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| TheEgyptianPrince (*Morafic x *Bint Mona) a pure-in-strain Saqlawi Jedran of Ibn Sudan stallion, as photographed by the late Johnny Johnston. |
Dr. Joseph L. Doyle of Sigourney, Iowa began breeding Arabian horses in the early 1950's, when he acquired the mare, Gulida (Gulastra x Valida) and bred her to the Gulastra son, Nusi, producing the mare, Im Gulnar. A year after purchasing Gulida, Dr. Doyle purchased the stallion, Ghadaf (Ribal x Gulnare). Shortly thereafter, Dr. Doyle began corresponding with Carl Raswan, who reinforced the significance of using horses with only the highest concentration of Abbas Pasha/Ali Pasha Sherif blood. The exchange of ideas between both men blossomed into a friendship founded on a common love for the Arabian horse.
In a letter written to Dr. Doyle, 14 August 1952, Carl Raswan wrote,
"Frankly and confidentially, if you can stay away from all other blood and concentrate always and first of all on the Saqlawi Jidran of Ibn Sudan eventually you will reach such intensification that this ancient and most perfect type will cut through with any other bloodlines and strains its qualities and mark of Arabian characteristics on anything it comes in contact with. Your case should be such that with each advanced breeding you produce a still more refined animal."
How do we reconcile this powerful statement, 70 years later, given the rapid advancement of genetic science which says something completely different? Do we ignore science, using real-life horses like TheEgyptianPrince to prove the accuracy of Raswan's statement? Despite tradition, can we still believe that a matrilineal strain will exert that much influence on shaping a horse, whose pedigree may contain horses of several different strains? Especially, when modern genetic science has revealed that the horses, whom we have learned to separate into historically distinct families, have more in common genetically, than we ever believed? We now understand these relationships, thanks to Dr. William Hudson's groundbreaking mtDNA study of the EAO matrilines, published online at PLOS ONE and within the pages of the critically important 2-volume set, The Matrilines of the Egyptian Arabian Horse , however, we also understand from Dr. Hudson's study, the impact that strain has in breeding horses:
"These data confirm that modern mtDNA haplotyping does not correspond to the traditional strain designation based on Bedouin breeding traditions that depend on maternal lineage."
How did Dr. Doyle incorporate Raswan's philosophy into his breeding program? Once Dr. Doyle acquired the stallion Ghadaf, his immediate focus was to replace him, as Ghadaf was a senior-aged horse, well into his twenties and had not sired a purebred horse in a long while. Bred to Gulida, Ghadaf sired the mares Gulnara and Bint Gulida and the stallion, Jadib. Bred back to his daughter, Gulnara, Ghadaf sired Bint Ghadaf, an important mare in Dr. Doyle's program. He incorporated other bloodlines into his program, however, he was not happy with the results and dispersed those horses. Dr. Doyle was convinced that inbreeding his foundation horses would not only prove the quality of the Abbas Pasha/Ali Pasha Sherif horses, he would also produce horses who were more pleasing to his eye, possessing the characteristics he valued most. He coined the term "forward reaching" to describe his horses, comprised of uninterrupted, longer flowing lines, "from the root of the tail to the muzzle" and even when not moving, one just knew from looking at them, that they could deliver powerful, free and bold movement, at a moment's notice. Perhaps, these are the horses, whose beautiful movement inspired yet another term, "poetry-in-motion". Unfortunately, Dr. Doyle passed away in 1957 and his wife and family carried on with the program, which remains relevant to the present day.
***With many thanks and acknowledgement to Arabian Horse World for the article, Doyle Egyptian Breeding written by Jim Brown & Barbara Baird, published within the May 1981 issue.
Many times, people will ask me to recommend a comprehensive book focused on the Egyptian Arabian horse. I can't imagine a more important body of work than Dr. William Hudson's The Matrilines of the Egyptian Arabian Horse. If you are a breeder, this book is a critically significant study that should be part of your library. If you haven't purchased this 2-volume set, please, I urge you to do so, before it becomes unavailable.***
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