Al Khamsa, Inc, is a not-for-profit organization devoted to the preservation of the horse of Bedouin Arabia, as recognized by Al Khamsa, through education and research in a non-competitive social climate which draws admirers of such horses together with the interest of fitting the Bedouin horse into western life. "AL KHAMSA" is an Arabic term roughly translated as "the five." Early occidental travelers to the extended Arabian peninsula frequently reported that the term "al khamsa" (el khamsa, el Khoms, etc) was used to designate the five best or favorite 'breeds," strains or families of the unique and ancient breed of horses of the native Bedouin. These travelers indicated that there were many strains and that the list of "the five" varied from tribe to tribe or from sheykh to sheykh. One variation of the story of "Al Khamsa" refers to the five favorite horses of the prophet, Muhammad (AD 570-632).
Next Meeting: Please call for directions and let us know you're coming! All are welcome !
Date: Saturday December 12, 1998
Time: 11 AM
Place:
David Seefeldt and Sharon Nelsons Farm
18921 Judge Orr Road
Peyton Colorado
1-719-749-2214
Topic: Our role in the next issue of the Al Khamsa magazine The Khamsat
| Northern folks stay tuned for a Northern Al Khamsa meeting in January! |
In 1973 a group of dedicated Arabian horse breeders chose this Bedouin term as the name for a new organization devoted to perpetuating and learning more about a distinct group of Arabian horses within the overall breed. The horses of primary interest to Al Khamsa are those horses in North America that can be reasonably assumed to descend entirely from Bedouin Arabian horses bred by the nomadic horse-breeding tribes of the deserts of the Arabian peninsula and without admixture of horses unacceptable to Al Khamsa.
The organization's bylaws provide the procedures by which horses and/ or bloodlines may be added to or deleted from the roster of eligible horses. The term "Al Khamsa Arabian" is not synonymous or interchangable with any other term or designation used by any other organization or entity, including the Blue Arabian Horse Catalog, the Pyramid Society, the Asil Club, the Sheykh Obeyd Foundation, the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy, the Heirloom Stud, the World Arabian Horse Organization, the Arabian Horse Registry, etc. Readers are advised to consult the Pedigree Index of AL KHAMSA ARABIANS II to determine eligibility of living horses or their ancestors. Today, only 3 to 4% of the registered Arabians in North America are Al Khamsa-eligible. Please help us preserve this loyal, loving and fiercely courageous companion !
Although more than half of the Al Khamsa horses are generally considered to be "Egyptian" , Al Khamsa does not require that a horse or its ancestors must have passed through any specific foreign country, including Egypt. There are many breeding programs within the Al Khamsa bloodline parameters, some emphasizing individual stallions or mares in the pedigree, some based on specific Ancestral Element designations or the tail-female foundation mare line (strain), some emphasizing performance or "halter" attributes, while others are defined by a combination of factors. The organization itself does not sponsor nor advocate any particular program other than to encourage breeding Al Khamsa mares to Al Khamsa stallions. To supporters of Al Khamsa, Inc, the term, "Al Khamsa" has come to signify a spirit of cooperation rather than competition and we rejoice with the breeder of a new replacement foal, regardless of the breeding program within Al Khamsa.
The Arabian horses of the Bedouin have existed for thousands of years, but they have always been rare treasures. Readers of these pages, and especially those who are just discovering Al Khamsa, are encouraged to learn more about these wonderful horses. Al Khamsa's 1993 publication, AL KHAMSA ARABIANS II, provides the known pedigree information about living Al Khamsa horses and their ancestors, information about the Bedouin tribes, a list of Foundation Horses and very early breeders, as well as an anthology and a glossary of Arabic terms. Al Khamsa also publishes a quarterly magazine, THE KHAMSAT. Please contact the people listed to arrange to see as many of these horses from a variety of bloodlines and breeding programs as is possible. You may find your own rare treasure.
The history of the Al Khamsa horse
Our Al Khamsa horses are blessed with a rich and broad heritage. By definition, they trace exclusively to horses which can reasonably be assumed to descend from horses bred by the migrating Bedouin tribes of the greater Arabian peninsula, an area which spans more than 2000 miles from East to West and almost 5000 miles from Northern Syria to the bottom of the peninsula in the South. Within this area there were many dozens of migrating tribes and clans within the tribes. For more than a thousand years it was a matter of honor among the Bedouin to breed their horses to ensure purity. Even though horses were taken in raids, the lineage was carefully communicated to the person who had stolen the horse, in order to ensure that the purity of the families was maintained. Certainly, there was never one unified breeding program, inherent Bedouin individualism as well as tribal warfare and vast distances precluded such a program. The Bedouin obviously appreciated a variety of bloodlines and types. They developed a system of strain names to identify the descendants of special mares. Diversity of type is evidenced by both photographs and written descriptions of Bedouin horses.
Al Khamsa has adopted a shorthand system to indentify and classify the Al Khamsa horse. This system is comprised of "ancestral elements."
What are Ancestral Elements? What is their purpose?
Last modified on : 4/6/98
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