NK Amal El Dine

The 2020 grey stallion bred and owned by Dr. Hans J. Nagel, NK Amal El Dine (NK Nizam x NK Abla) as photographed by Jennifer Ogden

What I found interesting about the pedigree of this young stallion are the eight horses found in the 4th generation, that is, the generation where you find the great-grandparents and where you will discover who plays a significant role genetically in the makeup of NK Amal El Dine. Five of the horses who occupy this section of the pedigree are sired by Salaa El Dine (Ansata Halim Shah x Hanan), while 2 of the remaining 3 lines are occupied by more diluted lines to Salaa El Dine, that of a great grandson (NK Hafid Jamil-Ibn Nejdy-Nejdy-Salaa El Dine) and by Ibn Nejdy himself. The impact of Salaa El Dine is overwhelming, almost 6 times the influence that normally, a single horse in this generation would make! Compare Salaa El Dine's multiplied influence at 68.75% versus  12.5% which is the assigned percentage of influence for an individual horse! 

Salaa El Dine, foaled in 1985, is a critical horse in the breeding program of Dr. Nagel, not only as a valued and impactful breeding stallion but interestingly, the start of his breeding career coincides with Dr. Nagel's decision to close the stud to outside horses. Fast forward 40 years to the present day and through NK Amal El Dine, we can better understand the esteem felt for Salaa El Dine through the huge role he plays in the pedigree of a young horse like NK Amal El Dine. In his newest book, The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and the Art of Breeding, Dr. Nagel wrote of his beloved stallion, 

"This stallion was an Arabian of a typical desert appearance, dry, refined and of medium size, and he was of the Obayan strain. His strong points were:

a good neck, elegantly shaped and of perfect length, inherited undoubtedly from his dam Hanan, a well laid back shoulder, a perfect hindquarter, an ideally distributed topline from the wither on, a medium long back and a strong well formed croup. All of these attributes clearly inherited from his sire, Ansata Halim Shah. His most remarkable head features were the very small muzzle and wide open expandable nostrils, which appeared in this perfection for the first time in the stud, and is very rare to find anywhere else. In spite of his relatively minor deficiencies, Salaa El Dine's good qualities were outstanding, and were the qualities that were required for improvement in the herd. His most valuable quality was as a sire which his offspring proved in a high degree that Salaa El Dine could transmit these good qualities to both fillies and colts, and in their turn, his progeny passed them on to succeeding generations. Such abilities are always the mark of a great stallion."

How to balance the giant impact of Salaa El Dine? It's also interesting to discover that there are strong maternal connections as well, for example, we find the mare, Ghazala (Ghazal x Hanan), as not only the dam of the stallions, Adnan and Ibn Nejdy; she is also the dam of Amarilla, who produced NK Asila by Salaa El Dine. Since NK Hafid Jamil contributes 50% genetically, as a paternal grandsire and twice maternal great grandsire, we also find his dam, Helala (Salaa El Dine x Ansata Gloriana) concentrated here, magnifying the influence of Ansata Gloriana, a *Jamil (Madkour I x Hanan) daughter and paternal sibling to Ansata Prima Rose, the dam of Ansata Ken Ranya. On a more personal note, the dam of NK Nizam, the sire of NK Amal El Dine, is NK Nadirah (Adnan x Nashua), a full sister to NK Nada. This mare, NK Nada was owned for a time by Ezzain Arabians, Kuwait. When I visited Kuwait in 2013, I was floored by the horses that traced back to Nada, particularly through her son, Nooreddine Ezzain (by Ansata AlMurtajiz) who, in my estimation, was proving himself to be an excellent broodmare sire, given  his beautiful daughters, like Albaheiah Ezzain, an unforgettable, sparkling-white beauty.

***I recommend the purchase (sooner, rather than later) of The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and the Art of Breeding, published by Nawal Media. Dr. Nagel shares his insight, crafted from a lifetime of experience & knowledge. It is refreshingly honest in communicating both the strengths and weaknesses of his program. Books such as these, which define the enduring consistency of a long and beloved career are not only rare, they are priceless because it can be life changing. And FYI this recommendation was not paid for or even requested, in any way, shape or form. ****