Madera Arabian Horses - breeders of Straight Egyptian Arabians

The Madera Arabians Breeding Program
by Lucille Wood

In 1978 I saw a magnificent white gelding. I immediately felt a deep emotional connection to this beautiful creature. It was a defining moment – it was the beginning of our journey into the world of Arabian horses. Soon after we became involved, we discovered the beauty of straight Egyptian Arabians and our lives took another new direction.

Our first foals were not what we had hoped for – they were not of the caliber we had envisioned. That was our fault and the result of our uneducated breeding choices. That experience lead us to a realization about the importance of being informed and soon another new beginning occurred – this time the focus was on education - ours. It was through Debra Nowak of Abraxas Arabians that we were introduced to the study of the pedigree and the importance they have on building a successful breeding program.

Two of the most critical steps in the educational process for me were: learning to read a pedigree and becoming familiar with the various families and strains that make up the pedigree. I began with the practice of color coding my pedigrees – indicating each family and strain of the pedigree with color. This allowed me to see specific patterns of the different families and how they reproduce. I discovered that most of our foundation mares we began with were of the Dahman family. This is a family we came to admire and have a desire to recreate in our breeding program.

This knowledge led us to seek the matings that had the greatest potential to fulfill our vision. We learned that there are many attributes one needs to look for when making a breeding decision. The attributes I wanted included beauty, correct structure, good legs, symmetrical balance, and movement.

Our original foundation mare Serabah (Fabah x Fasera), was a black Babson-bred mare of the Dahmah Shahwaniyah strain through the mare *Bint Bint Sabbah, who’s tail female line traces to El Dahma, the famous foundation mare of Ali Pasha Sherif. Two branches of El Dahma’s family were established through the mares Sabah and Farida. Serabah was a descendant of the Sabah branch. The genetic prepotency of our mare Serabah is felt generations later in her granddaughter MA Serahalim (Ansata Halim Shah x Imperial Naserah), and great granddaughters, MA Basera by MA Bayhajt and Crown Princes MA, by ET Crown Prince.

Another Madera foundation mare, Royal Nataafa, was purchased in 1998. She was a rare daughter of The Egyptian Prince out of AK Nashahma (*AK Shahm x *Nagat), a mare of the Dahmah Shahwaniyah strain. Royal Nataafa also traces back to El Dahma, but through the Farida branch of her family. Royal Nataafa is a descendant through these classic mares, *Nagat -Abla- Helwa - Bint Farida - Farida. Royal Nataafa’s daughter Nashahma Moon by Abraxas MoonStruk is line bred top and bottom to The Egyptian Prince.

Our newest fillies include Madera Heralima (*HS Hero x Crown Princess MA) and Madera Hera Moon (*HS Hero x Abraxas Moonbeam). We have always loved the aristocrat

mare, RDM Maar Hala and we had hoped to some how include her line in our breeding program. In 2004, we were presented with the opportunity to lease the

lovely mare Abraxas Moonbeam (Abraxas Moonstruk x Abraxas Maar Hala), one of only 3 mares in the US to have triple Maar Hala in her pedigree. We bred

Moonbeam to HS Hero and the result was our lovely filly Madera Hera Moon! She has the gorgeous "Maar Hala eyes", extreme head, and a beautiful, symmetrical body. Madera Hera Moon was everything we had hope for and now she will carry the precious RDM Maar Hala

lines forward in our program. These fillies, Madera Heralima and Madera Hera Moon, embody our vision for our breeding program. We feel that through them, we have achieved the attributes we strive to preserve and build upon. We are very excited about these fillies and the potential they hold in producing the next generation of excellence for Madera Arabians!

I have been involved with Arabian horses since 1978. Over the years I have become infatuated with horses of straight Egyptian bloodlines and now focus all of my efforts on recreating those lines. In studying Egyptian pedigrees, I have been lucky to find mentors who are willing to share their ideas and philosophies and who have encouraged me to discover my own vision of perfection and to work toward that goal. Throughout the process I have tried to learn what has contributed to the success of other breeders whose programs I admire and respect. We all share similar elements, our mares and stallions, but what combinations of these elements would help me create the results that I am striving for? In my humble opinion there are five critical elements – and each are equally important in creating the ideal Arabian horse, a creature known for its exceptional beauty and grace, intelligence and noble character. These are listed in alphabetical order – not in a hierarchy - because each is equally important… Movement, Pedigree, Strain, Structure and Type.

MOVEMENT – Smooth and free movement have been the hallmark of the Arabian horse from the time that it served as the Bedouin’s war horse to the pleasure mount that it is today. The horse should have an elastic gait with unrestricted joints which make it capable of a free-moving action that is naturally balanced. Correct movement is vital and it defines the breed as much as any of its other characteristic traits.

PEDIGREE – This is the documented chronological record of all of an individual’s ancestors. It is a road map of genetics which breeders work from when creating the next generation. Dedicated breeders study these records and become familiar with the individuals, the families and the strains that make up the pedigree. They learn about the ancestors’ physical and genetic strengths and weaknesses. Learning and understanding this information allows breeders to identify the most desirable characteristics within families and their strains, which improves the possibilities of producing improved results from one generation to the next. By magnifying positive traits and minimizing weaknesses, we are able to protect future generations from traits that could take generations of breeding to overcome. It takes knowledge, dedication and patience from the breeder to achieve and maintain correctness within any breeding program. Breeding is a challenge and requires a commitment to an ongoing learning process and the study of pedigrees to produce correct and beautiful horses.

STRAIN – The Madera program is “defined” by planned breeding and incorporates the practice of strain breeding within certain families. This practice provides us with a means to selectively breed according to the type each strain represents. At Madera Arabians, we produce a distinctive type of horse through breeding horses pure in strain, and also through blending horses of the Dahmah Shahwaniyah and Kuhaylah Jellabiyah strains.

STRUCTURE – This is the physical conformation of an individual. Each part of their body blends seamlessly into the next part. Their body is smoothly muscled and harmoniously proportioned, creating a balanced appearance. A horse’s structure is its foundation. Correct structure allows correct movement. It is a critical component of Arabian type. To produce correct structure the breeder needs to study pedigrees to determine the desirable and undesirable structural characteristics within the families and how they are passed from one generation to the next.

TYPE – These are the physical characteristics that distinguish the Arabian horse from all other breeds. Type is the hallmark of the Arabian horse. We have a standard of perfection which we strive to achieve! Type relates to the entire horse and includes its overall body structure, head and neck, movement and tail carriage as well as other breed characteristics. At Madera Arabians, more type – bigger eyes, better movement and more tail carriage - creates the physical standard of perfection toward which I strive.

Breeders may have differing opinions when it comes to which elements are most important to them. Also, how they use these elements may differ. However, most breeders will agree that these elements, plus a generous dose of patience, are the essential elements in breeding beautiful Arabian horses.