all for the love of a horse...: Woo Woo

13 September, 2026

Woo Woo

I'll admit, it sounds like a silly thing to say but I first heard the term, when I began listening to Warwick Schiller's Journey On podcast. Have you been able to listen to the podcast yet? It's good, not only for the horse content but for your personal development as well. After listening to a few episodes, you may start to understand things differently, in a positive sense. So, what does "Woo Woo" mean? It's an informal slang-type term that refers to concepts, beliefs and practices that are not supported by science but rather, are mystical or even, spiritual in nature. While traditional Horsemanship may focus on biomechanics and behavior psychology, "Woo Woo" explores alternative practices to connect horses and humans together. For example have you hired an animal communicator to "speak" with your horse? That's definitely "Woo Woo." To be transparent, I have been a little "Woo Woo" here, having published a blog or two (or three) that you may say are a little "Woo Woo" (or alot) but at the time that I wrote them, I really wasn't thinking them to be "Woo Woo," just stuff I either read, heard or even, experienced over my lifetime. I am enjoying Noelle Floyd's Substack (love, love, love her podcast) which includes a recently written article concerning the presence of "Woo Woo" in the horse world.

"So when modern horsewomen begin speaking about energy, animal communication, protection stones, frequency, manifestation, Reiki, numerology, ancestral healing, or sacred contracts with horses, I do not see that as a strange new trend." - Noelle Floyd

So where am I going with all of this and why am I taking space within this sacred spot focused on the Arabian horse? It's all because of a photo but before I say anything else, let me remind you that what you are about to read is a very informal study, made by a student of the breed, me and only me, without endorsement by anyone else.

Ansata Nadra (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata Neoma) owned by Al Shaqab, Darryl Larson photo

I started to notice something uniquely different with some of the Arabian horses pictured in the photos I had collected. The horses were looking straight into the camera, not in a challenging or defiant way, engaged with the photographer and making full eye contact, heart wide open and eyes full of compassion and understanding. I melted every time I saw it, as the horses were presenting themselves, no holds barred. It is how you would expect a trusting, always raised by loving people, live-in-your-tent kind of horse to look, right? Aĺl the kindness, inner wisdom and people-loving curiosity seemed to be bubbling up to the surface, visible to the world for a second or two, while radiating a loving energy like agape type love (the highest form of unconditional love), upon the onlooker. At the time, I thought it had more to do with the photographer's expertise, skill and timing and less to do with any phenomena involving the horse and her soft, dark eyes. Certainly, nothing remotely close to a "Woo Woo." In the very beginning, I called it a "look" and then, "expression," maybe a "gaze," and eventually, the recognition that maybe this was the "Ansata look" as I found the phenomenon to occur more frequently in the Ansata horses, as compared to other bloodlines.

Ansata Queen Nefr (Prince Fa Moniet x Ansata Nefertiti) currently owned by El Gabry Stud, Judith Forbis photo

I was fortunate, blessed actually, to receive a copy of the collection of Raswan-penned articles, republished by Alice Payne (Thanks Kris). This book helped me to connect what I was seeing, with Raswan's unique voice. Raswan, having lived in the desert amongst the Bedouin, offered a desert perspective that was very old, born out of a necessity which required living in close proximity to the horse. At the end of the article titled, The Head of the Arabian, Raswan wrote,

"an expression in their eyes which proves that they are "thinking" (meditating), rational beings with a soul and not just subject creatures to serve us phyically."

However, Raswan did struggle to define the "look," just as I stumbled with my words to describe it. Raswan wrote additional material in another article titled, The Arabian Horse as Your Friend and Companion. One of the things Raswan said really caught my attention. He said that Ishmael saw a reflection of a deep love for God in his horse eyes. It's like living heaven-on-earth, "...thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven..."

Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Bint Misr), Judith Forbis photo

When Judith Forbis published Born to Reign, I read the following passage about Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Bint Misr),

"an independent soul marked Delilah from the day she was born. Standing in the pasture apart from her mother, she would look off into the distance at something sensed but not seen."

After reading what Judith Forbis wrote, I began to go through the photos that I had collected, to find that more of the horses pictured in the manner I have explained, had Ansata Delilah as a common denominator, on the maternal side of their pedigree, which of course points to one of the most important mares at Ansata and from there, to the worldwide community of straight Egyptian Arabian horses.

*Ansata Bint Bukra (Nazeer x Bukra), Jerry Sparagowski photo

Sometimes the transfer of psychic powers may skip a generation, as we may see with *Ansata Bint Misr. However, in studying the available photos of *Ansata Bint Bukra (the maternal granddam of Ansata Delilah), it is possible that she also had this all-knowing, loving, intentful gaze and passed it on to her granddaughter, Ansata Delilah. Raswan also wrote about this, which I now offer to you in closing:

"For this supernatural reason, the mare is always considered supremely important among the Bedouins. A stallion can only take secondary place. The psychic powers of Arabian horses descend through mares only and are thus retained within pure Arabian horses."

Maybe dear reader, you may read all of this and dismiss the photos as nothing more than a one in a million moment, taken by a world class photographer, forever frozen in time. Or maybe, you are like me and in a fraction of a second, recognize something sweeter, something special, swirling like a fragrance around you, only to be absorbed into the core of your being. Then, you decide, after all, it is your woo woo.

****The photos of Ansata Nadra, Ansata Queen Nefer, Ansata Delilah and *Ansata Bint Bukra were published in Judith Forbis' Born to Reign. Many thanks to Judith Forbis. Darryl Larson and Jerry Sparagowski. Without you, there would be no story.***

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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.

13 September, 2026

Woo Woo

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