What can we do about the last French Asil horses?

The entries on the French Asil Arabian horses continue to generate a lot of interest.  To some, the photos of classic specimen of Arabians horses were like an eye opener, shedding light on Asil breeding in a country that has imported hundreds of desert bred stallions and mares from Arabian, and set up large-scale breeding ventures that go on in three other countries (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco).

Some of the comments I received go a step further, and ask practical questions, for example about what can be done to save the remnants of these horses, before it is too late. Here is a lead:  

While I was still based in France, I tried to lease one of the last Asil mares, Bucolique (Besbes x Berthe by Irmak), a gorgeous 1981 bay mare of the Jilfan Dhawi strain, and the dam of many racehorse champions, with the aim of breeding her to Rubi de la Mouline (Ilamane x Hamma by Raoui), a 1983 chestnut stallion of the Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz strain .  

Her owner, Jean-Marie Baldy, of the Haras du Cayrou in the Cantal area of central France, was willing to lease her, and the owners of Rubi de la Mouline were also willing to let him breed her, despite his old age.  Agreements were reached, transportation arrangements were made, but the project eventually failed to materialize because the next month I had to leave France for the USA.

I wish someone could revive this project, and take it forward, and I am willing to help in every way I can. It is an endeavor worth pursuing. I believe that a good case can be made for these horses: the supporting documentation exists, and the horses speak for themselves.

9 Replies to “What can we do about the last French Asil horses?”

  1. Hi Edouard,

    do you found someone to revive your project to preserve the old asil french lines?

    Kind regards
    Stephan

  2. Stephen I had several queries from a number of people but the more we work on this the better. We need to contact the owners of these couple mares and get them to breed them to the right stallions. If you give me your phone number I will follow up with you.

  3. Hi Edouard,

    thank you for your response. But I’m living not in France. I come from the south of Germany.

    Take a look on our website:

    http://www.rafik-el-amen.de

    just go to the english version, and under Asil Arabians you’ll find my oldies “El Nahrib” and “Dachna”.

  4. Hi Edouard:

    Could you tell me what happens with this project? Did you find someone who recived the project?
    I hope so!!

  5. bonjour, je voudrais savoir si les origines de Cheri BiBI (BAROUD III X Nevada II par Djanor) peuvent elles etre considéré comme asil ?
    Je vous remercie par avance

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