, a landmark decision, albeit a controversial one.

"In Laheeb, they had found an almost perfect representative of the Saklawi I sire line, one who both exemplified and could reproduce the Polish ideal of all that an Arabian horse should be-typey and elegant, with long harmonious lines and good movement." - Tzviah Idan, from her Laheeb article, published by Desert Heritage magazine

Over time, the decision to use Laheeb with the best of the Polish mares has proven to be historically significant, as his daughters have matured to become valuable broodmares for both state studs, while establishing a new standard of excellence in Arabian Horse breeding throughout the world. 

Laheeb's pedigree represents a concentration of Moniet el Nefous blood (primarily through her Sid Abouhom daughter, Mabrouka) combined  with that of *Ansata Ibn Halima, plus smaller percentages of the stallion Sameh and the mare, Bint Sabah (through her daughters: Bukra and *Bint Bint Sabbah). The "outcross" blood in the pedigree comes by way of the mare, Nazeera (Nazeer x Malaka) and the stallion Sirecho (*Nasr x *Exochorda). While Dahman by matriline, Laheeb's pedigree is overwhelmingly Saqlawi, as more of his ancestors (double the number of Dahman ancestors) are of this strain. The profound Saqlawi influence helps to explain the longer lines we see in Laheeb's phenotype.

There have been wonderful articles written about Laheeb, citing the achievements he realized as an individual in the show ring, as a beloved companion for those people who knew him intimately and as a proven sire. However, on a deeply personal level, Laheeb inspired me through his unbelievable courage. When Laheeb was four years old, he suffered a tragic accident, breaking a bone in his right foreleg. Initially, the prognosis for his survival was not very good. He underwent two surgeries and a very long recovery, followed by an intense period of physical therapy. Throughout his treatment, there were disappointing setbacks, as well as periods of great challenges, pain, suffering and doubt. Despite the poor prognosis, Laheeb persevered and it was through these small victories, that Laheeb encouraged everyone. His character and amazing depth of soul, inspired the team of people supporting him, to keep trying. In the days following the accident, no one asked for much. However, what people did not realize was that they loved a horse who wanted, and asked for, more from life than they could ever imagine. In those days and months, when it didn't seem likely that Laheeb would survive, who would have believed that three years later, Laheeb would be sound and named the judges unanimous Israeli National Champion Stallion? Now, in hindsight, can we see this as a miracle that Laheeb not only survived an injury that for another horse, would prove fatal; he lived a longer, full life! That's a credit to Chen Kedar and the standard of care that she gave to Laheeb over the course of his life. 

Horses like Laheeb are rare, when you meet one, he affects you so profoundly, he is never to be forgotten. Laheeb, in the life that he lived, pushed me out of my comfort zone to consider what is really possible, when life is lived more courageously. Laheeb, despite the hard times that really tested his spirit,  remained steadfast and loyal to his character, and was always joyful. He trusted the people closest to him, to provide the best care for his injury and then, he let it go. Imagine if I lived my life like Laheeb lived his - he didn't  let anyone or anything, not even anxiety (if horses experience anxiety like humans do) steal his joy. And now, that's why Laheeb's death hits me harder, as compared to the death of other beloved horses. Laheeb was larger than life itself and super heroes are not supposed to die. Death is conquered, just like any other villain. I just was not ready for my super hero's candle to be blown out and now,  life, will be just that little bit harder, knowing that he is no longer part of this world.  Godspeed Laheeb, until that day that finds me enveloped by the great and shiny light of your flame.

***This blog post is lovingly dedicated to Chen Kedar, in whose hands, the living flame we knew as Laheeb, was placed. Chen's love for her beloved Laheeb, in the same way that the brightest candle illuminates what once was a darkened room, has made it possible for the world to know and also love Laheeb***