Straight Egyptian   -  Egyptian-Related  -  Sheykh Obeyd
Al Khamsa  -  Al Khamsa Related  -  Pure Egyptian
Pritzlaff  -  Babson  -  Doyle  -  Egyptian-Turfa  - Strains 
The Al Khamsa Legend

Straight Egyptian:
The Pyramid Society defines a "Straight Egyptian" Arabian as a horse which: (1) is registered or is eligible by pedigree for registration by the Arabian Horse Registry of America; and (2) traces in every line of its pedigree to horses born in Arabia Deserta; and (3) traces in every line of its pedigree to a horse which falls within one or more of the following categories of horses: (a) a horse owned or bred by Abbas Pasha I or Ali Pasha Sherif; (b) a horse which was used to create and maintain the RAS/EAO breeding programs and which is a numbered horse found in the RAS/EAO stud books beginning on Page 45 of Vol.4, with the exclusion of the horses Registan and Sharkasi, as well as the lineal descendants of these, it being felt that these horses pedigrees contain elements that are not consistent with the kind of blood which the Pyramid Society is attempting to perpetuate; (c) a horse which was a lineal ancestor of a horse described in (a) or (b) above; and (d) a horse, other than a horse having Registan or Sharkasi as a lineal ancestor which was conceived and born in a private stud program in Egypt and which was imported directly from Egypt to the United States and registered by the Arabian Horse Registry of America prior to the extension of the EAO's supervision to private Egyptian stud programs as reflected in Vol. 4 of the EAO stud book.

Basically, this definition is an attempt to describe those purebred Arabian horses which can trace their heritage exclusively to the horses which were bred or whose blood was used as part of the historically established breeding programs in Egypt and which are horses whose blood is consistent with the kind of blood which the Pyramid Society is attempting to perpetuate.

(The Pyramid Society encourages the breeding of a bloodline consistent with the policies mentioned above. However, there are viable Egyptian breeding programs that are not recognized by the Pyramid Society leaving me to question the Pyramid Society policies.)

Egyptian-Related:
A horse whose sire or both grandsires have to be Straight Egyptian.

Sheykh Obeyd Arabians:
Those Arabians who trace in all lines to the breeding programs of Abbas Pasha/Ali Pasha Sherif/Blunt/RAS. This breeding group consists of horses that are classified as Al Khamsa Arabians and descend solely in their pedigrees to any combination of 61 original desertbreds that make up the Egypt (49 desertbreds) and Blunt (12 desertbreds) Ancestral Elements as described in the reference book, Al Khamsa Arabians.

For more information on Sheykh Obeyd Arabians and breeders visit The Pasha Institute at www.sheykh-obeyd.com

(This is a rare bloodgroup - with less than 800 of these horses worldwide and fewer than 250 mares they need to be followed closely and preserved. If you research this group you will be surprised how many times horses from this group show up in well known pedigrees, both as outcross stock and also in the pure form. This is a group well worth preserving - and part of these horses, including Rabanna & the Doyle horses, are of the Egyptian breeding program that the Pyramid Society chooses not to recognize - to everyone's loss.)

Al Khamsa:
Al Khamsa, Inc. is the name chosen by a group of breeders who have the primary goal of studying, preserving, cultivating and using the Arabian horse which can reasonably be assumed to trace in all lines of descent to horses bred by the Bedouin tribes. The term "Al Khamsa" is the feminine form of the Arabic words for "The Five" and has traditionally been used in Arabia to refer to either the five favorite strains of the Prophet Mohammed, or the five favorite strains of any of the Bedouin tribes. Just which strains these were depended on the teller of the tale, but the term always signified purity of bloodlines to the Bedouin, as it does in this country to supporters of Al Khamsa.

For more information on Al Khamsa horses & breeders visit www.alkhamsa.org

AK Breeders attempt to preserve the early/original Arabian horse by breeding those horses together that are documentable back to the desert. While outcrossing AK stallions onto other bloodlines is routinely done, most AK breeders prefer to see a mare bred back to a stallion that is her "equal" in pedigree so the rare qualities she has to offer are preserved. This is not discounting the fact that non-Al Khamsa horses are good horses, just that produce from that kind of mating will no longer qualify in the preservation program and what the mare could offer to the AK gene pool would be lost.

(These could also be called Antique Arabians - horses that are being bred within their bloodgroup to preserve the strengths of the horses of the past that have been used to create the horses of today.)

Al Khamsa Related:
(Destiny Arabians definition) A horse of at least 50% Al Khamsa bloodlines who does not qualify as Al Khamsa.

Pure Egyptian:
(Destiny Arabians definition) These are horses that carry only Egyptian bloodlines but are not recognized by the Pyramid Society. Includes many of the Sheykh Obeyd Arabians carrying the blood of Rabanna and bloodlines of the Doyle program.

Pritzlaff:
Horses tracing in all lines to the breeding program of Richard Prtizlaff - including the 1958 importations of *Rashad Ibn Nazeer, *Bint Moniet El Nefous, *Bint El Bataa, *Bint Dahma, *Bint Nefisa & the mare Rabanna. A limited number of outside stallions were used, including Faarad, Ansata El Salim & *Fakher El Din.

Babson:
Horses tracing in all lines to the 1930's imports of Henry Babson including *Fadl, *Bint Bint Sabbah, *Maaroufa, *Bint Serra I, *Bint Saada & *Bint Bint Durra.

Doyle:
Horses tracing in all lines to the breeding program of Dr. Doyle and based on the foundation horses Ghadaf, Gulida & Nusi.

Egyptian-Turfa:
A horse of Egyptian bloodlines who also traces to the Henry Babson desert import *Turfa.

Strains:
The strain refers to the original tribe of the desert that bred the foundation lines of these horses. Different tribes desired different looks and distinct types were created. The strain is passed through the mare line in Bedouin pedigrees so strain is always determined by the tail female line. When both the stallion and the mare are of the same strain the resulting offspring is said to be "pure in the strain". Some common strains found in Al Khamsa Arabian horses are Saglawi, Dahman, Kuhaylan, Hamdani & Abayyan.

The Al Khamsa Legend

This is the legend of the five favorite mares of the Prophet Mohammed. According to this legend, a tribe of Bedouin, after a long journey in the desert, released their mares to run to the watering hole to quench their thirst. As a test of their loyalty the mares were called back to their masters before reaching the water, and of the many mares, only five returned faithfully without drinking. These became the five original favorite mares of the Bedouin, and each was given a strain name which would carry on with her descendents. Just which strains these were depends on the teller of the tale, as there are actually more than five strains and all are related and of equal importance.

Straight Egyptian   -  Egyptian-Related  -  Sheykh Obeyd
Al Khamsa  -  Al Khamsa Related  -  Pure Egyptian
Pritzlaff  -  Babson  -  Doyle  -  Egyptian-Turfa
Strains  -  The Al Khamsa Legend

Bob & Sheila Harmon
P.O. Box 1180 - Eagle, Idaho 83616
(208) 322-8474 - (208) 866-1024
800-327-6540
E-Mail to: Sheila@DestinyArabians.com
Web Page: www.destinyarabians.com