PIS Babson Arabians

I bred my first Babson Arabian today. Sirr Muhib is out of two Indigo Creek Stables horses. I am still fuzzy on the different strains, but Cindi helped me out a lot. You can see her wonderful horses and S/D list here.

I first came across the acronym PIS on Cindi's website. I had never seen it before, and only after asking after a breeding, did it come to my attention that it meant Pure In Strain. This is in regards to "fixing" a specific type and traits. It often requires some inbreeding to achieve the desired traits, and is therefore frowned upon by some breeders. But when two horses of the same strain are bred, the resulting foal is considered PIS. If not, as in the sire is of a different strain than the dam, the foal's strain is determined by what strain the mother is. This is significant, as it means that the dams pass on the strain, not the sire. In order to keep a strain alive, the mares of that strain must be bred.

From an article I read titled "Evolution of Arabian Strains: Part 1", I learned there are potentially more than 20 strains within the straight Egyptian community. The five most common are
1. Kuhaylan/Kuhayla/Koheilan/Koheila (as you can see, they often have different ways to spell them!)
2. Abbayan/Abbaya/Abbeyan/Abbeya
3. Saqlawi/Saqlawiyah/Sekalwi/Seklawiyah
4. Hadban Enzahi/Hadbah Enzahiyah
5. Dahman/Dahmah/Dehmen/Dehme

The Kuhaylan is often muscular, masculine and wide, even the mares! They are often heavier in bone and bay, with dark eyes. However, they may also come in gray.

The Abbayan is relatively more feminine, fine boned with feminine features. Their back may be longer than normal.

The Saqlawi is known for feminine grace and elegance. They are also comparable to the Kuhaylan in endurance. Extreme beauty, refinement, light in weight, and light in frame. They tend to be lighter in the behind, as well. Crossing them with the Kuhaylan strain is considered the "golden" cross.

The Hadban are handsome and great all-around horses. Bint Samiha, through Venus, has bred forward these characteristics.

Finally, the Dahman was known as the ideal blending of the Saqlawi and Kuhaylan strains. Therefore, they commonly have the elegance of the Saqlawi and strength of the Kuhaylan. Their heads are wide, relatively short, and tend to be more dished.

I usually have a hard time dissecting a model's traits and being able to "see" the specific traits and what strain would fit best. However, the Saqlawi makes me think of the Breyer Khemosabi, and most resins probably resemble the Dahman, with all that extra dish!

Edit: I came across this site: http://www.ranchobulakenyo.com/mares.shtm while looking for pure in strain horses. It lists what strain their mares fall under, which could be a potentially helpful tool.

Another helpful link, explaining strains: http://www.abraxasarabians.com/strain.cfm