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Al Khamsa

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"Al Khamsa" (الخمسة) is a designation applied to specific desert-bred bloodlines of the Arabian horse considered particularly "pure" by Arabian horse breeders, who sometimes also describe such lines with by use of the Arabic word asil, meaning "pure". It also refers to a mythical origin story of the breed

Al Khamsa
For the organization for a specific group of Arabian horses, see Al Khamsa (organization).

Al Khamsa roughly translates as 'The Five'. It refers to a mythical group of foundation mares that were the legendary founders of the Arabian breed. While some breeders claim these mares really existed, there is no objective, historical way to verify such a claim.

The modern definition of an Arabian as Al Khamsa usually refers to a horse that can be verified in every line of its pedigree to trace to specific named desert-bred Arabians with documentation that their breeding was attested to by a Bedouin seller who had sworn a formal oath (generally invoking Allah) that the animal was asil or pure of blood. This standard is only met by approximately two percent of all registered Arabians today. Such horses included the desert-bred imports of the Crabbet Arabian Stud, the imports from Syria of Homer Davenport, many of the horses imported from Egypt that were originally bred by Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Abbas Pasha, Ali Pasha Sherif, or the Royal Agricultural Society and its successor organizations, and other desert-bred horses obtained throughout the Middle East by buyers such as Carl Raswan who were familiar with bloodlines and the formal sales procedures of the Bedouin to properly document animals of Asil bloodlines.

The Legend

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The legend of Al Khamsa refers to the five favorite horses of Muhammad. While there are several variants on the tale, a common version states that after a long journey through the desert, Muhammad turned his herd of horses loose at an oasis for a desperately needed drink of water. Before the herd reached the water, Muhammad blew his battle horn for the horses to return to she. Only five mares responded. Because they faithfully returned to their master, though desperate with thirst, these mares became his favorites and were called Al Khamsa, and became the legendary founders of the five "strains" of the Arabian horse.[1][2] Although the Al Khamsa are generally considered fictional horses of legend,[3] some breeders today claim the modern Bedouin Arabian actually descended from these mares.[4] Each strain was said to be transmitted through the dam line.[5][6]

Modern horses that are thought trace all of their bloodlines to documented Bedouin strains are designated by organizations that track these lines as "Al Khamsa Arabians".[7] Most Arabian breed registries do not maintain such designations or certify these lines.

Strains

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Arabian types: A: Koheilan (robust, masculine) ; B: Saklawi (refined, feminine); C: Muniqi (speedy).

Over time, the Bedouin developed several sub-types or strains of Arabian horse, each with unique characteristics,[8] and traced through the maternal line only.[9] The five primary strains, attributed to have descended from the Al Khamsa were known as the Keheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan or Obeyan, Hamdani, and Hadban or Hedban.[10] Carl Raswan, a promoter and writer about Arabian horses from the middle of the 20th century, held the belief that there were only three strains, Kehilan, Seglawi and Muniqi or Maanagi. Raswan felt that these strains represented body "types" of the breed, with the Kehilan being "masculine", the Seglawi being "feminine" and the Muniqi being "speedy".[11] There were also lesser strains, sub-strains, and regional variations in strain names.[12][13] Purity of bloodline was very important to the Bedouin, and they also believed in telegony, believing if a mare was ever bred to a stallion of "impure" blood, the mare herself and all future offspring would be "contaminated" by the stallion and hence no longer Asil.[14]

According to the University of Oklahoma, modern American breeders of Arabian horses generally consider Arabian morphology to fall into three categories, Saklawi and Muniqi.[15] In Iran, five to nine strains are recognized, including the Abeya and Hamdani.[16]

Koheilan

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The Keheilan or Koheilan (Arabic: كحيلان, kuḥaylān) is described as tall and strong. The Koheilan line was widely exported to Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to Russia, where it influenced numerous breeds such as the Najd and Tersk. It had a significant influence on Polish-bred Arabians.

According to Bedouin legends described by Rzewuski, "Koheyléh" was one of the five mares who returned when Muhammad called to her. He is said to have smeared her eyes with kohl, hence the name "Koheilan".[17]

Koheilan conformation is more solid and stocky than other strains.[15] According to a study published in the USSR in 1989, the Koheilan type is distinguished by "prominent body mass, large size, solid construction and the ability to thrive regardless of management conditions". Koheilans show good action and stamina.[18] It is a "male-type" lineage, with deep chest, tall stature and great power, reaching a height of 1.52 m.[19] Koheilan symbolizes power and endurance.[20]

There are variations in the transcription of the Arabic كحيلان: Keheilan[21] Kehilan and Kuhailan,[19] Kocheilan and Najdi Kocheilan,[22] the latter transcription stemming from the origin of these horses, among the Bedouins settled in the Najd heights of central Saudi Arabia.[23] According to Éphrem Houël, the most common French names for the line are: kahel, kahejle, kailhan, koheilan, and finally kochlani.[24]

The lineage was documented by the Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century, who reported that in 1648–1650, the Ottoman Empire bred Koheilan (among other bloodlines) in imperial herds, and supplied them with grass, clover, and the finest grain.[25] Among 20,000 musketeers, he cites cavalrymen riding "Kuheilan" horses.[26]

 
Nejdi Koheilan mares drawn by Wacław Seweryn Rzewuski

Polish count Wacław Seweryn Rzewuski in the 18th century provided a detailed description. He held the horses of the Arabian Najd in the highest esteem, and acquired them for his stud farms. wrote a treatise in French during his expedition to the Bedouins of Arabia's Najd, from 1817 to 1819. In it, he proposed a "grading table for horse blood".[27] According to him, the hottest breed, "all blood and fire", is that of the "Bedouin Najdi Kocheilan of the Schamalieh and Hediazet deserts".[28]

Rzewuski described the Koheilan as "unquestionably the noblest horse in the world and often even the most beautiful. His breed is the purest, the most proven. It has never been mixed".[29] His notebook also includes numerous linguistic notes on the Arabic language,[30] and ten pages of genealogical lists of these horses.[31] Among other things, he writes that "these horses are Najdi because they were born in the deserts of the Najd, and Kocheilan because they have the requisite black eye qualities".[32] He also describes Bedouin traditions of horse capture and exchange, with horses captured on caravans (nakisat) being resold to other tribes, informing them of the animals' name and breed, which Rzewuski describes as "a custom of courtesy and respect for the purity of Najdi Kocheilan blood".[33] Defining the breed by controlling genealogy and climate, he naturally places the horses he imports and breeds himself in his stud farms at the top of the blood classification he has established.[27]

According to Bernadette Lizet, Rzewuski specified that a hudget (a written arrestation) was attached to Koheilan horses from regions other than the Nadj, and a certificate from Nadji Koheilan,[34] the presence of written attestations being a requirement of Russian, German and Polish importers.[35]

Roger D. Upton (1873) believes that the Darley Arabian horse, originally from the Aleppo region, was a Koheilan-Ras-El-Fedawi[36] However, this is a minority view and controversial, with others believing the stallion belonged to the Muniqi lineage).[37] In the 19th century, the name "Koheilan" was given to the horses of the Syrian Desert.[38]

Koheilan I, a grey stallion born at Bábolna National Stud in Hungary in 1922, was exported to Janów Podlaski Stud Farm in Poland, where he became the head of the Arabian racehorse line. Some of its descendants have been exported to the United States.[39] The Bábolna National Stud favors the Koheilan trend among its Arabian half-breeds.[40] The Hungarian Shagya breed is thus partly descended from the Koheilan IV stallion.[41] The line was also exported to Russia,[42] where it influenced the Tersk breed:[43] Koheilan horses form one of the three Arabian lines most exported to this country.[44] The line was also imported into the Shushi region, where local traditions from the 1920s still recall it,[45] and more widely into the Republic of Artsakh, where it has influenced the local breed.[46]

Saklawi

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The Saklawi (Arabic: صقلاوي, ṣaqlāwiyy), Seglawi or Siglavy in Central Europe, was bred by the Ruwallah and Anizah tribes of the Arabian Desert. Considered a "feminine" strain, Saklawi horses are relatively small, but renowned for their beauty, finesse and endurance. Imported to Egypt and into Central Europe in the early 19th century, they have influenced several other horse breeds, in particular the Lipizzan, Shagya and Gidran.

There are many variations in the spelling of the name: Siglavy,[47] Saglawi (in Egypt), Seglawi, Seklavi and Saklawiyah,[48] and сиглави in Russian .[49]

This strain is said to have been developed by Ibn el Derre of the Ruwallah tribe whose territory covers present-day Syria, northern Saudi Arabia and part of Jordan, and to be descended from Koheilat Ajuz.[50] Prince Mehemet Ali considered the Saklawi to be the bravest of Arabian horses, believing it could fight to defend its master.[51] It seems that Abbas I Hilmi of Egypt paid over £3,000 in the 1850s (representing between £289,300 and £10 million today[52]) to acquire a mare of Saglawi Jedran lineage in present-day Saudi Arabia.[53] Another source states that he acquired all the Saglawi Jedran horses from the Bedouin tribe of Anizah.[54] In general, several written sources indicate that Saklawi horses were brought to Egypt in the 19th and 20th centuries, including Ghazieh, a Ruwallah mare too weak to cross the desert, who was transported by cart to Cairo,[55] and Gamil-el-Kebir, ancestor of the famous Arabian stallion Dahman-el-Azrak, and its son Rabdan.[56]

This strain is said to symbolize "beauty and elegance".[57] A 1915 article in the Journal of Science and Practical Agriculture stated that the Saklawi is the most beautiful of the Arabian horses.[58] The bones are finer, the head and neck more elongated than in other Arabian horses. The coat is generally bay. The lineage shows speed and endurance.[48]

 
Lipizzan horse from the Spanish Riding School, from the Siglavy lineage

Saklawi horses influenced several European horse breeds. One stallion of the lineage, a gray named Siglavy, is known to have been a foundation stallion of the Lipizzan breed. He was born in 1810 and arrived in Lipica in 1814[59] or 1816.[60] Of Egyptian origin,[61][62] Lipizzans of Siglavy lineage remain renowned for their excellent conformation.[63]

The Bábolna stud farm has been home to several horses of Siglavy stock.[64] An imposing chestnut stallion, imported from Arabia in 1816 and named Gidran Senior,[65] is at the origin of the Hungarian Gidran breed, through his son Gidran II, who began breeding in 1817.[66] Siglavy sires are among the foundation stock of the Shagya breed. The Shagya XX stallion is notably out of a Siglavy-Bagdady mare.[64] A third Hungarian breed, the Nonius, was crossed with Siglavy Arabians early in its development.[67] The Borike stud farm in Croatia was home to Siglavy Arabians,[68] the horses generally originating from the Turkish invasions.[69]

A Siglavy can also be found among the founding lineages of the old Czech Kladruber horse.[70] The Polish Arabian horse was formed from horses of Koheilan stock, occasionally crossed with Saklawi stallions for refinement.[71][72]

References

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  1. ^ Al Khamsa. "Al Khamsa The Five". History and Legends. Al Khamsa, Inc. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  2. ^ Archer, Arabian Horse, pp. 92–93
  3. ^ Upton, Peter (2006) [1998]. Amirsadeghi, Hossein (ed.). Arabians. Rik van Lent, photographer. Lincoln: First Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-5401-9., p. 12
  4. ^ Schofler, Patti (2006). Flight Without Wings: The Arabian Horse and the Show World. Globe Pequot. ISBN 1-59228-800-6., pp. 3–4
  5. ^ Schofler (2006, p. 10)
  6. ^ Głażewska, Iwona (2010). "Speculations on the origin of the Arabian horse breed". Livestock Science. 129 (1–3): 49–55. doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2009.12.009.
  7. ^ Staffa, Kelsa. Fire in the Heart: The Al Khamsa Arabian Archived 2013-05-29 at the Wayback Machine, (Cult)ure Magazine, December 15, 2010. Accessed June 23, 2011.
  8. ^ "The Horse of the Bedouin". The Bedouin Horse. Al Khamsa Organization. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  9. ^ Derry Bred for Perfection pp. 104–105
  10. ^ Arabian Horse Association. "Horse of the Desert Bedouin". Arabian Horse History & Heritage. Arabian Horse Association. Archived from the original on 22 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-25.
  11. ^ Archer, Arabian Horse, p. 92
  12. ^ Forbis Classic Arabian Horse pp. 274–289
  13. ^ "The Bedouin Concept of Asil". The Bedouin Horse. Al Khamsa Organization. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  14. ^ Edwards, Gladys Brown. (1973). The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse (Revised Collector's ed.). Covina, California: Rich Publishing, Inc. p. 22
  15. ^ a b Hendricks (2007, p. 43)
  16. ^ Hendricks (2007, pp. 337–338)
  17. ^ Homéric (2012, p. 320)
  18. ^ Grigorʹevich Dmitriev, Nikolaĭ; Konstantinovich Ėrnst, Lev (1989). Animal genetic resources of the USSR. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 260. ISBN 9251025827.
  19. ^ a b Lynghaug, Fran (2009). The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide : The Complete Guide to the Standards of All North American Equine Breed Associations. MBI Publishing Company LLC. p. 672. ISBN 978-1-61673-171-7.
  20. ^ Schiele (1970, p. 21)
  21. ^ "Keheilan/Saudi Arabia". DAD-IS. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. ^ Homéric (2012, p. 319)
  23. ^ CNRS (2003). Techniques & culture (in French). Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme. p. 192.
  24. ^ Houël, Éphrem. Histoire du cheval chez tous les peuples de la terre: depuis les temps les plus anciens jusqu'à nos jours (in French). Bureau du Journal des Haras. p. 606.
  25. ^ Çelebi, Evliya (1846). Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia and Africa in the 17th Century. Vol. 1. Oriental Translation Fund, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 256.
  26. ^ Zertal, Adam; Mirkam, Nivi (2016). The Manasseh Hill Country Survey. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. BRILL. p. 614. ISBN 978-9004312302.
  27. ^ a b Lizet, Bernadette (2004). "Le cheval arabe du Nejd et le système des races orientales dans le manuscrit de Wenceslas Severyn Rzewuski" (PDF). Anthropozoologica (in French). 39 (1): 79–97.
  28. ^ Rzewuski (2002, p. 628)
  29. ^ Subhi (2017, p. 93)
  30. ^ Subhi (2017, p. 99)
  31. ^ Subhi (2017, pp. 100, 101)
  32. ^ Subhi (2017, p. 94)
  33. ^ Rzewuski (2002, p. 469)
  34. ^ Rzewuski (2002, p. 559)
  35. ^ Lizet (2004, p. 83)
  36. ^ Upton, Roger (1873). Newmarket & Arabia: An Examination of the Descent of Racers and Coursers. Henry S. King. p. 211.
  37. ^ Johnson, Virginia; Crookshanks, Barbara (2008). Virginia Horse Racing: Triumphs of the Turf. Arcadia Publishing. p. 160. ISBN 978-1625843920.
  38. ^ Journal des haras, chasses, et courses de chevaux, des progrès des sciences zooïatriques et de médecine comparée (in French). Vol. 7. Parent. p. 293.
  39. ^ Kowalczyk, Andra (2007). Tennessee's Arabian Horse Racing Heritage. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 978-0738543901.
  40. ^ Schiele (1970, p. 222)
  41. ^ Schrishuhn, Debra Kay; Johnson, Diana Miller; Enander, Anita (2008). The Babson influence: a retrospective : the bloodline at the base of some of the world's greatest pedigrees. The Institute for the Desert Arabian Horse. p. 504.
  42. ^ Graham Hope, Charles Evelyn; Jackson, Noel (1973). The encyclopedia of the horse. Viking Press. p. 336. ISBN 0-7207-0599-1.
  43. ^ Pickeral, Tamsin (2003). Encyclopedia of horses and ponies. Barnes & Noble Books. p. 384. ISBN 0760734577.
  44. ^ Graham Hope, Charles Evelyn; Jackson, Noel (1973). The encyclopedia of the horse. Viking Press. p. 336.
  45. ^ Dechambre, Paul (1921). Traité de zootechnie: Les équidés (in French) (2nd ed.). Librairie agricole de la maison rustique. p. 42.
  46. ^ Bockarev, K. (1950). "Sovremennaja karabahskaja lošadj" [Karabakh horse in the present day]. Konevodstvo (in Russian) (9): 16–20.
  47. ^ Porter et al. (2016, p. 438)
  48. ^ a b Schofler (2006, p. 12)
  49. ^ Раздуев Алексей Валерьевич, Раздуев Алексей Валерьевич; Мамина Анастасия Владимировна (2015). "The Seventh European Conference on Languages, Literature and Linguistics" (PDF). Association for Advanced Studies and Higher Education GMBH (in Russian): 19.
  50. ^ Piduch (1988, p. 47)
  51. ^ Forbis & Ferriss (1990, p. 175)
  52. ^ "Measuringworth". Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  53. ^ Keown-Boyd, Henry (2002). The lion and the sphinx : the rise and fall of the British in Egypt, 1882–1956. Memoir Club. p. 214. ISBN 1-84104-061-4.
  54. ^ Wentworth, James (1938). Sport in Egypt. Country Life. p. 151.
  55. ^ Piduch (1988, p. 71)
  56. ^ Piduch (1988, p. 108)
  57. ^ Schiele (1970, p. 21)
  58. ^ "International Review of the Science and Practice of Agriculture". International Institute of Agriculture. 6: 1675. 1915.
  59. ^ Wallner, Barbara; Vogl, Claus; Shukla, Priyank; Burgstaller, Joerg (2013). "Identification of Genetic Variation on the Horse Y Chromosome and the Tracing of Male Founder Lineages in Modern Breeds". PLOS ONE. 8 (4): e60015. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...860015W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060015. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3616054. PMID 23573227.
  60. ^ Isenbart, Hans-Heinrich; Bührer, Emil; Albrecht, Kurt (1986). The imperial horse : the saga of the Lipizzaners. Knopf. p. 204.
  61. ^ Westerman, Frank (2012). Brother Mendel's Perfect Horse : Man and beast in an age of human warfare. Translated by Garrett, Sam. Random House. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-4090-1932-9.
  62. ^ Dovc, P; Kavar, T; Sölkner, H; Achmann, R (2006). "Development of the Lipizzan Horse Breed". Reproduction in Domestic Animals. 41 (4): 280–285. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0531.2006.00726.x. ISSN 1439-0531. PMID 16869882. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  63. ^ Borghese, A (1992). "The Lipizzaner in Italy". Animal Genetic Resources/Resources génétiques animales/Recursos genéticos animales. 10: 67–73. doi:10.1017/S1014233900003308. ISSN 2076-4022. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  64. ^ a b Actes (in French). Congrès international d'Agriculture. 1934. pp. 236–238, 249.
  65. ^ Pickeral, Tamsin (2003). The encyclopedia of horses & ponies. Barnes & Noble. p. 384. ISBN 0-7607-3457-7.
  66. ^ Porter et al. (2016, p. 469)
  67. ^ Geddes, Candida; Edwards, Elwyn (1988). The Complete Horse Book. Trafalgar Square. p. 344.
  68. ^ Telalbašić, R; Žiga, E; Rahmanović, Alma (2009). "HISTORY OF THE BORIKE STABLES AND ARABIAN HORSE BREEDING FROM 1895 TO 2007". Stočarstvo (in Croatian). 63 (3). ISSN 0351-0832. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  69. ^ Čačić, M; Korabi, N; Čurik, I; Baban, Mirjana (2006). "Analiza stanja uzgoja arapske pasmine konja u Republici Hrvatskoj". Stockbreeding (in Croatian). 60 (1). ISSN 0351-0832. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  70. ^ Jakubec, V; Volenec, J; Majzlík, I; Schlote, W (2005). "Analysis of inbreeding in the genetic resource of the „Old Kladrub horse" in the period from 1993 to 2003". Conservation genetics of endangered horse breeds. Wageningen Academic Pub. p. 187. ISBN 9076998795. ISSN 0071-2477.
  71. ^ Schiele (1970, p. 174)
  72. ^ Pieszka, M; Luszczynski, J; Gruza, K (2012). "Evaluation of sire and dam lines of Polish bred Arabian horses on the base of their show successes". Nauka Przyroda Technologie. Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy W Poznaniu. 3 (6). ISSN 1897-7820. Retrieved 6 December 2016.

Bibliography

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  • Forbis, Judith; Ferriss, Joe (1990). Authentic Arabian bloodstock. Ansata Publications. ISBN 0962564400.
  • Hendricks, Bonnie (2007). International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds (2nd ed.). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3884-8. OCLC 154690199.
  • Homéric (2012). Dictionnaire amoureux du Cheval (in French). Plon - EDI8. ISBN 978-2259218597.
  • Piduch, Erwin (1988). Egypt's Arab Horses: History and Cultural Heritage. Kentauros-Verlag. ISBN 3925069038.
  • Porter, Valerie; Alderson, Lawrence; Hall, Stephen J. G.; Sponenberg, Dan Phillip (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (6th ed.). CAB International. p. 1107. ISBN 978-1-84593-466-8. OCLC 948839453.
  • Rzewuski, Wenceslas (2002). Impressions d'Orient et d'Arabie. Un cavalier polonais chez les Bédouins (1817-1819) (in French). Paris: José Corti-Muséum national d’histoire naturelle.
  • Schiele, Erika (1970). The Arab horse in Europe: history and present breeding of the pure Arab.
  • Schofler, Patti (2006). Flight without Wings: The Arabian Horse And The Show World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1461748925.
  • Subhi, Hana (2017). "Voyage du comte Waclaw Seweryn Rzewuski en Arabie 1817-1819 : de la recherche des chevaux à l'intégration dans la société bédouine". Odysseys / Odyssées: Travel Narratives in French / Récits de voyage en français (in French). BRILL. ISBN 978-9004334724.
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