It seems that in most modern horse breeding, the stallions get all the glory and the mares are relegated to the background. Reading Homer Davenport's My Quest of the Arabian Horse gives a wonderful contrast to this picture, where the mares (like *Wadduda) were renowned for their bravery in battle, and particular stallions (such as *Haleb, the most prized stallion of the importation) were valued mostly on the reputations of their dams and granddams.
"If a Bedouin would come to your tent in the desert and ask for a fast enduring horse to save his life from a well mounted pursuer and you would offer him 3 mares to pick from: a Saklawi, a Kuhailan, a Miniki -- he would pick the Kuhailan mare as sure as she would have to have 4 legs and he would not need to ask you which one was the Kuhailan mare, as he would know her from her looks and conformation!!"
-- Carl Raswan writing to W.R. Brown in 1925
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1993 grey mare, AHR #533606, bred by Charles C. Craver III. A solid saddle horse -- exhibited under saddle at the 2001 Northwest CMK / Al Khamsa symposium. Kuhaylan Haifi in strain; bred two generations in strain and substrain. View five-generation pedigree. |
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"On their backs is splendor, and in their wombs are treasure."
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1982 grey mare, AHR #268084, bred by Gary J or Nicholas Valle Sr. Kuhaylan Haifi in strain; bred two generations in strain and substrain. Capucine is a lovely representative of one of the "rare elements" in Davenport breeding, a member of the Bint Ralf family. "My grandkids' favorite horse," said her previous owner. We've resisted the urge to ride her, instead focusing on giving her the opportunity to replace herself within the straight Davenport group. View five-generation pedigree. |
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2003 chestnut filly, AHR #pending, bred by Jean Marie Diaz. Kuhaylan Haifi in strain; bred two generations in strain and substrain. We think she's absolutely delightful. View five-generation pedigree. |
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