The KUHAYLAN are one of the great distinctive types. They represent strength in the extreme, though beauty is not lacking in them by any means. Related sub-strains of the KUHAYLAN are the HAMDANI, HADBAN, SHUWAYMAN and WADNAN KHURSAN.

There are close to 140 families of the KUHAYLAN and several dozen families of HAMDANI, HADBAN, and SHUWAYMAN of which very few are still bred within the same strain. The ideal mating would be to breed a KUHAYLAN-IBN-RUDAN mare to a KUHAYLAN-IBN-RUDAN stallion, but as there are not enough RUDAN horses available and any proven physically perfect sire pure-in-the-strain (ASIL) KUHAYLAN is admissible to function as sire, a mare of this strain could be bred to any proven (HADUD) ASIL KUHAYLAN stallion.

The fanatic breeder of the desert will not mate his KUHAYLAT-IBN-RUDAN mars to a HAMDANI, HADBAN or SHUWAYMAN stallion, though they are related to all KUHAYLAT. On the other hand as there are (to my knowledge) no more ASIL HAMDANI, HADBAN or SHUWAYMAN horses in Arabia the owners of mares of these strains prefer to breed to pure KUHAYLAN sires in order to retain the original qualities of the parent family. For the purpose of illustration let us compare a HAMDANIYAH mare to a half-breed Morgan, and a registered Morgan to a KUHAYLAN. Undoubtedly the owner of the half-breed mare would prefer to mate her with a registered Morgan sire rather than to another half-breed. This is exactly as the Bedouins feel. An ASIL Arab horse compares to a registered horse and an original strain always surpasses a sub-strain.

The camel breeding Arabs specialize more in raising the KUHAYLAT and SAQLAWIYAT than any other strains. The sheep breeding Bedouins raise the "related" strains, HAMDANI, HADBAN (related to the KUHAYLAN) - UBAYYAN (related to the SAQLAWI) and the minor strains. These sheep and goat breeders never exercised the care in breeding the camel breeders practiced. The camel breeders come from the neighborhood of the NUFUD (red-sand) desert in the very heart of Arabia, the cradle of the Bedouins and their horses. Along the coast and near the cultivated lands and villages and in the civilized countries of Iraq, Syria, Transjordan and Egypt the minor strains and types appeared.

Certain sub-strains, namely the KUBAYSHAN and KUBAYSH are noted for fast get away and speed at short stretches. Their conformation approaches that of the ideal in Quarter Horses. ASIL KUHAYLANS are above average fast horses but also possess great staying quality and can maintain their speed at greater distance than these substrains. All horses of the strain are very compact.

The related strains of HADBAN, HAMDANI and SHUWAYMAN are rather plain by comparison but just as muscular and with the same rounded outline, though they are somewhat larger in bone with bigger knees and hocks. Chest, shoulders and hind quarters are heavy. Heads though also pyramidical are straight of profile instead of dish-faced.

The HADBAN have a short heavy skull and the skin seems coarser. They have a very short back. They average 14:3 hands in height. They are mostly bay and brown in color.

The HAMDANI definitely have a long back, but immense chest and barrel. The hind quarters are egg-shaped, a distinctive feature. Their heads are longer than those of other related strains. They average close to 15 hands and are mostly gray in color.

The sub-strains lack the details of the original KUHAYLAN skull but none lack the great width between the jowls.

The WADNAN KHURSAN are very rare and very small, averaging 14:1 hands. They are very masculine and have small refined heads.

The AGHEYL traders who buy many of the horses that are exported, making a business of dealing rather than breeding horses, handle mostly race types, MUNIQUI, JILFAN and related strains, but they pick up mixed strains also. Any horse with long lines, fairly straight hind legs, larger size and bone meets their requirements. There are no specialist traders handling KUHAYLAT exclusively. The Hungarians send expeditions to Arabia to purchase KUHAYLAT horses for their cavalry. This has been going on for about 80 years. I myself have bought for hungary and found they would only take this type. By crossing these horses with native Hungarian horses they have developed a very sturdy and enduring cavalry horse.

In my opinion and from observation of horses in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, there is nothing more sure footed, symmetrical or better balanced in conformation than a pure-in-the-strain KUHAYLAN. The SAQLAWI has more beauty and the HAMDANI more strength, but the KUHAYLAN as a general rule possesses beauty, strengths and intelligence blended. I do not say he is the best of all the Arab strains for all purposes, but he is a generally useful and adaptable horse. In Arabia he is valued for making long raids in war. He is noted for his ability to maintain a long burst of speed up to five miles before he must be rested. The raiding Bedouins place great value on this characteristic, for often in conducting their type of warfare (a hit and run to escape brand) their lives depend on the sustained burst of speed which places them out of immediate danger. Here they again resemble our American Indians in habits of warfare. They of course differ radically in spite of the comparison, in that they have an ancient horse background while the American tribes merely appropriated early Spanish horses as they found them, to their use. The Arab tribes being semi-civilized from ancient times and possessing a culture including a written languages and a fundamental religion were able to scientifically breed and develop horses for particular purposes. This is a salient fact always to be remembered when studying Arabian horses. Though to us moderns the Bedouin is only semi-civilized today, his culture 3000 years ago was highly developed by comparison, and at that time probably was as advanced in thought and theory as any in the world. Because of geographical location his culture has not progressed, but remained founded on the principles set up centuries ago by his horse and camel breeding ancestors. Up to 25 years ago it was unchanged.

After completing the campaign and in the last fight, the mare WUDIYAH was seriously wounded. By that time we were all thoroughly exhausted and the mare was well advanced in a pregnant state. She lost several ribs and her wound was a foot in diameter. The only remedy RASHAYD used, and incidently he had lost a hand in the fray, was a clod of earth which he stuffed into the wound to make a plaster of mud. The desert soil of Arabia is sterile, due to action of the wind and sun. We first removed several splintered ribs and then covered everything up with the mixture of mud and blood. She could not get u for several weeks, during which time we nursed her with camel milk, but when she could gain her feet we tied the halter rope to a camel and led her to Syria. After a short rest we led her to the NUFUD desert where she foaled a beautiful colt.

I personally consider this the greatest test of stamina in a horse that I have ever witnessed, though I could mention many other experiences of endurance in Arabian horses. There is an historical record of the MUTAYR tribe concerning SHAYKH DAUWISH'S invasion with his camel riders of MUBARAK AD- DUWAYJIN'S pastures when he stole his best race camels. MUBARAK with three of his slaves mounted on a DAHMAN, an 'UBAYYAH, a KUHAYLAH-WABRAH and a KUHAYLAH-NAUWAQIYH mare pursued the raiders day and night almost without rest. There were few rain pools and scanty pastures in AL-BATN, a dry river bed leading from the NUFUD desert toward the Persian Gulf. MUBARAK'S mares were all exhausted on the fifth day except the NAUWAQIYAH who overtook DAUWISH and his camels on the ninth day. DAUWISH was so amazed at the feat, the mares' extreme endurance and courage, that he felt in honor bound to return MUBARAK'S camels. In pursuit of over 25 miles the Bedouins usually use race camels and this is one of the few records in Arabia where horsemen kept up the race against camel riders.

In America some KUHAYLAN horses have exhibited great endurance. Ramla, the mare winning the 300-mile endurance ride conducted by the army in 1919 and ridden by Albert W. Harris, present president of the Arabian Horse Club, was a KUHAYLAN. She weighed but 850 pounds, was 14.3 inches and carried 200 pounds.

While I do not believe in legends, the Arabs have a very beautiful one concerning the origin of the KUHAYLAN, the first Arabian horse. It may merit some study and disclose the Bedouin ideas on strain breeding which they claim were a revelation to their head-man by God and shows the connection between their religion and the breeding of horses preserved to this day.

It is said that ISHAMEL, son of Abraham, was a great herdsman and hunter. He is even credited with inventing the bow and arrow. It was he who built the Arc of the Desert. "The Throne of the Spirit of God," made of acacia wood and decorated with black ostrich feathers. It was he to whom JIBRAIL (the Angel Gabriel) was directed by God to give horses. In the poetic language of the Arabians, Gabriel descended while the man of the wilderness was asleep. A "wind"whirled toward him, scoring the red sand with its feet, scattering the dust with the blasts of its nostrils and screaming with ferocity. Gabriel stayed the thundering cloud with his outstretched arm and grasped the fullest of it with his hands. The wild element condensed in his hand and thus the horse was created. This is the gist of the story as told with awe by father to son in the black tents of the desert and is probably why the affectionate name "Drinker of the Wind" is bestowed by the superstitious tribesmen on their finest horses.

It is said that ISHMAEL was startled when he beheld the horse and was about to shoot it with an arrow when Gabriel touched his arm and cried, "This creature is a friend of God and I have brought her to you because you have not defiled thyself with pagan gods." Thus, we see the horse is looked upon as an integral part of their very religion. Its discovery lifted the tribesmen from drudgery, serving as transportation, a weapon to destroy ever-present enemies and gave them a domesticated animal to perpetuate and love, just as three to four hundred years ago the acquirement of horses raised the living standard of our American Indian tribes. They, too, built beautiful legends about the origin of the horse, believing him to be a divine gift. However, we must remember the Arabian horse legend is also a part of our own civilized lore, for ISHMAEL, the son of Abraham, is found in our Bible as well as the Koran. For this reason, we cannot discard lightly the Arabian tradition, else we undermine the very foundation on which our own modern advanced civilization and our own religion rests. When we realize this perhaps there is more in the breeding laws of the Bedouins than many people give them credit for. Though we may assume a sophisticated attitude today, being 3000 years removed from the men who laid down and conceived the laws of conduct, reproduction of men as well as animals and founded religion, we must admit their ideas have prevailed and proven themselves to be the most practical ever devised.

To continue with the legend, Gabriel went on to say, "The KUHAYLAH (antimone-painted) shall have a raven skinned son. Thou shalt find no fault with him."

Gabriel laid his hand upon the neck of the mare and brought her to ISHMAEL, saying, "Grasp this strand of hair upon her forehead, bless her in the name of thy Creator." As ISHMAEL removed his hand from the brow of the mare, she neighed and pressed her muzzle to his cheek and he knew she had recognized him and that she was a friend. She followed him to his tent and he remembered the words of the Angel and repeated them to his family. She became his inseparable companion and this hunter was called the intrepid FARIS (rider of the FARIS, or mare), the first horseman among the children of the "Island of the Arabs."

As the Angel had promised, the day came when a colt, like the faun of an antelope, was born. To protect the foal, the Ishmaelites placed him in a large camel saddle bag. All day the little colt was carried by the camel until they camped at night. When they removed him they found his spine had been injured and that he was crippled.

ISHMAEL was about [to] kill him but Gabriel reappeared, saying: "Must men forever doubt the majesty of their Creator? God will make the despised KUHAYLAN AL A'HWAJ (the antimone-painted cripple) the one most honored and noble among all!" The cripple became the foundation sire of all true Arabian horses, the sire of his mother's and sister's own children.

Here is a truth to encourage all of us, for the Bedouins say, "God can use the despised and broken bits of His creation to glorify the work of His hands."

Though I do not hold an exaggerated idea about the legendary descent of the desert horse, I found incest breeding in Arabia is very common even to such extreme cases where brother and sister are mated. Our greatest students of heredity, however, in the development of many modern registered breeds, have found it necessary to resort to incest breeding to fix types that will reproduce with any degree of regularity. It has been found that the more ancient strains of animals may be that the more ancient strains of animals may be inbred without any physical harm but that animals of mixed breeding cannot be inbred successfully. Incest breeding is the supreme test of purity of blood. Physical faults of any parent, though hidden for generations, will show in their incest-bred offspring. To fix a type or a strain through incest breeding is an age-old "secret" which should be rediscovered, though only pure and perfect specimens must be used.

Arabian horses offer us an opportunity to retain certain of their types which have existed pure-in-the-strain since the dawn of history and religion. With intelligent breeding and by following the laws set down by the earliest breeders, these several types can be reproduced with mathematical certainty through pure-strain breeding. The KUHAYLAN, SAQLAWI and MUNIQUI are three strains which could be saved in America today. By saving a source or pool of these important blood lines pure, they would be invaluable in improving most of our modern breeds which I believe originally obtained their outstanding characteristics of conformation and performance from remote ancestors carrying the blood of these three important ancient lines of horses.

Contents Page

Chariot Farms

Davenports: Articles of History

CMK Pages

The Heirloom Pages

The Pasha Institute

Al Khamsa, Inc.

Arabian Visions'

Archives

Publications