Arabische Pferde IN THE FOCUS 4/2020 (Vol. 24) - public

Zucht
Paraskevas’ stud not so long ago. My favourite
in this group was Ashham, a son of Halim
El Zahraa from the state stud. He is a very
harmonious, compact stallion, with a lot of
type, but without an extreme dish. What is
striking about all of the stallions is a comparatively
short neck, which is nevertheless
carried nicely arched. Unfortunately we are
so used to these "giraffe necks" of the show
horses that a "normal" neck almost seems
too short to us. But for the horse's balance it
is much better, and therefore also for equestrian
use, provided he is light enough in the
neck and throat (mitbah) - Ashham has just
such a neck. The two-year-old colt Lissa Faker
has a slightly longer and very nice, free
neck – maybe a bit underslung. He comes
from the stallion Agad (from El Zahraa), who
in turn is from Tagweed, the famous son
of Tee, who unfortunately died much
too early. Thus, Agad also carries the
blood of Gad Allah and represents
everything on the paternal side
that has had rank and name
Zahret El Nile (Hafez El Ahd / Bedaya) *2011
damline / Stutenlinie El Obeya Om Grees
(Obayan)
in El Zahraa in recent years. Lissa Fakers’s
mother is Leilat El Eid, one of my favorites
among the mares that we saw.
The Dam Lines
Let's stay with the mares: Here the focus of
the horses we saw, was on the lines Kohailan
Krush, Obeya Om Grees and Saklawi Jedran.
Let's start with Kohailan Krush: This line came
into the country through the mare El Kahila
in 1927 as a gift from King Ibn Sa’ud (Saudi
Arabia) to King Fuad (Egypt) and is one of the
Inshass mares. Mares from this line were “not
to be had at any price” from the few Bedouin
tribes who bred this line, which has made
them appear desirable from time immemorial.
In Germany this line was once represented
by two imported mares
of the Kübe
family, but
the lines
h a v e
died
out.
16
In El Zahraa, too, this line has become rare.
At Philippe Paraskevas we were introduced to
six mares and some offspring, but I couldn't
make out a “Kohailan Krush type”: Loa Loa
el Sahab is the embodiment of femininity,
while Tohfat el Nile is more reminiscent of a
war mare and Naghamet Al Karawan is somewhere
in between - variety in type and
conformation, but all "beautiful" in their own
way.
According to Paraskevas, horses of the
Obeyan lines have experienced increased
appreciation in recent years because they
represent a potential outcross to the otherwise
common Saklawi Jedran and Dahman
Shahwan lines. In El Zahraa, however, they
belong to the rather rare lines. There are two
founding mares, both of the Obayan strain,
but representing two different lines. One of
them is Obeya Om Grees, which was given to
King Fuad as a gift from King Sa’ud of Saudi
Arabia in the 1920s and is therefore one of
the Inshass mares. In Germany, Dr. Nagel’s
Hanan belongs to this line. They are usually
very harmonious horses in their overall appearance,
which also seems to be genetically
fixed. In the group of six mares that were introduced
to us, Leilat El Eid (by Ghallab) inspires
me the most. What has been said about
harmony in all parts of the body applies to
her, and she also has a very fine, dry face,
very feminine - this is another quality that
the "show ring Arabs" lose more and more
because both sexes lose their gender type
and look all the same. Zahret El Nile also has
this “Obayan harmony” in her conformation,
albeit a bit stronger and more compact. Only
Shaerat el Wedyane, a Ghallab granddaughter,
may not seem quite as harmonious due
to the somewhat short, strong neck, but she
has an excellent free throat and wide-set
jaws.
The horses of the Saklawi Gidran strain are
characterized by "refinement", noble and
fine, almost dainty, with elegant, light-footed
movements. Horses of this strain are not
uncommon, as many breeders were inspired
by Moniet El Nefous. The founding mare
Roga El Beida was bred by Ali Pasha Sherif
in 1882. The description of this strain applies
particularly to Amirat El Shark, full of type,
noble, light-footed, while Rafikat El Dahr is a
"powerhouse" with powerful, energetic movements.
Another mare of this line is El Sit, for
me she falls into the category of "war mare", I
want to saddle up and ride her!
Our visit is coming to an end. To sum up, I
can say that these nearly 50 horses that we
saw here at Paraskevas Arabian Stud have
reconciled me a little with the Egyptian Arabian.
The diversity still exists! There is also
functionality that is unfortunately often lost
where breeders breed “pieces of art”. Let's
hope there are enough breeders like Philippe
Paraskevas, who have other focuses than the
mainstream, and who will be able to preserve
the Straight Egyptian Arabian as a versatile
riding horse for a long time to come.
Gudrun Waiditschka
© ARABISCHE PFERDE - IN THE FOCUS 4/2020