Photo by Rik van Lent Jr.

By Oliver Wibihal

Let's face it - straight Egyptian horses are becoming more and more beautiful with each generation but less functional. At least this is the case in Germany. If you compare old photographs of horses who once came from Egypt to Europe or to the United States with the horses of today, the differences are clearly visible - sadly enough, even for non "Arab" people. I showed a friend of mine - who is an accomplished rider of Warmblood horses - photographs of horses of the past and the present. It was just a slight surprise that he was more drawn to the heroes of the sixties and seventies than to the perhaps more exotic beauties of today. Of course, at first glance the latter look more fascinating and dramatic than their ancestors but then - how far will we go and what sacrifices breeders are willing to accept to create the ultimate beauty?

Photo: Johnny Johnston

In the past, Egyptian horses were famous for their
splendid performances in the showring:
Sakr
(Sultan x Enayat by Morafic)

Douglas B. Marshall, owner of the former Gleannloch Farms in Texas, imported some of the most significant Egyptian horses into the United States. They were shown in halter classes but in performance as well - Morafic and Sakr were the most famous of them all. Douglas B. Marshall was drawn to Egyptian horses because of their athletic ability. In his youth, he served in the U.S. Cavalry, riding the California/Mexico border. In the Cavalry that meant horses with the ability to run, to be ridden, and to work. "General von Szandtner, who originated most of the modern breeding program at the EAO, was a Cavalry Officer and former Commandant of the Bábolna Stud in Hungary, so he wanted the same things in horses as I did", observed Marshall. "Since they already had the type and quality I wanted, I always looked at their legs first," he recalled, "because a horse must have good legs above all else in order to be athletic. War horses, Cavalry horses, and Bedouin horses were all depended upon for survival. How else should Arabians be selected and evaluated?" Well, many of them are chosen strictly for type and beauty.

Photo: Johnny Johnston

Ibn Moniet El Nefous
(Morafic x Moniet El Nefous by Shahloul)

Today it seems to be fashionable to adore something artificial. Women in nearly every country of the world strive to be as thin as the so-called "supermodels" who are smiling from every magazine. The truth is that all these models achieve their slender look with harmful diets and every doctor would subscribe that they have anorexia. But millions of girls and women want to look like them or the celebrities from TV and as a result risk their healthiness to get a body like Sarah Jessica Parker (the icon of "Sex and the City"). Recent studies revealed that even more and more men are dealing with similar problems. It comes not as a surprise that most of them wish to gain more muscles and do literally everything (from protein shakes to anabolic steroids) to look more athletic or to get the washboard abs of Brad Pitt. Is it any wonder cosmetic surgery booms like never before? More than seventy (!) percent of the Americans would not hesitate to undergo cosmetic surgery if the could afford it. Some women seem to buy new breasts like others buy underwear...

Photo: Johnny Johnston

He was the first and only straight Egyptian
U.S. National Champion Stallion
in both halter and performance:
Asadd
(Sultan x Amani by El Sareei)

Many Arabian horses we see in the showring look artificial, too. And that's no wonder because that's what they are - the product of manipulation. The shapely necks are achieved through neck sweaters, the whole body is "formed" through target training, the face is loaded with make-up, and in some cases the spectacular knee-action is not inherited but the result of clever training. In the US some of the Arabian "show models" have cosmetic surgery done, too. Are you sure that this are still the war horses of the Bedouins, the horses of Napoleon who even survived Waterloo and Russia? Excuse my absolute pessimism but I doubt it. Could it be that many breeders of straight Egyptian horses are striving to create a horse that never existed before? They want to materialize the visions artists like Adam or Vernet had in mind when they painted their well-known pictures of extremely refined Arabian horses. Did this horses ever exist? Today, they do!

"Beauty is its own excuse for being". Perhaps this is true as long as the beauty is able to do all the things necessary to live a normal life. Today some straight Egyptian horses are not capable to stand the stress of a normal life as an everyday mount. They don't have the functional bodies, the sound legs and stamina needed to excel in endurance riding. Furthermore they seem to loose some of their other valued features they once were famous for: longevity and fertility. Compare the Polish, Russian, domestic bred and straight Egyptian horses to each other and you will come to the conclusion that the straight Egyptian horses of the present don't grow as old as the others. And show me one of the heavily inbred, delicate and extremely beautiful straight Egyptian mares that will carry a foal every year. I am aware that most owners don't breed their mares every year due to the low market - but I know many who desperately try to get their mare in foal year after year with no success. Again, compare it to other lines...

Photo: de Vol

He was the most successful straight Egyptian performance
horse in Germany of his era:
Anchor Hill Halim
(Hadbah x Silima by Ansata Ibn Halima)
But most breeders of straight Egyptian horses refused
to breed their mares to him

The majority of owners of straight Egyptian horses in Germany can live with - let's say - poor front legs but not with a plain head. They adore horses with tiny muzzles, huge poppy eyes, concave profiles and little ears that look like sea-horses. They pay attention to every single detail of the head. Their second thought is the neck - long enough and nicely shaped, a third look is reserved to the tail carriage and that's it. The rest of the horse seems to be not that interesting...

The latest statistics speak for itself: From the top siring German straight Egyptian stallions of the last years an amazing number of one had passed the stallion performance test - because he is the oldest of them all and in his youth it was a licensed stallion's duty to pass this test. Today this tests are offered to those who are willing to compete - in other words no straight Egyptian stallion will participate any more. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. This autumn for the very first time in a couple of years a group of straight Egyptian stallions participated at the Marbach State Stud's performance test but the fact remains most mare owners don't care whether a stallion passed that test or not. They look for more important traits - pretty faces, special bloodlines, overall beauty, showring successes and even a specific colour (black!) outweigh performance ability and stamina. Victories in performance classes seem to be ignored at all.

Photo: Nicole Sachs

Beautiful and easy to handle as it should be:
El Thay Mameluck
(Ibn Nazeema x El Thay Mansoura by Machmut)

Don't get me wrong, I am guilty, too because I look for extreme beauty in Arabian horses. And I am convinced that every breeder is entitled to do what he or she likes to do. It's completely their business. But I do notice that there already are deep gaps dividing Egyptian breeders: The one group prefers suitable, functional riding horses and don't care about shows; the other group will do everything to win the next blue ribbon at any given show; the third group breeds for pedigree and extreme beauty. Besides that they all breed straight Egyptians the different groups seem to have not one common goal. Of course, the first group is the least popular one and often the horses of this performance oriented people are labelled as the "ugly ducks" of the straight Egyptian family. My hope is that one day the three groups are united again and will breed together for beauty and performance.

Photo: Werner Ernst

Here and in the title:
Muqatamm
(Mahomed x Ghazalah by Ghazal)

As a child I used to get riding lessons (well, I have to admit with very little success) and later in my life I was allowed to ride the straight Egyptian stallion Muqatamm (Mahomed x Ghazalah), who, by the way, passed his performance test with flying colours. He was a pleasure to ride, easy to navigate, comfortable like a sofa and had the intelligence and kindness I am still searching for in Arabian horses. There were many straight Egyptian horses like him in the past. But where have all the Muqatamms gone?

Please note that this article is a bit overstated just to make my point of view more visible. What's your point of view? What can we do? Let's discuss it in the Forum.