Pure Air & Fire--Idries Lien

8/2/2019 Pure Air & Fire--Idries Lien

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eeting the Arabian is like inching closer to a

celebrity. In a close encounter with the pure-bred Arabian horse, you hold your breath,

you’re transfixed! All previous knowledge of a horseformed by looking at the dizzy carousel of buggy horses,ponies, and the larger mustangs, quarter horses,Lipizzaner and even thoroughbreds desert the mind. Thecompulsive equestrian and horse aficionado, who has

never met a true, desert-bred Arabian, is awe-struckwhen confronted with this living legend.

The large, dark expressive eyes, the flowing mane, thedished face, the tapered muzzle with flaring nostrils, thedeep neck, a sleek body, small curved ears, strong limbs,and high tail, large lung capacity and incredible

endurance are exceptional characteristics unique to the

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Asil (pure-bred) Arabian. The Arabian evolved in thecrucible of the Arabian desert where the harshconditions purified it, as gold is,—by fire. Much has been

written about the pure-bred Arabian, considered bysome as the matrix—the original standard from whichall horses descended; and its history is delightfullyblended with vividly descriptive legend.

ASIL HERITAGEThe exact origin of the Arabian horse is unknown. The

Qur`aan extols the courage of the brave coursers (ref.Surah Aadiyat). Sacred biblical and Semitic textsmention the 40,000 desert horses of King Solomon andPharaohs’ powerful, graceful chariot horses.Archeological inspection of ancient graffiti in caves,engravings on rock, of hieroglyphs inside the Pyramids,and in sculpture and semi-relief carvings on sandstone

of Hittite horsemen show equine illustrations thatresemble the dish-faced, elegant-necked, high-tailedpure-bred Arabian, so that its origin can be assumed tobe over 3,500 years ago.

Historical archives, well documented, detail exploits of Arabian mares and stallions, and odes and ballads

celebrating the beauty, endurance and loyalty of theanimal abound in classical Arabic books of verse andprose. Arabian stallions and mares formed the core of the forces of Saladin, the valiant conqueror who foundedthe Ayyubid Dynasty (1193-1250 AD). Of Saladin's swiftSaracen steeds, Sir Walter Scott penned in The Talisman:‘They spurned the sand from behind them—they seemed



to devour the desert before them—miles flew away withminutes, yet their strength seemed unabated!’

Historically the Arab was essentially a war horse. Likemost horses, the Arabian horse was primarily used inraids and conquests. This desert warfare, Ghazw,depended on the stamina, agility, and speed of the

Arabian horse. In other breeds stallions were of highervalue than mares, yet the Bedouins considered theirmares to be the prized possessions in their herd. Mareswere the best mounts for the pre-dawn raiding parties,as they would not make their presence felt, maintaininga low profile under cover. The brave mares displayedtrue grit in battle, facing the charges and the spearthrusts without giving ground.

Napoleon Bonaparte, an expert on fighting conditions inEgypt (in his Observations on Egypt), acknowledged thesuperiority of the Mameluke soldiers and their mounts.Cook's Guide to Egypt cites Warburton as stating that‘…the Mamelukes were the most superb cavalry in theworld’. Major Upton, a nineteenth century veteran of



dealings with the Arabs and an admirer of the Bedouinpure-bred horse stated that 'The real armour of theBedaween horsemen, offensive and defensive, is the speed of

his mare.'

In the Souvenirs of Military Life in Algeria the Comte DeCastellane says of a hawking-party that 'the Arabhorsemen were mounted on the fleet mares held inunbounded estimation.' Of one mare he says: 'Her actionwas so light that she might have galloped on a woman's

bosom.'

History is replete with mention of occasions when pure-bred Arabians were given as gifts to kings and statesmento forge alliances and strengthen diplomatic ties.Shuffling the pages of history, we find that someadmirers of the breed among the royalty, the affluent

aristocracy, high-ranking government officials, andwealthy merchants living in and outside the Middle Easthad sometimes paid the value of the pure-bred Arabianhorses in gold.



Arabian horses were mainly introduced to Egypt andNorth Africa when the Muslim armies entered that

region at the dawn of Islam. It is believed that the Arabtribes including Beni Hilal and Beni Saleem tribesplayed important role in introducing the Arabian horsesto Africa when they moved from Arabia to Egyptaround 1300 years ago. It is also believed that thePhoenicians were the first who introduced Arabianhorses to Europe, but the main spread of the Arabian

blood line occurred when Islam flourished in Europe.

During late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries,many Arabian horses were exported to England andrecorded in the General Stud Book of Britain. Threepure-bred Arabian stallions had a particular influence onthe development of Thoroughbred stock in England. All

modern Thoroughbreds are descended from them in themale line. Those stallions were:

1 . Byerley Turk brought to England in 1689. 2. DarleyArabian brought to England in 1706. 3. GodolphinArabian brought to England in 1729.The interbreeding between the Arabian stallions with

the native English stock resulted in the modernThoroughbred.

Besides fascination and admiration, the main reason forbringing Middle Eastern stallions and mares to Englandand various parts of Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries was to improve local stock by cross-breeding.

By the end of the nineteenth century breeding pure-bred



Arabians became an obsession, and concerted efforts byWilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt the famous Englishtraveler couple, promoted great interest in the

preservation of original bloodlines as well as enrichingdomestic breeds.

In the U.S. Nathan Harrison of Virginia imported thefirst Arabian stallion in 1725. But it was only in thenineteenth century that the breed of stallions and maresblazed a trail into the US. Randolph Huntington of

Oyster Bay N.Y., the precursor of pure-bred imports inthe US bought Naomi, a pure-bred mare in 1888, andwas one of the earliest breeders of the Arabian horse inAmerica.

The magnificent pure-bred Jadaan ridden by RudolphValentino in the silent film Son of a Sheikh and the

impetuous Arabian Cass Ole of the film The BlackStallion, generated true esteem and fascination for thebreed and popularized the pure-bred Arabian in theUnited States. Over a hundred years enthusiasts tookthe Arabian horse to the US where, today, preservingbloodlines on the one hand and enriching half-breeds onthe other has become a full-time occupation. Pure-bred

semen is sold, and even sent by mail. There arehundreds of stud farms in the US and Canada breedingthe prized Arab horse and a good number of them areregistered by WAHO [World Arabian HorseOrganization] as preserving the pure bloodlines.

PURE-BRED CHARACTERISTICS



Gifted with untiring stamina, sinews of steel, a bold,intelligent eye, and hooves of flint, devouring mile aftermile without a check, the pure-bred Arabian is a present

fit for a king. None but the Arab has such acombination of courage, fire, endurance, and generaltemper.

Interestingly, features of other animals have beenpoetically used to describe the Arabian—the gazelle’s swiftness, light steps and expressive eyes; the bull’s

powerful, cheeky profile, the flowing tail set high abovethe croup, large, flaring nostrils; the wolf’s lithe, longtongue; the dromedary's endurance, staying power andability to go for long hours without food and water; theostrich’s strong legs and impetus; and a bird’s swiftnessand speed.

There are other angles to the profile that sets the horsesat a tangent to other breeds, the most outstanding beingthe face and the tail. The entire equine physiognomy of the breed, its shape as well as its color, was influencedby religious belief, superstition and tradition. Tribalpatriarchs held that the bulging forehead held theblessings of Allah. Therefore the greater the Jibbah the

greater the blessings carried by the horse. The elegantarched neck with a high crest— the Mitbah, was a sign of courage; while a tail that stood erect and flowed like aflag carried family pride. These traits, held in highesteem, dominated breeding parameters.

To the Bedouins goes the credit of initiating selective

pure breeding of Arabian horses. The value placed upon



the mare invariably led to investigation of the genealogyof the Arabian horse through his dam. The onlyrequirement of the sire was that he must be Asil; and the

occurrence in the record of a celebrated mare of a superiorpure-bred stock of mares in its ancestry added to thequalification. Names of tribes or sheikhs that bred thehorses identified the mare families, or strains.

Although their breeding records were retained inmemory, passed down through the ages verbally, the

tribes are also credited as the first to keep breedingrecords and maintaining the purity of the Arabian breed.Many Asil genealogies, even today, can be traced todesert breeding—meaning there is no written record butbecause of the value of purity to the Bedouins, "desertbred" is accepted as an authentic endorsement of pureblood for those early imports.

The Bedouin valued pure-in-strain of horses above allothers, and many tribes owned only one main strain of horse. The five basic families of the breed are known as"Al Khamsa", include Kuheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan,Hamdani and Hadban. Lesser strains include Maneghi,

Jilfan, Shuwayman, and Dahman. There was further

ramification of each main strain, and the nomenclaturedictated by the celebrated mare or the Sheikh whoowned it formed a substantial branch within the mainstrain.

Exploits of courage, endurance, or speed alwaysaccompanied the recitation of the genealogy of the sub-

strain, such as the great Kuheilat al Krush, the Kuheilat



Jellabiyat and the Seglawi of Ibn Jedran. Like post-warmedals, each of these mares carried with them stories of great battles and intrigue. Their fillies were sought after

by the regents of Europe, Central Asia and Russia, butoften remained unattainable. Daughters andgranddaughters of these fabled mares changed handsthrough bribery, theft, deceit, and sometimes evenmurder. If sold, the prices were staggering.

Having been bred pure, the pure-in-strain developed

characteristics that could be recognized and identified.With its depth of chest, masculine power and size theKuheilan or Kuhaylan cannot be mistaken. Named afterits dark black eyes ( Kohl the black eye liner). Standingon an average at 15 hands, the Kuheilans’ heads are shortwith broad foreheads and great width in the jowls. Grayand chestnut dominate its coloring.

The Seglawi or Saqlawiyeh is known for refinement andalmost feminine elegance. Named from the way thehorse kicks the heels in the air when galloping, or fromthe shiny hair. This strain is more likely to be fast ratherthan have great endurance. Fine bone, longer faces andnecks distinguish the Seglawi horses from the Kuheilan.

The average height for a Seglawi would be 14.2 handsand bay, the most common color.

Perhaps not dissimilar to the Seglawi, the Obeyah straintends to be refined. The name came from the high tailduring running and that the tail carried the mantle(cloak) of the rider. The pure-in-strain Obeyah

possesses a longer back than a typical Arabian. They’re



small horses, seldom above 14.2 hands, commonly grayand have more white markings than other strains.

Hamdani horses are often considered plain, with asporty masculine, large-boned build. Their heads aremore often straight in profile, lacking an extreme Jibbah.The Hamdani strain is one of the largest, standing asmuch as 15.2 hands. The common colors are gray andbay.

The Hadban strain, a smaller version of the Hamdani,shares several traits including big bone and muscularbuild. Known for its gentle nature, the Hadban’s averageheight was 14.3 hands, the primary color brown or baywith few if any white markings.

Traditionally two of the Arabian’s most unique and

invaluable characteristics, patience and a pleasanttemperament have evolved from living as family withtheir masters. In the desert they found food, water, andtender loving care living in the same tent as theirowners. It was bred and nurtured like a member of thefamily and was never used for mean tasks such ascarrying or pulling loads.

The Arabian’s talent of quick responses have alwaysdispensed with the use of the bit—considered an insult toits intelligence by the Bedouins. A flick of the reins,some nudging with the knees and thighs is all it needsby way of signal. There are no pure-bred geldings in thehome ground of the desert-bred Arabian horse. Pure-

breds are never branded as it would diminish their



worth. Castration is considered an outrage and a sin inIslam.

There’s no denying that the Arabian’s exceptionalabilities make it the first choice for endurance riding, agrowing and popular sport today. The Arabian’ssuperior blood quality, a strong heart, and fatigue-resistant muscle fiber surpass those of other strains,making it a natural for endurance races, polo, buzkashi and similar sports. Moreover, its characteristic

generosity and eagerness to deliver and perform make itthe most preferred and prized choice.

DOCUMENTING THE PURE BREDFor over two decades horse lovers, especially devotees of pure bred Arabian, urged Arab nations bycorrespondence, personal visits, and invitations to watch

their own collection of the Asil horses & mares, toestablish and regularize stud book organizations in theirrespective countries to research, trace, authenticate andmaintain records of the inestimable bloodlines of theArab horse.

Official stud organizations that track Arabian bloodlines

did exist over several decades. But it was not until about20 years ago that Tunisia, Morocco, Oman, UAE andAlgeria set up their own stud books, followed by SaudiArabia and Iraq. Sanctioned by the World ArabianHorse Organization (WAHO), such efforts helpendorse the genealogy and hence the purity of theArabian.



THE ARAB STATES’ COMMON GOALS: Breeding &Documenting PedigreeIn promoting successful programs to preserve the

Arabian horse in its native habitat, the Hummar Stablesset up and maintained the Arabian Horse Stud Book of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, located in the rollingwooded hill country of Hummar, 10 kilometers (sixmiles) north of the Jordan capital, Amman. Jordaniansstrive to make sure that this heritage is not lost.

The Riyadh Equestrian Club of KSA went to the extentof eliminating mixed-breed horses at the race tracks of the Kingdom. Acting under royal decree of King Fahdibn 'Abd al-'Aziz and Crown Prince 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abdal-'Aziz, steps were taken to restrict national races topurebred Arabians - especially the King Fahd Cup andCrown Prince 'Abd Allah Cup races.

In Egypt the Al-Zahraa Farm is an integral zone forArab horses. The farm spans 4200,833 metre squareswith 5 large stables large enough to contain 50 heads. Itis one of the main centres dedicated to the protection of Arab horses. All facts about equine statistics and studfacts are distributed among agricultural units in

different governorates are registered in records.

Bahrain’s Royal Amiri Stud possesses 21 strains of authentic Arabian horses. The Al Khalifa family, whichhas ruled Bahrain since 1782, trace their origin to theAnazeh tribe of Central Nejd. Records and registrationof the horses were compiled and the Amiri Arabian Stud

Book of Bahrain was established. In 1976, Bahrain joined



the World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO) andbecame one of the early members in the Middle East.Breeding superior horses is a family tradition and the

strains are fanatically preserved by the Al Khalifas.

The State of Qatar’s breeding isn't meant to be for itsown sake, each spring the resident "Racing andEquestrian Club" arranges an international show whichin this year was held from the 21st to the 23rd March,already for the eighth time. As Qatar’s international

flair is precious to the state. The panel of judges and thecommittee of discipline are equally international—asphotographers and well-known trainers from Europeand the United States are flown in. The Al Shaqab Stud,the Rayyan Stud, the Nasser Stud, and the Naif Stud,owned by the ruling Al Thani families, includingprivate owners are committed to fulfill the great need to

preserve the bloodlines of the pure-bred.

THE HOMECOMING: THE ARABIAN IN THEUAEThe deep-seated concern, worry and commitment tosave the breed, not from extinction, but from the loss of purity of strain, was the driving force behind

governments, royalty, and prominent private citizens inacquiring and propagating the great treasure of theBedouin–the Arabian horse.

The UAE first participated in a World Arabian HorseOrganization conference in November 1986, held inMorocco. Since then the UAE was always represented

in the international field, taking all steps for improving



the status of the Arabian horse. In August 1990 twodelegates from the UAE representing the Stables of thelate HH Sheikh Zayed, participated in the WAHO

meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. In November 1992 theUAE participated in the WAHO conference in the Arabrepublic of Egypt, and again in September 1994, in theconference in Morocco, as well as organizing anexhibition to inform others about the UAE’s rapiddevelopment.

The Emirates Arabian Horse Society released the firstbook of the origins of UAE horses in 1989, just a fewmonths after it was established. In less than a year(January 1990) a copy of the book was delivered toWAHO. After being approved in the regular meeting of the 1990 WAHO conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, theUAE became a full member of the organization.

The society made use of all means of internationalcommunications and different ways of recording andexamining information. In May 1993, the Societybecame linked to the USA horse registration data base,and in September 1994, to the international informationnet for Arabian horse registration – second only in the

world (after Canada)

The Society also made use of electronic identificationregistration of all locally bred foals through theimplantation of identification chips. Afterwards, theSociety began exploring ways of expanding its targetsand to invite WAHO to host its conference in the UAE



THE QASIMI STABLES—and Sheikh Sultan’s Penchant for ResearchHis Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al

Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the SupremeCouncil, United Arab Emirates, is renowned for hispainstaking study of the history of the Arab people, ahistory inseparable from the Arabian horse. SheikhSultan bin Mohammed, in his efforts to preserve Arabheritage, considered breeding and continuance of thepure-bred Arabian entity as crucial as preserving

unadulterated religious tradition.

Grieved and deeply concerned that pure-bred lineage isbeing compromised, and that breeders in other countriespracticed selective breeding of the Arabian forperformance on the racecourse or the endurance trail,His Highness Sheikh Sultan initiated an Arabian

breeding program in the UAE long before it became apressing need among the Arab states of the region,exclusively for asserting Arab pride in the heritage andbeauty of the Arabian horse.

Driven by a deep-seated responsibility as an Arab rulertowards perpetuation of the pure bred Arabian horse,

and to protect and preserve the legacy passed on by hisancestors by scrupulously investigating Asil bloodlines,he has never and still not made any purchases orbreeding decisions based on acclaim at equestrian eventsor exultation at the finish lines.

When he put his plan into practice twenty years ago,

Sheikh Sultan proceeded carefully, with scholastic



precision, to dredge the past. His expertise on thehistory of the Arab race and civilization, and the factthat the Arab past and the Arab horse, united with

common goals and destiny, formed the bedrock of Arabheritage, heightened the need to foster a continuance of the pure bred Arabian in the land of its origin.

Almost at the same time His Highness Sheikh Sultandiscovered that his daughter, Her Excellency SheikhaNur Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, also a student of culture and

history, who pursues doctorate studies in film, cherisheda genuine admiration and shared a common passion forthe Arabian horse. Between the two, they built up animpressive herd of the magnificent Arabian horse,specializing in most of them of rare homozygous blackcolour. Their horses, the mare Esta Shama and thecelebrated stallion Mahabi El Shaklan performed

impressively at the first UAE horse show in Abu Dhabiin 1996.

When interest in breeding the classic pure bred becamepopular and widespread, Sheikh Sultan offered studservices of the pure bred stallions of the Al Qasimistables at no cost to genuine breeders of Asil Arabians as

an expression of his happiness that his efforts boreabundant fruit. The young foals and fillies that he gaveaway as gifts became champions and vindicated SheikhSultan’s foresight of scrupulous breeding programs.

Carefully choosing breeding stock from France,Germany and England , Sheikh Sultan satisfied himself

that they were excellent representatives of Polish,



Egyptian and Spanish bloodlines. Some of his and hisdaughter’s most notable breeding and show stock weresuch celebrated stallions as Mahabi El Shaklan and the

beautiful champion stallion, Om el Azadik. Thechampion sires enriched the Al Qasimi Stables as wellas gave a significant boost to breeding programsthroughout the UAE.

These stallions were bred to the Al Qasimi Stablesgroup of broodmares, which had been narrowed down to

consist mostly of horses that were a combination of Egyptian and Polish bloodlines. Mahabi El Shaklan’soffspring started their winning for the Al QasimiStables at the first National Championship in 1996 withbeautiful daughter, Futnah, out of the stud’s leadingproducing broodmare at the time, Khalduna El Assaud,winning the category of the best Arabian head. His

other notable offspring is the charismatic full brother of Futnah, Mohab, who has been named champion stallionin the UAE several times.

Om El Azadik’s offspring have been just as impressivein the show ring with his two daughters, both out of theinfluential broodmare Warandes Estopa, displaying

filial excellence by winning titles in the UAE and Qatarand Jordan. Monet Annafs the older of the two sisterswas named Reserve Champion Mare at the First AnnualAjman Horse Show and was also Reserve nationalChampion at the National Show in Abu Dhabi.Following in her older sister’s path, her beautiful twoyear old sister, El Badeah was named Reserve Junior

Champion Filly at the prestigious 2003 Qatar



International and the Middle East Championships in Jordan in September of 2003.

With time the Qasimi bent of mind gravitated towardsthe mystique of the Egyptian Arabian horse, valued asan extremely productive source of the classic refinementfor which the Arabian breed is well-known. Althoughnumbering less than 3% of the hundreds of thousands of registered Arabians, Egyptian Arabians continue tocommand a disproportionately large number of ribbons,

honors, and hearts.

In the last decade Sheikh Sultan had begun to mull inhis mind the image of what he considered the ideal, theepitome of the Arabian horse, and resolved to infuse moreEgyptian blood into his program. He had always beenimpressed by the validity of this horse’s history and

purity, and for him their sustained integrity of breedvindicated the strength of their heritage.

From 2000 onwards, he furthered his plans by buyingCrusader, the charismatic and successful show andbreeding stallion from England and renamed himMujahid. This tall elegant stallion is a son of the great

Ansata Halim Shah’s son, Salaa El Din, considered byconnoisseurs of the breed to be one of the finest straightEgyptian sires in the world.

Already a champion and sire of champions in the UKand Europe, Mujahid began raking in show-ring wins forthe Al Qasimi Stables immediately as National

Champion Stallion in Abu Dhabi in 2002 and in the



same show winning the National Championship undersaddle as well as the title for Best Head. In 2003 his firstfoal crop for the Al Qasimi Stables has already made

their presence known in the show rings not only in theUAE but also in the competitive Qatar International.

On February 20 2005, Ansata Iemhotep, the maresAnsata Nile Lace, Ansata Mariha, Ansata Anisah, andthe yearling colt, Ansata Mubarriz flew to Sharjah viaUnited Arab Emirates cargo aircraft. The new straight

Egyptian breeding program is launched by His HighnessDr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, theeminent historian and author, who has made Sharjah thecultural seat of the Emirates and is devoted to furtheringeducation, art, and culture about the Arabian horse inthe Arabian Gulf and the Arab world.

A sprawling new equestrian complex has recently beenconstructed close to his new palace for being closer to hispet project. A sophisticated veterinary facility providesall aspects of health care for the horses. While the AlQasimi stables have maintained a few straightEgyptians, including such famed Egyptian Eventwinners, the late Farid Nile Moon, and his stable mate

Desiree, His Highness’s declaration to set up a specificstraight Egyptian program is a welcome addition to theoutstanding straight Egyptian farms already establishedin the region.

The ruling family of Dubai has excelled in breeding AsilArabians, organizing and winning in Dubai

International Shows every year, in the Dubai World



Cup at the Nad Al Sheba Course, and displayedoutstanding performances at endurance races. SheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and his sons,

Rashid bin Mohammed and Maktoum bin Mohammed,have exceeded international expectations in theirsterling performances at endurance races astride thedesert-bred Arabian.

Together, the Rulers of the United Arab Emirates havecommitted themselves solemnly to preserve and flaunt

the beauty and mystique of the pure-bred Arabian horse.

Documents

Pure Air & Fire--Idries Lien