I Love My Horse!

Every evening, my first chore upon my arrival at home is to feed the horses. My Arabian is already there at the fence, his soft brown eyes following me from the feed bins to the trough. He is a stately, elegant gelding; a bay with a milky white blaze, a black flowing mane, and rippling muscles. His name is Khair ad-Din, which roughly means “Goodness of the Religion”. It is also the nickname given to Red Beard the Pirate by the Arabian rulers who cherished his protection from invaders on the Mediterranean Sea. While he is standing impatiently, waiting for me to scoop his oats and sweet feed into his feeder, I wonder if Khair ad-Din knows how regal and interesting his genealogy is.

Arabians are the oldest breed of horse; the breed has been found in carvings in ancient Egypt from at least 5,000 years ago. These horses were bred by the Bedouin tribes of the Arabian Peninsula for their agility, strength, speed, and bravery on the battlefield. The Prophet Mohammed treasured his Arabians, and instructed Muslims to treat them with kindness. Mohammed proclaimed that Arabian horses were special gifts from Allah, and whoever took care of them well would be rewarded in the afterlife. The Bedouins heeded Mohammed’s words, and zealously maintained the best breeding in their herds. (AHA, paragraphs 1-5.)

It was imperative for the Bedouin tribes to preserve the purity of the Arabian horse. They kept diligent records of their horse breeding programs, not allowing for flaws in temperament, appearance, or genetic background. More recently, Mohamed Ali the Great ruled Egypt when it was part of the Turkish Empire. He was religiously dedicated to the preservation of the bloodlines of the best Arabian horses. As part of a peace treaty with Arabia, Mohamed Ali demanded the Arabian’s best desert horses. He built the largest herd of the most superior Arabians in Egypt; thus establishing the Egyptian Arabian breeding programs. Mohammed Ali’s grandson, Abbas Pasha, inherited this herd, from which many international champions have descended.

Khair ad-Din can trace his ancestry to many horses from Abbas Pasha’s herd. One of these is Mesaoud, who was bred by Ali Pasha Sherif in Egypt. He was imported to Crabbet Park Stud in England in 1891, where he was sold to Count Branicki in 1903 and sent to Kiev, Russia. Mesaoud sired ninety-seven registered purebred Arabian foals.

The Arabian horses made such an impression on Europeans that many wealthy, prominent royal families began to import them to parts of Europe. One of the main importers was Lady Anne Blunt, who kept some of her horses at her Sheykh Obeyd Stud Farm in Egypt, and some at her Crabbet Stud Farm in England. The Egyptians finally realized the importance and value of the Arabian horses there and in 1908, they formed the Royal Agricultural Society which gathered the best of the Abbas Pasha and Ali Pasha Sherif herds with the intent of keeping them in Egypt. Today, the Royal Agricultural Society is known as the Egyptian Agricultural Organization. (El_ZahraaStud online, paragraph 5.)

Many of Khair ad-Din’s ancestors are also Crabbet Stock. Raffles was a stallion imported in 1932 from the Crabbet Stud Farm. He stood barely 13.4 hands tall, which means he was no larger than a pony. This amazing little horse suffered a broken leg at age 23, which is nearly always fatal. However, thanks to the devotion and care of his owners, he not only survived, but lived to sire another fifteen foals. Raffles was one of the most influential Arabian stallions of all time. He originally came to the Crabbet Stud Farm by way of Poland. (http://www.arabs-iowa.com/AFH-Raffles.htm)

The Arabian horse so impressed enemies on the battlefield, that it became popular for armies to take the horses as spoils of war. This is the case with the Arabian horses of Poland, where breeders maintained the same diligent breeding program as the desert Bedouins, allowing no tainted bloodlines into their herds. During World War II, Nazis took many of the Polish horses with the goal of establishing a superior breed; a German elite equine herd. They feared for the safety of the horses, and when the Nazis were captured, they begged their American captors to free the horses. Although many Arabians perished in World War II, some, including my horse’s ancestors, lived. The U.S. Army brought them to America. (AHA, paragraph 5.) That is how many of the successful Arabian breeding programs in America began.

The Crabbet Park Arabians were not the first to be imported to England. As early as 1683 three Arabian stallions (the Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk and the Godolphin Arabian) were imported to England. These three stallions produced the Thoroughbred horse, the descendents of whom can all be traced to these three Arabian sires. Khair ad-Din can trace his lineage to the Godolphin Arabian, a pedigree of which any horse would be proud. (Thoroughbred Heritage Online, paragraph 2.)

My Khair ad-Din probably does not know how much blood from international champions runs through his veins. I doubt he knows that Bask and Bay el Bey, are his great-great sires, or that they are so important to the breed that books have been written about them. It is certain that he does not know how Bask came to America. It was the worst Polish winter in a century in 1963. Fifteen highly pedigreed Arabian horses boarded a ship bound for New York City. They sailed on a ship for forty-four days from Europe to reach the United States. Bask’s ship was caught in a storm so fierce that most of the other horses on board died, but Bask survived. He lost over a hundred pounds and was injured badly, but Bask lived to sire 500 champions. (Horses, etc., paragraph 3.) My horse does not understand that Bay el Bey won seven national championships and commanded a stud fee of over ten thousand dollars way back in the 1970s. (Arabian Legends, p. 74)

Of course, not all Arabians came to America by way of Poland. Many horses are still directly imported from the Middle East. Such is the case with another of the stallions in my horse’s pedigree. Ansata Ibn Halima, the horse credited with reviving interest in Egyptian horses, came to Oklahoma in 1959. Americans Don and Judi Forbis purchased Ansata Ibn Halima along with two other mares for $15,000; an incredible sum of money at that time. He was a unique stallion with a personality that captivated the Forbis couple. Ibn Halima means “Son of the Gentle One”, a name fitting for this kind and gentle stallion. He sired 259 champions during his lifetime. (Arabian Legends, p. 102)

Many famous people have chosen Arabian horses as their mounts in war and for pleasure. George Washington, the first President of the United States, rode an Arabian horse. General Ulysses S. Grant rode Leopard, a prized stallion given to him by Abdul Hamid II, His Imperial Majesty the Sultan of Turkey. Alexander the Great, Saladin, and Genghis Khan all rode Arabians, and Napoleon Bonaparte rode an Arabian named Marengo. (FarField Arabians Online; home page.)

No, Khair ad-Din does not fathom the importance of the Arabians who came before him. He only understands his importance to me, and to him, I am as important as George Washington. He nuzzles my hand so that I will rub behind his ears and kiss his nose before I leave the pasture for the evening.