The Great Egyptian Stallion *Talal

I thought I would share with you the stories of the Great Straight Egyptian Stallion *Talal since he is a great, great grandparent of Rose. When I first read these articles by Sara Loken about this great horse and his life before being imported to America and ending up living with Jim Kline (Kline Arabians), it sparked something in me. And began the wonderful journey that changed my life forever. And over the years I have watched the many generations and have seen the continuous of this great bloodline in the foals that grace this farm.

Here is *Talal (Nazeer x Zafaarana ). He was the grandson of the great Arabian race horse Balance. He was imported to American at the age of 10 and lived until he was 27 years old. *Talal ran in over forty races, won six, placed in 27 and retired totally sound. Also winning several halter championships after his importation, he was National Top Ten at the age of 12. Talal was a magnificent horse, very athletic, with a long neck. Considered by many to be the finest of Nazeer’s sons in the States.

Quotes from Sara Loken Article:

EGYPT REMEMBERED, Arabian Horse World, June 1980

“After four years of racing, *TALAL went into training for dancing horse competition, a skill which can be brutal in its excessive restraint. We were told that “some Arabians will die before they will dance” and *TALAL was one of those. For this reason, the owner allowed us to buy him.
“Almost a year after he came to us, a regional dancing horse competition was held at our stable. The flute and drum orchestra sat against the outside wall of the high-walled manege, where *TALAL was cooling down after a ride. We noticed the spectators gravitating to the manege and looking into it with interest. Curious, we went over to see what was going on. Inside, *TALAL, “the horse that would never dance,” alone and free in the large arena, was dancing to the music, proudly and with deep concentration."

“On the subject of voice commands and responsiveness: I had worked with *TALAL on the development of a fairly extensive Arabic vocabulary, which included the usual equivalents of whoa, trot, walk, etc. I didn’t babble at him; I talked when there was something to say, or ask. And the time came when it proved its usefulness.

“*TALAL bred BINT GHAZALAH , and I rode him after each servicing to cool him down and also to remind him that our relationship was not to be forgotten, despite the mare’s charms.

“Some weeks later, *TALAL decided he must see BINT GHAZALAH again. He dithered a bit as we passed her stable and then, without further ado, planted his feet firmly and refused to budge, like the proverbial Egyptian mule. Since we were in full view of the tea tables of the stable, we were soon surrounded by horsepeople of all nationalities and traditions. “Hit him on the nose,” “Hit him on the legs,” “Twist his tail,” “Set a fire under him,” and so forth. *TALAL comprehended that further efforts would ensue and made his own decision: he performed a Bedouin warhorse movement which is written in the old literature – he rose in a high rear and spun on his hind legs, sending me off into the dirt. With me disposed of, he stood and called for BINT GHAZAHAH.

“I mounted him again, leaned forward and whispered the Arabic word for “please” in his ear. “Midfadlak!” The tension in his body melted, and I pressed my legs against his sides and whispered “Midfadlak!” again. And off we strolled.

“Some weeks later, my husband and I went on leave, and one of Egypt’s finest horsemen (accustomed primarily to foreign horses, not Arabians) offered to ride *TALAL and solve the problem of the vigil for BINT GHAZALAH . When we returned from holiday, I quickly heard from everyone that he had experienced the same equine solidification problem but, with his expert knowledge and experience, had solved the problem easily. I could hardly wait to learn his method.

“When I saw my friend, he told me all the techniques he had used which hadn’t worked. “Well” I asked, “what did work?” In a burst of chagrined honesty, he replied, “This is ridiculous….I whispered “midfadlak” as you told me!

It was the only thing that worked!”

The Halter

Well, Rose has her first halter.

At first, it was to big, but she didn't seem to mind.

Now, I was able to adjust it for her.

Has never seemed to bother her. I think she thinks a piece of jewelry for her to show off in.

Love that attitude.

Communicating

Have you ever thought about if people could be more like horses?

When you meet someone you could just softly blow into their nose to see if they are
friends. That's what horses do when they want to see if the other is a friend or someone they should be afraid of. I thought I would bring it up, since Rose was having me do that and then she was fellowing me everywhere because she established that I was her friend.

I find it very interesting watching and learning about the different behaviors and how they communicate to each other. Now the key here is to establish that I am the Alpha Person, so they won't bite or kick me.

You will see foals when they feel threaten doing a mouthy thing (moving their month, like they are saying, don't hurt me I am little). It's like when a puppy feels threaten how they expose their belly.

Another thought is how they seem to send telepathic pictures to each other when they are communicating. I have watched them do this. Now wouldn't that be a better way to communicate then us talking, and trying to see if the person is receiving what we are trying to tell them?

They do use a lot of body language. For instance, A mare just has to flick an ear in warning to one of the others and they back off. Or how a mare will move her foal around the pen. Nipping it if it does something she doesn't like.

I remember having this colt race up to his mother, who was eating peacefully, he thought he would be cute and climb up on her, she never lifted her head, but took her back leg and shoved him about ten feet. He got up, shook his head and never tried that again.

So, I sometimes wonder if our way of communicating is so great?

Butt Scratching

Well, every since Rose was a few days old we have scratched her rear. Now it is an everyday thing that requires a few moments of time to Love on her and scratch her butt.

She thinks this is the way it is.

Tale of the Flowing Water

Well, I found a major water leak, that was causing a river to flow down the hill in the paddock where Rose is. She loved it, she was over there pawing at it and sticking her nose in it. Who said these Egyptian Arabians were afraid of water. Not this group.

I did have one once who was afraid of a butterfly, kept leaping up in the air to get away from it.

My wonderful neighbors came over last night and fixed it for me. They had to dig up the pipe that had broken in the ground and replace the frost free faucet.

Thank Goodness for wonderful neighbors!

Anyway, now Rose is puzzled..what happen to her play thing, it's all dried up. So I guess I will have to run a little water in the paddock for her to be happy.

Rose is turning Grey

This morning I really noticed how much Rose is turning grey, along with rubbing her neck and mane. Of course, I was concerned so I took a real good look at the rub spot and realized she was probably getting sprayed with the automatic fly spray (which shoots a small amount of spray every 30 minutes). Well I am sure it itches, so she rubs. So I finally got smart and decided the flies where better than having Rose rub out all her hair. I turned it off. So my advise to others is to move their automatic fly sprayers out of the stall itself. Also Rose is losing her lovely chestnut hairs and in return there are grey ones emerging. So with an Arabian Horse, they truly are a horse of a different color!

Rose at Twenty Days old

Here is Rose at twenty days old and growning. Her Dam (Mother) Dani takes her outside everyday for the sun and fresh air.
The other night we had a surprise storm, that really came upon us in a hurry. Dani and Rose made the run for the barn
and I got struck out in it......soaked in a minute. That was fun! Lucky for me it was warm out.