Arabian Horses in the 1980s

[Tyrus_Mom]

There is a 30 some years old Arab gelding at our ranch named Tequila who was repossessed from a starvation situation. Two women at the ranch pay for his board and a rescue paid for his medical til the end of his days, whenever that is. He’s very sweet and comes to everyone for pets and wither scratches. If only all horses got this much respect and love in their end days, but he paid much to get to this place…

I remember a time when the Arabs were very popular, but not my thing. Interesting info.

[Pat9]

HeartoftheHorse, the stallion was a chestnut, if memory serves, and it was early 1980’s. I know that doesn’t help much. For all I know, the oxygen kit might have been standard in a lot of barns, just like the tranquilizer kit in some places.

[Belowthesalt]

In the late '70s and early '80s, I worked for an attorney who had a “hobby farm” of Arabians - he always had the “Black Stallion” dream, but while he did go bankrupt, it didn’t have anything to do with the inflated Arabian horse values. His horses were definitely bred to be athletes - not pretty halter horses - and were mostly out of Polish racing lines. Though I worked in his law office, I ended up doing a lot of the registration and record keeping for the horses. The farm area is now a housing development (sad), but one of his daughters kept a couple of the stallions and continues the lines he was breeding.

[High_Whites]

When I was 5 or 6, I started riding in the early 80s. I took lessons at an arab barn in Oregon. His name was Harold Nelson, and his farm was Nelcrest Arabians (I think). Anyway, being obsessed with the Black Stallion, I told him I’d like to one day ride a black stallion. After months of lessons, he told me that he didn’t have a black stallion, but he did have a white one, and I could ride him for my lesson that day.

I’m certain it was either the celebrated Nelcrest Champagne, or one of his sons. I know that Champagne had to be euthanized, but I’m not sure when, or the details. I have a vague memory of Harold telling me that Champagne got into grain and coliced or foundered (or both).

Anyway, Harold was a very generous, kind man, and although I didn’t show arabs, they certainly helped establish my horse crazy. I will always have a soft spot for arabians.

[Foxtrot_s]

Welsh-Arab ponies; Beautiful little things. One could either get the best of both breeds, or not so much. Ours was a little classic - perfect form of the Welsh over a fence with the refinement and beauty of the Arabian. We called ours a little mini Milton she was so stylish.

The Anglo Arab the same - wonderful horses back in the day with a bit more height.

[Incantation]

@sketcher

Yes, those Khemo daughters are something! I knew three of them. One of them produced my all time favorite foal. He unfortunately died young, he fell in his paddock, slid under the fence and broke his leg. His owners tried everything to save him including amputation an prosthetic leg but he just couldn’t handle it. He was out of a Khemo daughter by a Bask son and he was amazing. He would have been a top stallion for sure even amongst the zillion Khemo/bask crosses he stood out.

Kapital Gains??? He was a fabulous horse. Great personality too. My mother and sister jumped on the Arabian boat, buying a mare that had been bred to him. She had a grey colt, Kazino,who they became too attached to sell, so that ended their breeding program (sadly he was not stallion material). Kaz was just put down a couple years ago, due to arthritis in his knee from a pasture accident when he was younger.

Arabs can be great crosses for sport. I have a Khemosabi grand daughter X Trak in the barn right now. I believe she is 23 this year. Talented mare with a great brain.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Arabs are amazing, and my favorite breed.

Right now I have the great honor to ride a 32-33? year old Arab mare, Mia, and I have been riding her for almost a decade. We do not know her breeding but she obviously has a lot of Crabbet blood, possibly of the Dajania mare line, and she probably has *Raseyn as her source of Skowronek blood.

She was badly crippled by arthritis when I started riding her (her owner, my riding teacher, told me that she NEEDED to move because she was freezing up with arthritis.) She was not in good shape when I started riding her, when I trotted her she felt like she would collapse, but she never did. Big head bob lame, but she never, ever refused to move for me and gave me up to the limits of her physical ability. Several years I did not think she would make it through another winter but she is still with us, and she even trots sound now (I discovered an arthritis supplement that helped her.)

She has the most sensitive mouth of any horse I’ve ever ridden, and she is quite ready to cuss me out if a bit does not meet with her approval (proving that she does not read the advertising for many bits.) Two times, when I did not give enough with my hands, she even gave me advanced movements, a terre-a-terre when I was trying to canter one day, and a croupade another day when my hands were too severe for her when I asked for a halt–my son asked if she gave a buck but her back was so soft that my seat did not shift at all. She is the ONLY horse that has ever given me such movements, and she gave them to me because I just did not give her enough rein for her desires. So long as I take care of my contact she moves in a nice, calm manner.

We just walk and trot. I have MS, and I can rely on her to tell me when I deteriorate, she has warned me of some impending exacerbations. On the other hand she is the horse I want to ride when I have a bad MS attack, I can rely on her and when I get off of her I can always walk much, much better. I take care of her and she takes care of me.

She loves being groomed so much that people who pass by remark about how she is so obviously enjoying herself when being groomed.

I know she will die some day, it is painfully obvious that she is ancient (very deep pits above her eyes, with grey hairs on her beautiful bay head), but when I ask my riding teacher if I should go on riding her my riding teacher tells me to keep working her (once every week or two for 30 minutes.) I just about worship Arab mares and she is the Arab mare I get to ride. She has made me a better, more sensitive rider, and I am very happy I get to ride this old, old mare.

[tinah]

I’ve got a two year old ArabX in my pasture. Virtually unhandled until she was 10 months old, halter breaking took 3 sessions. Picking up feet was 10 minutes. She’s crazy quick, wicked smart, and completely in love with humans and wants to be your friend. I suspect she’ll be just as much fun under saddle.

[Heartofhorselords]

@WildLittleWren

This has been a really interesting thread to read, and nothing I had any idea about to begin with! I had a beautiful Polish Arabian that I rescued. She was in foal to some run of the mill Quarter Horse which I didn’t find out until 2 months in, when she got suspiciously larger, and I had a vet check to see. Sadly, I lost her to a pretty traumatic colic at 7 months along. We tried everything, aside from surgery, which the vet didn’t think would save her. I still miss that mare. Her name was Diamond and she was one of a kind. She came to me with No Name. Literally, the name they called her was No Name. She was 18. She had a rough life I could tell, but I was happy I could give her 5 fantastic months, and a name.

It was heartbreaking to lose her. These horses will give you everything and then some. I hope to own another again in the future.

Aw, that’s so sad
Just about everyone I know has horses with this history in them. My mare’s sire definitely owes his existence to it; his damsire came from the GG Jabask line of Bask, and he traces to a couple of other Bask kids: Gwyndalyn, and Cognac. Cognac is a pretty interesting horse - there’s a very public lawsuit from Minnesota/Wisconsin that was between Eugene LaCroix Jr and Rex Stockman in 1986 over the stallion. You can read about it here: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal…/790/584/8508/ Needless to say…

@Pat9

HeartoftheHorse, the stallion was a chestnut, if memory serves, and it was early 1980’s. I know that doesn’t help much. For all I know, the oxygen kit might have been standard in a lot of barns, just like the tranquilizer kit in some places.

Well, there are a lot of stallions that fit the bill of red, but I think probably the most famous of them were Muscat and Padron. Of course, I wasn’t around during the 80s, so someone is free to chime in and mention any other red stallions that might have fit the bill.

That might have been standard, but, uh, it’s still pretty messed up imo!

[Heartofhorselords]

Sorry for the double post, but there are some things I am dying to know, and am wondering if any old timers could help me with this:

1. Does anyone know the name of the man that bought NH Love Potion? I’ve been searching high and low for it, and short of buying a whole bunch of old magazines to try and track it down, I haven’t been able to find any reference to his name.

2. I’ve read in a few places reference to some lady who used to show in purple. In particular, there was a reference to her having an, ahem, wardrobe mishap while she was riding (I assume this to mean that a breast may have escaped the fabric ) and that at some point she ended up marrying a foreign prince. This ring a bell for anyone? Know who she is, or who the prince is? I could probably summon a plate of cookies for anyone that knows which show this mishap happened at, too

[TCA_Arabians]

I’m enjoying reading about these old lines again. I have a 30-year-old stud out of a Cassels Comet daughter. He’s Ferzon, Witez on the sire line 4 clicks back. He’s small. Classic Crabbet. Healthy as a horse. His dam lived to 40. She was also healthy until the day she died. She had a trot that made you cry.

I also have a 15-year-old gelding. We didn’t show him a lot. He did well when we did. His lines include Druzwa, Druzba (double), Aladdinn, Bask, Nabor, Bay el Bey. He’s huge. A very showy chestnut. Great personality and a big goof.

Remember the story about how the gypsies saved the Polish Stud during WW2? Decked them out like Gypsy ponies and led them across Europe to safety.

I bet Mom would have known who the mysterious 'Lady in Purple" was. She had stories about those old shows.

Heartof… Check with the Registry on NH Love Potion. I’m not sure anymore if they’ll release the info. Sorry, as good as it is - I’m not going to tell the story about how we got that mare. Acquired a few others at the same time. You can pm me about the World if you like. I’d rather give it to someone in total than sell it in pieces.

I remember when a halter horse had to be built for performance to win. That went the way of the dodo a good while ago. Then the scandals with the head and neck surgeries, drugs, etc. Remember the 'that’s not a horse, it’s a giraffe jokes"? Efforts to clean it all up. blah, blah. I’m glad we’re out of it. I’m enjoying retirement. I think they are too.

[Heartofhorselords]

@TCA Arabians

I’m enjoying reading about these old lines again. I have a 30-year-old stud out of a Cassels Comet daughter. He’s Ferzon, Witez on the sire line 4 clicks back. He’s small. Classic Crabbet. Healthy as a horse. His dam lived to 40. She was also healthy until the day she died. She had a trot that made you cry.

I also have a 15-year-old gelding. We didn’t show him a lot. He did well when we did. His lines include Druzwa, Druzba (double), Aladdinn, Bask, Nabor, Bay el Bey. He’s huge. A very showy chestnut. Great personality and a big goof.

Remember the story about how the gypsies saved the Polish Stud during WW2? Decked them out like Gypsy ponies and led them across Europe to safety.

I bet Mom would have known who the mysterious 'Lady in Purple" was. She had stories about those old shows.

Heartof… Check with the Registry on NH Love Potion. I’m not sure anymore if they’ll release the info. Sorry, as good as it is - I’m not going to tell the story about how we got that mare. Acquired a few others at the same time. You can pm me about the World if you like. I’d rather give it to someone in total than sell it in pieces.

I remember when a halter horse had to be built for performance to win. That went the way of the dodo a good while ago. Then the scandals with the head and neck surgeries, drugs, etc. Remember the 'that’s not a horse, it’s a giraffe jokes"? Efforts to clean it all up. blah, blah. I’m glad we’re out of it. I’m enjoying retirement. I think they are too.

The Polish Stud? Are you talking about Janow? Nothing I’ve read has said that Rromani people helped save these horses, but there’s absolutely FASCINATING history with how they managed to be saved - from fleeing the Nazis, to being adopted by Gustav Rau’s program, to the horses that were whisked away to the Tersk Stud, and those horses that ended up being shipped to Hostau. One of my favorite stories is the evacuation of Janow once the Nazi machine began to collapse, and how the grooms and other Polish horselovers brought the stallion and mare bands to Dresden. What a tragedy, that they came to the city just as the infamous Bombing of Dresden began… I can only imagine the horror of these horsemen, who’d traveled hundreds of miles to preserve their beloved charges, only to lose them in a city that nobody thought would ever be bombed for it’s cultural significance and lack of any real strategic value. How lucky we are that Wielki Szlem and Witraz survived this.

…Can you tell that I’m a history nerd? Somehow originally went to school to be a veterinarian and ended up with a B.S. of History haha

And- Seems so strange that they’d keep closely guarded a fact that at one time might have been widely held public knowledge. Funny how the world works. As for the stories, no worries - I’m overly curious sometimes

[Palm_Beach]

There is a good bit of their history in the book, “The Perfect Horse.” Good read.

[WildLittleWren]

@Heartofhorselords

The Polish Stud? Are you talking about Janow? Nothing I’ve read has said that Rromani people helped save these horses, but there’s absolutely FASCINATING history with how they managed to be saved - from fleeing the Nazis, to being adopted by Gustav Rau’s program, to the horses that were whisked away to the Tersk Stud, and those horses that ended up being shipped to Hostau. One of my favorite stories is the evacuation of Janow once the Nazi machine began to collapse, and how the grooms and other Polish horselovers brought the stallion and mare bands to Dresden. What a tragedy, that they came to the city just as the infamous Bombing of Dresden began… I can only imagine the horror of these horsemen, who’d traveled hundreds of miles to preserve their beloved charges, only to lose them in a city that nobody thought would ever be bombed for it’s cultural significance and lack of any real strategic value. How lucky we are that Wielki Szlem and Witraz survived this.

…Can you tell that I’m a history nerd? Somehow originally went to school to be a veterinarian and ended up with a B.S. of History haha

And- Seems so strange that they’d keep closely guarded a fact that at one time might have been widely held public knowledge. Funny how the world works. As for the stories, no worries - I’m overly curious sometimes

The history of horses during WWII is fascinating. If anyone is interested, there is an awesome book called The Perfect Horse which explains the attempts to save the Arabs and Lippizans, including the Arabians stabled at Janow. Fascinating reading and written really well.

[WildLittleWren]

@Palm Beach

There is a good bit of their history in the book, “The Perfect Horse.” Good read.

Just saw this, great minds read alike :lol:

[Heartofhorselords]

@WildLittleWren

The history of horses during WWII is fascinating. If anyone is interested, there is an awesome book called The Perfect Horse which explains the attempts to save the Arabs and Lippizans, including the Arabians stabled at Janow. Fascinating reading and written really well.

@WildLittleWren , @Palm Beach - yes, that is exactly the book I would have recommended. There is also an additional book by Linnell Smith entitled “And Miles to Go” about the journey of Witez II. It’s a bit older, and harder to get ahold of, so I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve heard/read a lot of good things about it. Elizabeth Letts, the author “The Perfect Horse” cited Linnell’s book as one of the sources she used, and I feel on the merit of that alone it’s worth checking it out eventually.

Some other potentials include:

Saving Horses in WWII: The Untold Story of Operation Cowboy in World War 2 by Ryan Jenkins

Operation Cowboy: The Secret American Mission to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II by Stephen Talty – AUDIOBOOK only, though I wonder if I could convince the author to make a transcript of his book available for purchase lol

And then of course there’s the classic feel-good movie MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS. I rather enjoyed that as a kid, and while it wasn’t entirely factual, it was nice to have something of a visual to piece together with the things I was reading.

---

To circle back to the original topic (LOL) the 1980’s Arabian show scene probably wouldn’t have been what it was if the Poles hadn’t saved their horses. If Witraz hadn’t survived all of these journeys, hadn’t survived the Nazis and the Red Army, and hadn’t survived the bombing of Dresden, we wouldn’t have had Bask!

[Palm_Beach]

What I find fascinating is the utter chaos and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants things that go on in organizations, lurking just beneath what looks like a well oiled machine.

[Heartofhorselords]

@Palm Beach

What I find fascinating is the utter chaos and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants things that go on in organizations, lurking just beneath what looks like a well oiled machine.

Appearances, appearances! Honestly, having helped run a few organizations, it’s become less of a surprise. :lol: Half of what made the Nazis seem so organized, tbh, was imo the impressive propaganda network they had. That, and Enigma.

[sketcher]

@Incantation

Kapital Gains??? He was a fabulous horse. Great personality too.

Yes, Kapital Gains. I wish I could have bought him. I adored him from the moment he was born. I spent a ton of time with him. Called him Goober because he would hang is tongue out.

[Incantation]

I only had the pleasure of visiting him a few times. He seemed so sweet. My mother and sister bought the little gray mare, La Phaedra from his breeder. I was sad when I heard he had to be put down.