all for the love of a horse...: A Story of Spring

19 April, 2025

A Story of Spring

Sham El-Nessim, which means "inhaling the fresh breeze" is an ancient Egyptian holiday which is still celebrated today, to mark the arrival of Spring. The night before, eggs are boiled and decorated, to be enjoyed with salted fish and green vegetables the next day. Unlike Easter, which is celebrated by Christians to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus; Sham El-Nessim is celebrated by people of all beliefs. While Easter is tomorrow, Sham El-Nessim falls on the 21st this year.

Julie Koch, in her Facebook group, Reliving Arabian Horse History, has been posting photos from Dr. Edward Skorkowski's book, Arab Breeding in Poland. Recently, she posted this photo of the stallion, Egipto (Wan Dyck x Motasen) taken from the same book, to show Polish horses that were exported to other countries or descended from a Polish stallion. I have always been fascinated by this particular stallion, whose name in Spanish means "Egypt." Even though he doesn't carry any Egyptian blood, in the form of lines to the Egyptian-bred stallion, Ibn Rabdan, his phenotype is very similar, comprised of rounded-lines, within a close-coupled frame. It would be a very easy thing to do, to consider him a member of the Ibn Rabdan family of horses, from sight alone.

His sire, Wan Dyck, was bred in Poland, at the Biala Cerkiew Stud, the first documented Polish Arabian horse breeding farm, founded by Franciszek Ksawery Branicki in 1778. Biala Cerkiew was a tiny piece of a Wan Dyck larger estate, owned by the Branicki family. One of the more interesting things about Biala Cerkiew was the creation of a record book, which chronicled the origin of the horses for over 100 years. Sadly, during the Russian revolution of 1918, the record books were destroyed and all the history contained in its pages.

Wan Dyck (Vasco Da Gama x Hela)

Wan Dyck was imported by the Spanish government in 1908. No surprise that this horse would be immensely popular, given his strength of body and type; he was a proven breeding stallion, siring over 100 get in his lifetime. That's live cover folks!

Vasco Da Gama, sired by Woltiyzer

Owned also by the Branicki family, Vasco De Gama (Woltiyzer x Euterpe) was the sire of Wan Dyck. He was named in honor of the Portuguese explorer, credited as the first European to reach India by sea, in 1497.

Prior to Wan Dyck and Vasco Da Gama, in 1836, Count Wladyslaw Branicki, the successor to Franciszek Ksawery Branicki imported a desert bred stallion named Wernet, who was outstanding at stud, siring with great consistency. Wernet's beauty and charisma was admired and beloved in Poland. He really must have been special, as his beauty set him apart from the other stallions used at Biala Cerkiew and it became easy to spot one of his descendants, as they looked like him. Through Vasco Da Gama and Wan Dyck, a father/son combination, the sire line of Wernet was able to survive and remains extant in Spain. However, in the USA this line also exists through the mare, *Menfis, a daughter of the Wan Dyck son, Egipto, bred in Spain by the Marquis de Domecq and imported by James and Edna Draper, *Menfis produced the mare, Jubilema, by Jubilo (Caravan x La Plata). When Jubilema was bred to the *Raseyn son, Sureyn (x Crabbet Sura), she produced Surf, the famous foundation stallion for the early Gleannloch Farm breeding program. Jubilema was also bred to the EAO-bred *Morafic, producing the mare, Ilaha in 1967 and the stallion, The Egyptian Sultan in 1968. She was also bred to *Moftakhar, producing the stallion, Kamil Ibn Moftakhar in 1962 and Bint Jubilema in 1963. As beloved as Wernet was when he was alive, I imagine that through the blending of Egyptian blood at Gleannloch, with desert breeding so close up in the Egyptian lines, the influence of Wernet was made new, to enchant a whole new generation of horse lovers.

****Apologies to all as the date that I originally gave you for Sham El-Nessim was not correct. The holiday occurred this past Monday, April 21st. Also the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated Easter on Sunday, April 20th, the same day observed by the Western church.****

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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.

19 April, 2025

A Story of Spring

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