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The Anglo-Arabian Full-blood and It’s Method of Breeding, A Historical and Critical Study (1907)

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Das englisch-arabische Vollblut und seine Zuchtmethode

By Prof. Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Dünkelberg, Geheimer Regierungsrat.[1] Direktor a. D.[2] der Kgl. Landw. Akademie Poppelsdorf-Bonn[3]

“Our Horses, Anthology of Informal Equine Papers,” Issue 35, Schickhardt & Ebner (Konrad Wittwer), Stuttgart, 1907. Pages 1-17.

Editor’s Note

Edited by Lyman Doyle. Translated from German by Anna Swartz.

Dünkelberg argues that the Anglo-Arab is not a half blood but is a distinct and new full blood breed. To the author Arabians and English Thoroughbreds are both noble and full-blood breeds and therefore a combination of the two breeds is also an equally noble and full blood breed.

Dünkelberg is quite particular in his choice of words, especially, the words thoroughbred, full-blood, pure-bred, pure-blood and half blood. He uses them in different ways to describe horses with different breeding.

This book is important for our inquiry into Skowronek because it is through this work that people more broadly in Europe begin to learn about Skowronek’s mixed blood, including the American W.R. Brown. Brown lists this work by Dünkelberg in his 1929 book “The horse of the desert.”

Dünkelberg references Lukomski’s 1906 dissertation and describes the horses of Slawuta and Antoniny and their mixed blood origin. The Sanguszko Slawuta herd consists of “pure Arabians[4] from imported progenitors, a great number of Arabian half-bloods[5] and highly bred domestic dams and Arabian stallions[6] were raised there since a very long time.”

The translation follows:

Foreword

The Anglo-Arabian full-blood[7] may not be judged and appreciated from the perspective of a half-blood breeder; for it is the equivalent of a pure-bred[8] resulting from equal, highly noble parents and their genetic potential and potency.

In any case, a half-blood, by contrast, is the product of parents with unequal degrees of blood lineage because the father is usually bred more selectively than the mother. For that reason, their traits are inherited in an unpredictable and different manner.

Consequently, there is a significant advantage in full-blood breeding and specifically in breeding Anglo-Arabians, even when the parents differ individually in their genetic potential and heredity. Yet, when the genders are chosen correctly, the progeny is more homogeneous as compared to half-blood breeding. Moreover, a few generations are sufficient to achieve the required blood permanence to initiate a productive inbreeding program that restrains from using lines that are too closely related. Setbacks towards the founders of the new Anglo-Arabian breed may still occur but due to the highly noble blood of the ancestors, these will be to a more limited extent and less detrimental as compared to half-blood breeding. This translates to a guaranteed heredity potential passed on to the progeny of the Anglo-Arabian stallion bred with ordinary dams in the greater population, which is not a given when using half-blood stallions. Also, experience has proven beyond any doubt that the Anglo-Arabian has a decidedly more favorable impact on state-sanctioned breeding programs than what the Arabian stallion and the English full-blood could ever achieve on their own.

For all these reasons, the new breed has already gained great significance for applied breeding as well as the scientific foundation of the discipline. The gradual spread of the breed in Germany will further the country’s equine breeding program in the same way that this is already a large-scale success in France. Provided, that only the best available breeding material be used, this implies that not only the selection of the Arabian or English stallion should be considered but the English full-blood mares should be included in the decision process as well. In issue 1 of “Zeitschrift für Gestütskunde[9]”, 1907, the author has provided historical and critical evidence based on the full-blood breeding program in Graditz[10] to support this proposition.

Wiesbaden, February 1907

Introduction

Based on historic facts, the consistently successful and exceptional breeding of Anglo-Arabian horses was first systematically achieved at the Hofgestüt zu Zweibrücken and in the kgl.[11] Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauptgestüt zu Neustadt an der Dosse around the end of the 18th century. In France, it was later imitated and developed to a degree that this country is now claiming leadership.

The author has brought this zootechnical argument in his paper published in 1898 and entitled ‘Die Zuchtwahl des Pferdes, insbesondere das Englisch-Arabische Vollblut’.[12])

France still may deserve the fame for demonstrably achieving great successes with this breeding system in terms of numbers and advances in equine breeding in modern times, by subjecting the new full-blood[13] to national horse breeding to such a surprising extent that more than 200 Anglo-Arabian stallions would breed which was an almost equal number to English Thoroughbred stallions housed at the stations. There is however no doubt about it that it was German nobles and their breeding success that drew the French horse experts’ attention, motivating them to develop the principle of a rational merging of both full-blood breeds in a gradual and very pleasing manner.

Around the turn of the 18th century, it was the penultimate Duke Christian von Zweibrücken who as early as 1760, founded a Hof- und Landgestüt with Arabian and English full-blood stallions and English mares, with the goal to ensure an efficient rearing of the offspring. He recorded their performance in par force hunts, subsequently ordered the elimination of inadequate animals and the extensive use of proven breeding animals, even making them accessible for private breeders.

Herewith began a bright era of breeding for the surrounding area and for Germany because within a short period of time, the small duchy of Zweibrücken counted more than 2,000 broodmares. Moreover, stallions and riding horses from Zweibrücken were sought after and widespread. Starting in the year 1787, more than 150 stallions alone made it to the Haupt- und Landgestüte and were made useful for breeding in other ways.

Records from the beginning of this breeding period are sparse; it should be mentioned, however, that the Duke did use the Arabian stallion Vezir, a gift from Vienna. His son Empereur, sired with an English Thoroughbred dam was of tremendous beauty and strength and became an exceptional sire which proves that the first progeny that resulted from crossing the Arabian and English full-blood breeds, were already able to strongly pass on their traditional qualities, given the appropriate choice of breeding stock. For example, a son of Empereur – Herkules became the progenitor of the beautiful Zweibrücker carriage horses.

Unfortunately, the French invasion destroyed the Duke’s Stud. Even as Napoleon I had it re-established and sent Arabian stallions, it was destroyed again in 1814. Some of the breeding stock was transferred to the stud at Rosières, close to Nancy and a greater number, however, went to Pompadour (Limousin).

As a result of this development and due to the endurance of Zweibrücker horses in war, the new full-blood breed[14] was also adopted in France and in the County Studs as well as by private breeders, like the Marquis von Germagney close to Nancy, who laid the foundation for his successful breeding program based on some dams of the old Zweibrücker breed that had been foolishly sold in Rosières.

The general inspector Count Montendre considered them a treasure that, as he put it, “the Anglophiliacs would not see as full-blood, although they were equally noble as the English horses.” With some justification, their short stature was held against them when the Arabian blood was dominant.

It was then a lucky circumstance that already in 1790, the Royal Prussian Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauptgestüt zu Neustadt a. d. Dosse was stocked with Arabian studs and English Thoroughbred mares, and that Count Lindenau most successfully pursued a breeding goal in parallel to the one at the breeding facility in Zweibrück, until here likewise the pure English full-blood breeding gained the upper hand in the 1830ies. This consequently precipitated the dissolution of the Hauptgestüt in 1877 which was a convincing proof that the Anglo-mania alone could not reliably prop up the national horse breeding program when it comes to enduring functional horses and stud horses.

It remains inconceivable that until the year 1896, the old and exceedingly accommodating traditions and the numerous unrivaled successes of Anglo-Arabian breeding in Neustadt could be overlooked. The re-establishment of the Hauptgestüt in Neustadt with Arabian studs and English full-blood mares was only initiated with reference to the breeding successes in Pompadour. Although, it would have been much more convenient to remember the earlier successes in Neustadt and to renew this focus.

The private Stud Pompadour, founded in 1761 with a very different breeding goal in mind, also engaged in state-sanctioned Anglo-Arabian breeding as early as 1791. However, the Republic sold the Stud’s horses, which made a come-back in 1806 but was shut down again in 1825, until in 1833 the breeding program was revived to supply Arabian blood to the region of Southern France.

Here, it was the venerable Stud Director Gayot who in a rational manner revived this breeding program and steadily propelled it to success, explicitly pointing out that the first effort of this kind was made by Duke Christian in Zweibrücken. Gayot can be credited with France gaining prominence in the production of Anglo-Arabian elite horses that now are included in the national horse breeding program. Although, for a long time there was no shortage in detractors who wanted to see the main emphasis put on the English Thoroughbred as usual.

Gayot wrote: “The Anglo-Arabian has longer lines, is taller, has a more developed body and broader extremities than his father, the Arabian stallion. He is less flat and stiff, less elongated than the English full-blood mare, his mother. He is less susceptible to external effects than his parents and reliable in his use. Not developing as late as the Arabian, he does not quite have the potential for growth like the English breed; but he grows fast enough, without ever compromising on the regularity of his form. This is important because it is the best check on deficiencies and defects that so often occur with extremities of the English horse, spoiling and devaluing it.”

“Less bulky and austere than the Arabian, the Anglo-Arabian requires less than the other when there should be a need and he uses feed more efficiently in development and growth.”

“Finally, as a utility horse, he is bold and strong, more robust than the English and hardworking than the Arabian. All this is due to his solid and compact build and is visible in the expression of his intelligent physiognomy.

“The Anglo-Arabian has the fundamental advantage of fertility and good heredity because of his pure-blood[15] character and because there is no hysteria over his well-bred breeding stock of mares, like this is the case in England.”

“The Anglo-Arabian is a pure-bred because his ancestry has one and the same point of departure and common ancestry in the English thoroughbred.”

Provided smart selective breeding, his pure-blooded, individually potent Arabian and English parents give reason to expect a more reliable success already in the first generation as compared to a cross of an actual half-blood with an English full-blood is often the case.

However, caution should be taken when using the first generation of both genders in breeding programs because the progeny can suffer setbacks traced back to the ancestry, father or mother, or both, that are unpredictable and can occur in a positive as well as undesired sense.

This also applies to the resulting Anglo-Arabian progeny – making the ultimate consolidation of the new full-blood breed[16] more difficult and longer until their progeny can be used in actual inbreeding, when close relatives are excluded. Once the crossbreeding has achieved a certain and homogeneous goal, including useable sires and mares, a breeding program based on the descendants is certain to succeed and can be continued for many generations.

Hence, it is important to initially execute a rigorous breeding selection of Arabian sires and English Thoroughbred mares. The following remarks will focus on this aspect.

Basics of Equine Breeding

Anglo-Arabian Studs are either based on Arabian studs and English Thoroughbred mares or secondly on Arabian mares and English Thoroughbred studs.

The Arabian Stallion

A successful Anglo-Arabian Stud first and foremost requires a pure-blooded sire of the type of the desert Arabian with its biological qualities that may likely transfer those characteristics that make him an ideal product of his geographical origin to his progeny in a reliable manner.

According to Abbas Pascha-Kairo, the Arabian horse is only considered true within those norms as long as it drinks the dry desert air because it degenerates, like the noble race camel – the Mehari of Arabia and the Sahara – when taken from the native steppe to the proximity of the sea in order to be raised and bred there. The Arabs even claim that alone the air in Yemen causes the pure Arabian progeny to degenerate in the first generation.

Consequently, climate and its variable factors – temperature and precipitation – have a considerable effect. It may vary within a broad range in Arabia, a region that measures approximately 48,000 geographic square miles, and even includes areas without precipitation. The areas in central Saudi Arabia[17] are among the hottest on earth and high temperatures during the day are followed by excessively cold nights.

Additional factors are the variation in the limited grazing vegetation, the meager grain component in the feed regimen, as well as the Nomad life style, which next to their intense use as riding horses must have impacted the special development of the highly precious organism of the breeding stock.

All this also explains that the noble Arabian horse[18] falls into numerous lines and single families. The different Nomadic tribes with their thousands of horses possess very different breeds when it comes to form and performance, quite apart from crosses with country horses.

In the year 1872, Duke Eduard Nolde traveled Central Arabia, Kurdistan, and Armenia[19]) and was one of the few Europeans who like the English horse expert Blunt, arrived at the inner-Arabian region of Nejid where the rich (late) Emir Ibn-Raschid bred the most noble Arabian blood on his stud. Duke Nolde concluded from what he witnessed that while there were a great number of horses of the highest quality and a few dozen excellent mares among them, the stallions, however, were held in bad condition, due to the extremely high price of barley. Therefore, they could be greatly improved. The pedigrees of the noblest Arabians are structured in five main lines with 21-22 side lines, the relative worth of which is a subject of dispute.

The noblest line seems to be the Kheilans, incorrectly called Kochlani in Europe, including three main strains. They take priority over the Hamdani and Habdans. Furthermore, two additional main lines are distinguished, the Seglawih which can be found with the added name Djedran, and the Managi. The additional word Adjus is also found, which means ‘old woman’ and signifies a preference. According to an old Arabian legend, an old woman on a noble mare could save herself from a well-mounted pack of pursuers.

All these distinctions rightfully underscore what great emphasis Arabs put on the pedigree of breeding horses and that despite remaining hard to understand for Europeans, this bears a deeper significance rooted in practical experiences which consequently should be factored in when making an acquisition.

Furthermore, the pedigrees of the noblest Arabian horses reveal what exceptionally broad crossing of the blood lines including main and side lines took place over the course of centuries. Even if they cannot be fully disentangled, they explain the unusual differences in the respective individualities of the noblest Arabians to the extent that this was expressed in the conformation and performance of the sires and dams arriving in Europe, as well as their breeding success.

It is therefore not surprising that the term noble Arabian[20] includes numerous individuals reared under different conditions and that considering the constant evolution of the pure and noble Arabian type[21] and a change of his qualities over time, our breeders might even have to expect a decrease in heredity and breeding quality in particular, like it is the case with the English Thoroughbred.

All this makes the acquisition of exceptional stallions for European studs the more difficult because it is dangerous to do business with desert tribes directly and only a selection in the border provinces is easier to manage. While still in the year 1885, an Austrian military commission declared that there is no real shortage of valuable breeding material. In his valuable report “Die österreichische Pferdeankaufsmission in Syrien, Palästina und in den Wüsten,” Troppau 1860[22], Löffler describes that within nine months (November until June) Colonel von Bruderman succeeded to acquire three stallions and 20 mares of noblest blood from the Bedouin tribe Would Ali which possessed 5,000 horses. However, a more recent Austrian delegation returned empty-handed, while a French delegation was shipping to Arabia later. In general, France has made numerous acquisitions over the last decades.

If and to what extent Austria did not reach its goal and that this could possibly be attributed to a degeneration of the race, cannot be judged by the writer.

From a zootechnical standpoint, it is clear that the nobler breed is still subject to variation in other countries, even within a constantly recognizable type.

Primarily, the different climate conditions play a role, especially differences in winter as compared to the original homeland. Moreover, additional factors are the varying exercise and physical use, be it in open air, under the saddle, or pulling a wagon, and diet consisting of roughage and grains, which includes barley in Asia, oats in other places, and rice in India.

An additional aspect is a different method of care, which is more orderly in European studs.

Due to all these factors, here, the Arabian horse increases in size and mass when starting from an early age. This has been demonstrated in the private stud of S. M.[23] the King of Württemberg. It was not evident in newly imported older horses but was clearly observed in their progeny.

The bone also develops stronger as compared to the desert horse, whose bone structure is comparably lighter but at the same time firm as ivory.

The desert Arabian is criticized for his small stature, which is less noticeable if fed a better diet from an early age, which is lacking in the desert. Nevertheless, compatible with their extremely active nervous system and noble blood, even shorter stallions pass on their fire and their excellent endurance and modest dietary needs very well. Placed in foreign studs, they sustain themselves in surprising ways to a ripe age in their twenties.

From a breeding standpoint, it is therefore crucial to pair Arabian stallions with taller and heavier mares of noble blood which applies to the English Thoroughbred mare that at the same time passes on a higher degree of precocity to her progeny while the desert horse takes longer to be useable but then stands alone when it comes to enduring stress and a scarcity of nutrition and water over long distances.

As Arabs preferentially ride mares that are therefore harder to procure, larger numbers of male foals are easier to acquire from Bedouins; yet, geldings do not exist because they are rejected for religious reasons.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to acquire reliable noble sires[24] from distinct tribes and in particular, sires whose conformation satisfies European standards. Arabs apply different standards and are more prone to be guided by preconceptions while fully capable of balancing the strengths and deficiencies of the respective main lines and would use them in their breeding programs accordingly.

It can be noted that applying the aforementioned to studs of the most noble pedigree that arrived in Europe for breeding purposes, the Zweibrücker Stud which was in the hands of the Crown of Bavaria again since 1814, had only one grey stallion, Choueiman, who was exceptional among five Arabian stallions. According to the horse expert Villeroi zu Rittershof (Bavarian Palatinate), he was a true desert horse and only up for sale in Damascus because of an injury to his foot. He was exceptional in terms of beauty of form, was of a strong build which included the legs, had a vivacious stride and a very reliable heredity. Years later, the author was able to recognize these characteristics and the inherited conformation of the sire in farm horses on several occasions. Although he produced splendid foals with good mares, he also sired the worst around with less qualified mares. One might conclude that even the noblest stud may not balance flagrant opposites.

The gray stallion Armidor at the old Hauptgestüt zu Neustadt a. d.[25] Dosse stood out as a successful sire. He was acquired from Count Kaunitz in Vienna and was a gift of Empress Katharina to Kaunitz.

Likewise, Nyschti and Bayou who in 1793 were acquired for Neustadt by the Stable Master Ehrenpfort between Damascus and Aleppo, were of noblest blood. Four additional stallions were used at the Stud for a long time due to their noble progeny.

However, all these stallions were eclipsed by the Arabian stud Turcmainatti who was acquired for Count Kaunitz by the Austrian Consul and given to Count Lindenau as a gift. He was six years old when he arrived at the Stud Neustadt in 1791.

Still in 1839, all Prussian Hauptgestüte used his progeny in their breeding programs. He was a foundation sire[26] that was very influential on the Stud’s lasting reputation, particularly based on his Anglo-Arabian progeny sired with English Thoroughbred mares. He also produced excellent results with English half-blood mares.

An authentic etching of the stallion from the year 1833 is published in the author’s ‘Zuchtwahl’[27] on page 56. The Arabian of noblest pedigree, raised by the Anazeh tribe (with 5,000 horses) is shown in elegant, harmonious, and compact form.

He was used as a sire up to the year 1806 and could not be brought to safety after the battle near Jena, due to an injury on his left front leg that left it permanently paralyzed. Captured by the French, Turcmainatti was put up in the newly organized Stud of the Grand Duke von Berg – Murat, as the author could see from the stud registry in Düsseldorf. This shines light on the fate of the stallion which was unknown to this day.

A noble type, similar to Turcmainatti’s, yet in a more delicate form, was Bairaktar[28], a grey stallion from the line Seglawih-Djedran, shown on the title page of this publication: ‘Weil, the private stud of S. M. King Wilhelm II of Württemberg.’[29]

Bairaktar was acquired in the year 1817, next to the excellent, brown Tajar. He was a fiery stud up to his 24th year, after which he had to be put down because of his old age. He did not seem to have sired a single bad horse and became the progenitor of the Arabian Stud that held 7 stallions and 37 mares sired by him.

His son Amurath inherited his beauty and highly noble, regular build but he was taller. He was used as a sire between the years of 1836 and 1856. His other sons, the gray stallions Bournou and Amurath II and the brown Tajar passed on the high nobility, the build and gait of the progenitor in strikingly similar ways into the third generation as the main sires between 1824-1861. Practicing inbreeding already in 1861 in fourth generation, while making an effort to avoid incest and practicing diligent selection of mares, yielded proof for the heritability of the pure desert blood[30].

The national Arabian stallion Mirza displayed similar noble characteristics like Turcmainatti and Bairaktar (see his etching by Bürde in ‘Zuchtwahl’, page 181). Given to the King by the Shah of Persia, Mirza came to England in 1819 and to the Braunschweigische Hofgestüt Harzburg in 1821, where he stood out for his excellent progeny. According to the old stud foreman, they were excellent horses for service at the royal court. In the conversation with the author, he did not conceal the fact that since the dying out of the blood and the use of English Thoroughbred studs, they were unable to breed such strong, enduring horses for the royal court as before.

The aforementioned Arabians that are characteristic of the noblest Arabian type and made known in present-time through authentic depictions, are convincing to conclude that only a rational crossing of such noblest blood with English Thoroughbred mares will allow to achieve such consistent and extraordinary breeding results in Europe as well.

It remains an open question, if this could also be achieved to a similar extent with Arabian stallions that are currently available in the desert. The type of the pure breed[31] indeed seems to have changed, as demonstrated by the second depiction in this publication which shows a stallion from Damascus or Hauran that was acquired by the Austrian military commission in 1894. This portrait together with nine photographs of Arabian stallions was given to the author by the Dragoman[32] of the German Consulate in Beirut. It does not convey the almost perfect beauty as displayed by the three stallions mentioned before. None of those, including famous award-winning Beirut racehorses, come close to the older type.

This is in exact agreement with statements by Grabensee in his travel report, claiming that the original Arabian sires chiefly used in Pompadour do not measure up to our German ideals in terms of conformation. He adds, however, that the stallions recently imported by France from Arabia produce very good Anglo-Arabian progeny that exceeded his expectations.

Nevertheless, the question can be entertained, if actually this old elite blood cannot be found anymore or even must be seen as a transient variable that died out – and this question could only be answered on site.

There is no shortage of Studs in other places outside Arabia, dedicated to breeding pure Arabians.[33] With no intent of offending their founders or diminishing their efforts, one cannot disregard that based on the laws of the natural world, it seems questionable if it was possible to breed the original blood sustainably in its powerful endurance and without any negative variation in different geographic locations and climates. This question has to be negated for the important reason that these Studs had to consider a frequent influx of new blood from the Orient.

In addition to the original homeland that is always seen as the most reliable source of supply, Constantinople can also be considered, provided that original pedigree and performance are proven. In Constantinople, the Marstall[34] of the Sultan is a very good source for breeding material. It is not possible to acquire mares there, however, because their export is forbidden. Traders often have a selection of stallions that although still of questionable value, require an experienced horseman to make an adequate assessment about their breeding fitness, which cannot easily be deduced from physical appearance.

Lately, British East India is also considered as a source, as traders from the Persian Gulf export large numbers of Arabians even for racing purposes. English Thoroughbreds do not adapt well to India’s hot and humid climate and the country’s ponies are often interbred with Arabian blood, as Petersen has established (see the author’s ‘Zuchtwahl’, page 38).

Petersen mentions that purebred desert horses[35] that had been imported to India can be bought through Arabian agents in Bombay for 400 Pound Sterling and can be shipped by the big steamer lines to Europe for 30 Pounds. The horses are said to be better than what is considered a National Arabian elsewhere.

Other European sources of supply are two Studs in South-West Russia, Slawuta and Antoniny, that were described in detail by Dr. B. von Lukomski in the 33rd issue of ‘Unsere Pferde’. [36])

Stud Slawuta

It is the oldest and largest and belongs to the renowned breeder family of Count Sanguszko. In addition to pure Arabians[37] from imported progenitors, a great number of Arabian half-bloods[38] and highly bred domestic dams and Arabian stallions[39] were raised there since a very long time.

Lukomski adds that even though not all horses of the stud directly derive from original Arabians[40], it was consistently the case in second, less often in third generation.

The now elderly Count Roman is an experienced equestrian and took it upon himself to chronicle the history of the stud. He explicitly stresses ‘that the owner of a stud may not be blinded by the beauty of the stud that he intends to use; he should primarily consider his parents because one can be sure that the good and bad paternal characteristics will be less evident in the offspring than the qualities and pedigree of the grandparents and even great-grandparents.’[41]

This should also be advice to those who doubt the existence of setbacks and hereby mislead uneducated breeders.

Next to the more important breeding program involving improved half-blood[42], the stud runs a pure Arabian elite breeding program[43] with original parents[44] and repeated influx of such stallions for the necessary new blood, which is the reason why the conformation of the progeny is identical with that of desert horses.

However, it is explicitly mentioned that not all imported pure stallions[45] passed on their traits as desired. So, pure Arabians also are subject to individual variation, even when they possess the external typology of the race, which must be considered by the breeder.

This applies the more when there is just a trace of other noble blood, like the English, being crossed with the pure Arabian breeding stock; hence, the English Thoroughbred shall not have the exclusive right to an equally pure pedigree because only very few original-oriental dams had to be used for the foundational generations of the English breed and rather mixed blood [46] had to be used for breeding. Only the gradual selection of the best and the propagation of such blood could lay the foundation of the English Thoroughbred.

A 13-year-old pure Arabian mare from the Seglawih family, Melpomena, is currently the gem of the Slawuta Stud. In 1900, she was honored with the Gold medal at the horse exhibit in Paris. Also, the stallion Olgierd, son of a Nedjd dam obtained a prize in Paris.

Furthermore, Southern Russia features:

The Antoniny Stud

In comparison to Slawuta, Count Potoki’s breeding goal is broader, pursuing the following:

  1. The traditional Arabian breeding program with dams of the Slawuta line and original or domestic Arabian studs.
  2. The English Thoroughbred program with imported studs and imported or on-location-bred Thoroughbred dams, as well as with English and Irish Hunter dams.
  3. The Anglo-Arabian breeding program with Arabian dams and English Thoroughbred sires.

The latter deviates from the traditional Anglo-Arabian breeding program that only uses English Thoroughbred dams.

The full-blood stallions in Antoniny were:

  1. Marshall-Saxe 15 out of Beryl after Newminster 8;

He delivered good but few progeny.

His quotients, the calculation and purpose of which will be discussed shortly, are:

63 ancestors – 15 youngest ancestors – older ancestors

0.7391 – 0.1428 – 1.0000

His bloodlines suggest an exceptional sire, appropriate for Anglo-Arabian breeding.

  1. Hulton 2 out of Intruder by Galopin 3. This stallion is also well selected, since sire blood dominates; his quotients are:

0.9622 – 0.7446 – 2.6666

  1. Le Firmament 4. Out of Queen of Pearse by Le Sancy 2.

His quotients are:

1.0930 – 1.8000 – 0.8787

A well raised stallion with only a small portion of running blood in the 15 youngest generations.

  1. Sandbox out of ‘Gekauft’[47] by Matchbox 22.

His quotients are:

0.9000 – 2.7272 – 1.1379

At least, running blood outweighs the sire blood slightly which is useful because the first three of them are marked sire stallions. Sandbox can practically have a balancing function. He was acquired only in 1905 and therefore has no progeny yet.

The following dams were present: 33 Arabian, 12 English, and 20 Anglo-Arabian. In addition to 32 suckling foals and weanlings, among 34 yearlings there were: 5 English, 19 Arabian and 10 Anglo-Arabian; among 27 two-year-old juveniles: 81 Arabians and 9 Anglo-Arabians; among the 20 three-year-old juveniles: 11 Arabians and 9 Anglo-Arabians.

The entire progeny included 81 animals: 5 English, 48 Arabian, and 28 Anglo-Arabian, counting 38 young stallions, 37 young mares, and 6 geldings.

The English included only yearlings, since two-year-olds are already sold to officers and race stable owners. Bought in 1895 in Constantinople, Sultan from Baghdad from the Seglawih family in Hamdani-Jemri serves as Arabian sire. Although, he seems very small and unspectacular next to the English stallions, he is exceptionally beautiful, compact, broad, and has a strong bone structure while being a very good sire; among the foals are 40 of his progeny.

By contrast, the Arabian herd of mares is not as balanced as the one in Slawuta, though of uniform type. They are the progeny of the stallions O’Bajan and Faraon, also of the locally bred Alikar and Priam, so not all of them come from desert stallions.

The feed regimen is more intense in Antoniny than in Slawuta where the diet contains more roughage. Two- and three-year-old horses get 5 to 6 pounds[48] of oats and consequently horses in Antoniny develop more rapidly.

The Anglo-Arabian mares are not very different from the Arabians because the Arabian blood is more dominant, due to its old blood consistency: the former are only taller and the Arabians rarely exceed a withers height of 160 cm.

The Anglo-Arabians 156-162 cm high are consistently crossed with English Thoroughbred studs – likewise, the shorter Arabians and the taller ones are crossed with Arabians. The 42 riding horses, among them 2/3 the product of the local breeding program, are subjected to an intense performance test at par force hunts in the fall before they are set up. Carriage horses must be able to cover distances between two railway stations – 60 and 43 km. The Marstall is therefore worth seeing.

Differences between foals of different years are more pronounced than in Slawuta; two-year juveniles measure 150-152 cm, three and four-year juveniles up to 160 cm, and the Anglo-Arabians up to 165 cm, though not consistently because setbacks do occur. Buyers would pay 800 and even 1000 Rubel for riding horses.

Anglo-Arabians from crossing English Thoroughbred studs and mostly Arabian dams[49] show no typical consistency which is why mating Anglo-Arabians among themselves is not done. Only mares are kept and paired again with English studs. Consequently, the progeny increasingly resembles them where the dominance of the Arabian blood would allow for it.

Therefore, Anglo-Arabian pairing and breeding programs there significantly differ from those that are common practice and preferred in Germany and France: there, the first generation is from English Thoroughbred dams and Arabian studs, and only their female progeny is sporadically paired with English studs again until a suitable Anglo-Arabian stallion is produced that is used on Anglo-Arabian dams. The new race can then be propagated through inbreeding.

The Royal Hungarian State Stud Bábolna

This stud should be mentioned as a European supply source with an extensive, mostly pure Arabian breeding program. The author has obtained details from the managing director of the stud.

In December 1906, the stud housed:

  1. Arabian full-blood[50]: 8 stallions and 53 mares.
  2. Their progeny: 99 stallions and 109 mares.
  3. The price for the progeny is close to 980 Kronen, at 85 Pfg. Reichsmünze.
  4. In the last decade, 12 stallions and 13 mares were acquired in the Orient with the purpose of injecting new blood.
  5. The following stallions were characterized by a high hereditary potential: O’Bayan, Gazal. Mersuch, Seglawih-Bagdadi, Schechan-Schammar, Koheilan-Raschid, and Koheilan, all with extraordinary nobility, good bones and exceptional gait.

The chestnut-colored O’Bayan 12, who was bought for Neustadt a. d. Dosse for breeding, was born in Bábolna in May 1889. His father was the original Arabian O’Bayan from the tribe Anazeh el Sbaa, after the father by the same name and the mother Meneghie, born 1881, a Rappe[51] with star – 155 cm tall, acquired for 6000 Frs. from chief Fadlallah el Hedad in 1885. O’Bayan’s mother was reared in Bábolna after the Arabian full-blood stallions Amurath Bairaktar 10, Mahomed Mirza 6 and from Aghil Aga 3, an Anglo-Arab full-blood from the state stud Kisbér; for his mother was the English Thoroughbred mare Maria.

The conclusions to draw from this shall be discussed later in the description of the Hauptgestüt Neustadt.

The Private Stud S. M. King Wilhelm II von Württemberg zu Weil

Limited in numbers, the stud breeds pure Arabians and Anglo-Arabians. Their stallions are in demand.

  1. Title of the highest advising officials, going back to another meaning of ‘geheim’ – most trusted – advisor. The title was common in the territories of the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German and Austrian monarchies. The title is not bound to academic achievement and today is bestowed upon a person with exemplary public life. ↑
  2. Stands for ‘außer Dienst’, meaning retired, not in active duty. ↑
  3. Preceding the present-day Faculty of Agriculture at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. ↑
  4. “Reine Araber is translated as pure Arabians throughout this document. ↑
  5. “Arabisches Halbblut” means Arabian half-bloods. ↑
  6. “Stark veredelte inländische Mütter und arabische Hengste” means highly refined through the process of breeding. ↑
  7. “Vollblut” is translated as of full blood throughout this document. ↑
  8. “Reinzucht” is translated as pure-bred throughout this document. ↑
  9. Journal of Stud Science. ↑
  10. Hauptgestüt Graditz is a main stud of the Prussian monarchy. It is still in place today, located in Saxony, in a part of the town of Torgau. ↑
  11. Short for “königlich” or royal. ↑
  12. Original footnote: Dünkelberg, Die Zuchtwahl des Pferdes, insbesondere das Englisch-Arabische Vollblut. Braunschweig 1898. Unsere Pferde. Issue 35. (Translation: The selective breeding of the horse, particularly the Anglo-Arabian full-blood.) ↑
  13. “Vollblut” means of full blood. ↑
  14. “Neue vollblutrasse” means a new race of full blood. ↑
  15. “Reinblütig” is translated as of pure blood throughout this document. ↑
  16. “Vollblutrasse” means full-blood breed or thoroughbred. ↑
  17. “Saudgegenden” is a term in use historically, maybe referring to the Middle East or a more defined region within it such as what is now Saudi Arabia. ↑
  18. “Edles arabisches pferd” means noble Arabian horse ↑
  19. Original footnote: Nolde, Reise nach Innerarabien, Kurdistan und Armenien. Braunschweig 1892. (Translation: Travel to inner Arabia, Kurdistan, and Armenia.) ↑
  20. “Edler Araber” means noble Arabian. ↑
  21. “Reinen und edlen arabischen Typus” where “rein” means pure and “typus’” means type. ↑
  22. Translation: The Austrian horse acquisition mission in Syria, Palestine, and in the desert lands. ↑
  23. S.M. standing for Seine Majestät, translated His Majesty. ↑
  24. “Bewährte edle Deckhengste“ means proven noble sires, referring to a noble bloodline but also suggesting consistent heredity. ↑
  25. Abbreviation a.d. (an der) for on the river Dosse. ↑
  26. “Vaterpferd” means foundation sire. A “Vaterpferd” was a sire that was widely used in a national breeding program on Landgestüten, promoted and financed by the state with the goal to improve horse genetics on a broad scale mainly for use in war. ↑
  27. ‘Die Zuchtwahl des Pferdes, im Besonderen das englisch-arabische Vollblut’ by Dünkelberg published in 1898. (Translation: Breeding selection of the horse, with focus on the Anglo-Arabian full-blood.) ↑
  28. Bairaktar can also be spelled Bairactar. ↑
  29. Original footnote: Weil, private stud S.M. King Wilhelm II von Württemberg. With breeding tables, pedigrees, a location plan, and 8 depictions. Stuttgart 1902, Schickhardt & Ebner (K. Wittwer). ↑
  30. “Reines Wüstenblut” where “rein” means pure describing the noun “Wüstenblut” which is a composite noun of desert and blood, where the first describes the latter. ↑
  31. “Reine rasse” means pure breed. ↑
  32. A dragoman was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish, Arabic, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. ↑
  33. “Rein arabische zucht” describes breeding programs based on pure Arabians and is translated this way throughout this document. ↑
  34. Marstall includes buildings, horses, carriages of a nobleman. ↑
  35. “Reingezogene Wüstenpferde” where “rein” means pure and describes “gezogen”, reared or bred; “Wüstenpferde“ means desert horses. ↑
  36. Original Footnote: Unsere Pferde, Issue 33: Dr. B. v. Lukomski, Das arabische Pferd in Slawuta und anderen Gestüten des südwestlichen Russlands. With 20 pictures. Stuttgart 1906, Schickhardt & Ebner (Konrad Wittwer). (Translation: Our Horses. The Arabian horse in Slawuta and other Studs in Southwestern Russia.) ↑
  37. “Reine Araber is translated as pure Arabians throughout this document. ↑
  38. “Arabisches Halbblut” means Arabian half-bloods. ↑
  39. “Stark veredelte inländische Mütter und arabische Hengste” means highly refined through the process of breeding. ↑
  40. “Originalaraber” means original Arabian. ↑
  41. This quote appears to be wrongly attributed to Prince Roman. Actually, similar text to the quote above can be found in both 1839 and 1850 publications by Prince Wladyslaw Sanguszko (1803-1870), the brother of Prince Roman Sanguszko Sr. (1800-1881). ↑
  42. “Veredeltes Halbblut” means improved half-blood. ↑
  43. “Rein arabische Elitezucht“ means elite breeding programs based on pure horses. ↑
  44. “Originale Eltern” means original parents. ↑
  45. “Reine importierte Hengste” means pure imported stallions. ↑
  46. “Vielmehr gemischtes Blut” where “gemischt” means mixed. ↑
  47. Likely unnamed, as “gekauft” means bought. ↑
  48. The German pound is equal to 500 grams, based on the metric system. ↑
  49. “meist aus arabischen Stuten” means mostly Arabian dams. ↑
  50. “Arabisches vollblut” means Arabian full-blood. ↑
  51. Rappe or black horse. ↑
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Anna is a professional German English translator. She is originally from Austria but now lives in Pennsylvania. She has a Bachelors, Masters and PhD in Animal Sciences from Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur in Vienna, Austria. Anna participated in this project as a freelancer through UpWork.com.

Lyman is a long time Arabian horse enthusiast who's family has been breeding Arabian horses for three generations. He has a Bachelors degree in history from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and a Masters degree from Columbia University. Lyman maintains this website.

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