Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq paused for a long time in front of the “stature of the Arabian horses”; To determine the ideal specifications of the horse’s body parts, especially the ears, eyes, forehead, nostrils, tail and neck.
He also dealt with the strength of horses, highlighting the advantages of their colors, especially red, white, dark blond, and black.
He presented a summary of his experience in the field of horse breeding. He stressed that if the pedigree certificate does not enhance the good looks and beauty of appearance with actual evidence of the quality of the offspring, then it is a worthless scrap of paper. He pointed out that the best breeding dates were not in the beginning of spring; Until the delivery takes place after the frost has passed, and when the second frost arrives, the newborn will be able to bear it.
He said: The gestation period in Arabian horses is eleven months or a little more. After giving birth and cutting the navel, the foal is rubbed by hand with a little fresh butter, the tail is raised to the top, and the foal is sniffed with onions to alert it, then it is breastfed. It is not correct to neglect the ligation of the mare’s belly for a few days; To prevent it from loosening.
The mare must have a long neck and a wide belly, and this is a prerequisite for a production mare; Because such a mare gives birth to strong, healthy foals, and like her forefathers can produce beautiful foals.
The prince revealed the secret of the Arabs’ habit of giving foals to camel milk, wondering: Is this the reason why horses raised in the Arab desert are privileged with endurance over other horses?
He answers his question by saying: They allocate camel and goat milk for this purpose, and they did not say cow or buffalo milk. Because the first is slow, and the second sleeps in the swamps.
Concerning riding and teaching horses, he said: Many people believe that the officers trained in the masts schools are the most capable of training horses, but I believe that horse dealers are the most capable of that, as the horse that the officer teaches in several months may be taught by the merchant in a few days in a practical way.
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq reveals the reason why all nations use the Arab horse
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq revealed the reason why all nations use the Arab horse, by saying: All nations use the Arab horse to improve their horses; Because the speed and qualities that it is characterized by are not found in any other race of horses, and the endurance is inherent in it, but it requires only a simple effort to show and improve it.
He asserted that the West owes it to the East by giving it the advantages of the Arabian horse, and the best evidence of that is the English horse, which breeds from the Arabian horse “Darley” in 1705AD.
Darley the Arabian find the purebred English horse
He believed that the introduction of the Arabian horse “Darley” created the purebred English horse, and this, in turn, was used to improve the production of horses in many kingdoms, and accordingly, it can be said that this was a reason for England to gain millions of pounds.
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq warns against crossbreeding Arabian horses
He blamed the Arabs for not making books in which the genealogies of horses are recorded, as the Europeans do; This is because they were involved all the time in wars, as there was no mutual friendship and serenity between the tribes.
He regretted it; Because it has become difficult to get excellent Arabian horses; Because urbanization made the acquisition of horses a luxury, not a necessity as it was, and the Turks began to crossbreed the Arab horse with European horses to develop their body, so that Sultan Abdul Hamid himself called his purebred Arabian horses English, Germanic and Hungarian horses.
Finally, fans of racing in Egypt wanted the speed of horses, so they crossed them from English horses, which produced horses between them, and some of them were considered “Arabian horses”.
horse and woman
One of the funniest things in his writings is that he made a comparison between a horse and a woman with regard to two important matters: beauty and strength; As the rich tend to beauty, and prefer the graceful horse to the useful horse. This is the parable of a beautiful woman and her maidservant strong. Which is preferred: beauty or strength?
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq and his relationship with horses
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq says about his relationship with horses: “I have loved horses since my youth, and I started riding my horses since I was six years old. It was said that the group of horses that belonged to Abbas Pasha I, only King Solomon.
And the Circassian Pasha was not tired of talking about his travels, and describing what horses he bought, so that our hearts were filled with the love of horses.
According to his testimony to history, most of Prince Mohammed’s interest in Tawfiq, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, focused on riding rough horses and living in tents with the Bedouins. On Queen Victoria’s Day, he rode his white horse and came up with amazing games that impressed everyone in the royal show.
As for his writings in the field of horse breeding, there are objective reasons behind it, most notably his personal experience that spanned thirty-five years, and at the same time, the absence of important facts from European books on this subject.
He says: Do not forget that there is great joy in raising a beautiful Arabian horse, full of life. Because it is a live picture.
The one who excels in the art of photography cannot imitate a beautiful image unless he imprints on himself the beauty of that image so that he can represent it with his brush. .
Let us then abandon desires, and let us begin the serious work of continuing to acquire and care for horses, while maintaining good offspring, as our good ancestor did.
