Kars

1874, Saqlawi Jadran of Ibn Zubayni stallion. According to Al Khamsa, Kars was of the Mhayd section of the Fid’an tribe, purchased from the Fid’an by Mahmud Aga, a Kurdish Chief of irregular cavalry. Purchased from Mahmud Aga at Aleppo by Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt and imported in 1878 to England by the Blunts. By a Saqlawi Jadran out of a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah of Ibn Zubayni.

general stud book

Kars is listed in GSB, Volume 14: “A Bay Colt, foaled in 1874, a Seglawi Jedran of Ibn Sbeni, purchased at Aleppo, from Mahmud Aga, a Kurdish Chief of Irregulars, who obtained him as a two-year-old from the Fedaan-Anazeh, and rode him in 1877 to the war in Armenia, where nearly every other horse perished. His sire is stated to have been of the same strain of blood. This is considered the best in the Syrian Desert.”^​*​

Crabbet stud books

“Foaled in 1874, a Seglawi Jedran of Ibn Sbeyni of the Fedaan Anazeh. Sire stated to be of the same strain. 14 hands 2 1/2 inches, girth 63 1/2 inches, below the knee 7 1/4 inches.

A bright bay stallion with black points, both hind feet white up to fetlocks, small star on forehead; splendid head with fine jowl, small muzzle, lips like a camel’s nostril large; magnificent shoulder, high wither, rather flat sided, quarter very powerful and somewhat drooping but tail well set and carried well galloping, legs hock and knees perfect, pasterns long and strong, feet good. Mark like a dent in the neck on the near side, called ‘the prophet’s seal’. His temper perfect.

Purchased at Aleppo January 5th 1878 from Mahmud Aga, a Kurdish Chief of an irregular cavalry force raised in the northern desert during the Russian war, who obtained him as a two year old from his breeder of the Fedaan. Mahmud Aga rode Kars in 1877 to the war in Armenia where nearly every other horse perished, Kars being, as his former owner’s brother told me in Aleppo in the spring of 1881, miraculously preserved although twice hit by a bullet and afterwards abandoned on the road. On one occasion a bullet struck him on the cannon bone inside and just below the off knee, knocking over the horse and his rider and rolling them several yards. The second time a shot described as an inch in diameter grazed his shoulder. On the retreat from Armenia to Aleppo the horse appeared so much exhausted that his bridle and saddle here taken off and he was left behind, but he got up again and followed his master. Both reached Aleppo but in so wretched a state that recovery seemed doubtful for either. The one took to his bed and the other, suffering from a frightful back, was fired on the belly as a counter-irritant and was considered hardly out of danger when we saw and offered to buy him in January 1878. His owner, at the point of death, beset by heirs and relations, was persuaded to sell him for 69 pounds, a very small sum for a horse of his breed.

Imported in 1878. ‘Kars is in shape like the best sort of English thoroughbred and reminds me of the picture of Dungannon and also of Borack. He is a good horse all round, a fast walker trotter and galloper, with fine shoulder action, a brilliant fencer and up to my weight 13 stone to hounds. He has carried me often with the South Down and has (1881) never been beaten or stopped by any fence or given me a fall. In the autumn of 1880 he unfortunately mate with an accident, pricking his knee with a thorn, in jumping made fence in the park at Crabbet, and he has remained with an enlarged knee but the blemish has not affected his soundness. His stock are all satisfactory not one of them showing any weakness of limb or constitution.’ – W.S.B.

Kars was sold in June 1885 to D. Mackay Esq of New South Wales, for exportation to Australia.”^​†​

lady anne blunt journals

Lady Anne Blunt’s personal journals from 1881 give some detail on the provenance of Kars and the steps that the Blunts took to verify the information:

“April 14th. Sahij and Haman Ibn Sbeyni say that no horse or colt answering to his (Kars) description has been sold by them. In fact they have very few Seglawis and have only sold, last year, one colt and one horse (Note: the horse died on the voyage to Egypt. The colt was the son of an old fleabitten mare we saw. The slave is an old fellow, formerly Abbas Pasha’s, and we saw him at Ali Pasha’s. He is in the habit of being sent to buy horses from the desert.), a chestnut, to the slave of Ali Pasha Sherif (at Cairo) and before that a chestnut horse to Assad Effendi at Hama…..
The grey has a head and quarter which reminds us both so much of Kars that before hearing from Hamran and Sahij that they know nothing of Kars we had supposed she must be a sister to Kars. Of all the Seglawi’s here I prefer her.
Both brothers say that the grey filly we saw at the wells near Ibn Ernan’s (the day Mudir came) is really the daughter of the mare stolen (as we were then told) by Shammar and now somewhere in the Jezireh. It is also possible that Kars may have come from that mare, as he is like the filly, and as the mare we saw at Bakka was said to be his sister. The filly we saw at the Wells was in return stolen from the Shammar…..
Wilfred thinks of telling Haman that if we find out that our horse (Kars) is really from a mare of this breed we will buy the mare supposing she turns out to be in foal before next year. If we cannot discover that Kars is Seg. Jed. of Ibn Sbeyni there will be no object in buying a mare of this strain.
Note: I don’t trust Sahij – we heard him prompt someone to say that the sire of a mare (I forgot which) was Seglawi, and it was he who gave us this account of his nephew’s yearling. Besides she is not a yearling, but a two year old.”^​‡​

“April 16th. S. Ahmed came and talked. We gave him a cloak and Kefiyeh and he was delighted with ‘the honour.’ Then we talked about horses. He could give us positive information about Darley and Dajania and Hagar, and refer us to owners of Purple Stock and Kars and to Mohammed Ali (the former kavass) about Wild Thyme. Seyd Ahmed talked much of Skene Beg. He says that when the Beg arrived he was very good and straightforward – but that he was corrupted by M.A. and I.”^​§​

“Easter Sunday, April 17th, Aleppo…. Seyd Ahmed did not find Mahmud Aga (the owner of Kars) buy saw his cousin, who told him that Mahmud Aga bought Kars from an Arab of the Fedaan and that he is a Seglawi Ibn Sbeyni.” ^​¶​

“April 24th…. Mahmud Aga, Kurd of the Keydekani min Barazan tribe. His brother Mohammed called on us to talk about Kars. They have been twenty years at Aleppo. Before that they were in tents. Both brothers went to the war, with 100 khayal, 50 khayal returned. Kars was twice hit by a bullet, once on the near shoulder and once on the off leg below the knee inside. This brought blood and knocked him and Mahmud Aga over and several yards off. On the journey home Kars was so ill that they took his bridle off and left him behind, when he saw that he was left he got up and followed.”^​#​

PEdigree

Click on the image below for the Al Khamsa pedigree for Kars.

photos