This is Bint Maaroufa, sired by Fay-El-Dine and out of *Maaroufa, a
straight Babson Egyptian mare bred by the Babson Farm. Pictured in the photo as a mature mare, 23-years old, this is the photo which appeared in the Reference Handbook, Volume 2, published by The Pyramid Society. Mike & Kiki Case of Glorieta Ranch had purchased Bint Maaroufa in old age, with the hope that she would produce one more foal, despite having birthed her last foal in 1969. She had been owned for most of her life by Dr. Robert LaRue, who bred her primarily to
*Raffles line stallions. It is interesting to note that Julyan, sired by Julep (
Gulastra x *Aziza) was her one and only straight Egyptian foal and how her influence continues to the present day, in straight Egyptian breeding.
Her dam, *Maaroufa, was incredibly prolific, having produced the following daughters, all sired by Fay-El-Dine for The Babson Farm:
- 1937: Fa El Maar (grey)
- 1938: Fay Negma (grey)
- 1939: Fay Roufa (grey)
- 1944: Kamama (grey)
- 1947: Maardina (grey)
- 1948: Maarou (grey)
- 1949: El Maar (grey)
- 1950: Fay Ufa (grey)
- 1952: Aaroufa (grey)
With as many mares produced from crossing Fay-El-Dine with *Maaroufa, one can better understand why a beautiful mare as Bint Maaroufa could be sold to another breeder. They didn't need her, as they had ample sources of the cross for the program. However, Bint Maaroufa was uniquely different in 2 ways, as compared to her full sisters:
- Her chestnut color
- The shape of her head
You would think that these reasons were important enough, to warrant a replacement filly. To give you an idea, as to how she could produce, Dr. LaRue bred her to the stallion, La Flag (Aaraf x Flaiga), which resulted in the stallion, Golden Pharo, who became an important sire for Phara Farm, reproducing his golden color.
Two years prior to the birth of Golden Pharo, in 1962, Bint Maaroufa, bred to La Flag, resulted in La Ruh, a full brother, also chestnut, who was retained for Dr. LaRue's program. Bint Maaroufa also produced a full sister to the stallions, La Flagette, in 1963.
When Walter Schimanski and Judith Forbis published The Royal Arabians of Egypt and The Stud of Henry B. Babson, they included what I believe, is a much better photo of Bint Maaroufa, closer to what the mare looked like in real life.
The photo, taken by the LaRues, shows Bint Maaroufa, pictured in her youth, at a photographic angle that is better suited for capturing the mare's real beauty. In a Western Horseman article,
Carl Raswan explained,
"Those 'fanatics' among the desert people who breed Arabian horses for 'Purity' only-for the love of seeing the finest blood perpetuated-judge a horse from its HEAD first."
In this particular photo, her head appears much shorter in length, as compared to the color photo. Also, she has a pronounced (noticeable) bulging jibbah, which creates the illusion of a "dish" face. Don't be fooled. Without the jibbah, the nasal profile line would appear straighter and not concave. The placement of her eyes are set a little higher than I would like to see but the eyes are oval shaped (not round) and larger in size, possessing a deep luster, which gives them the 'liquidy' look. Her nostrils are also larger in size, and cover a large area of the muzzle, accentuating the smaller size of her lower lip. She is a true drinker of the wind. The width of her facial crest bone is impressive, a characteristic known as asalah, which the Bedouin also esteemed in the head of the horse, as it spoke volumes of the authenticity of race in the individual. In Raswan's day, this mare was considered Kuhaylah Jellabiyah, however, today, thanks to the advancement made in genetic science, we know that this mare and the family that she descends from is Saqlawiyah. Still, the description that Raswan offers for qualities unique to the Kuhaylan strain, are more appropriate for what we see in the photos depicting the head of Bint Maaroufa.
"Among the Arabians the Kuhaylan (masculine type) has the shortest and widest (broadest) head with the most details (fine tracery of veins, wrinkles, 'bumps', bulges, 'tear-bones', etc.) 'engraved' upon its intelligent features."
In some ways, I mourn the loss of her genetic influence, in straight Babson Egyptian form, as she was unique enough, to make a difference within the bloodline. I am still trying to wrap my brain around it, to better understand how a mare of this quality is purged from the program. But maybe her type represented something else to the Babson Farm and a direction that the Farm did not want to pursue. Maybe all the grey mares better represented the ideal Arabian horse that the farm preferred. And, we still have the Babson Brown source through Julyan available as an option, in straight Egyptian breeding. That's something to celebrate, all for the love of a horse.
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