Mudlarks
Pi eces
Jeannie Lieb: It is a well known fact that grey Davenports have a “must roll in the mud” gene. They love to decorate themselves!
Bits and
Dr. Charlotte Newell: It's broader than Davenports. There is a mud-seeking gene that is on the same chromosome as the gene for greying in horses. It is expressed more fully as the greying progresses, and reaches its zenith in the older "white" horse. A prime example of this was Prince Hal at Upland. Pam McArthur, who was leasing him, would come out and spend an insane amount of time cleaning him up, then go for a ride, during which Hal would pull his "I'm an old man, I need to go into the center of the ring and just stand" routine. Pam would get off him, brush out the minimal saddle mark, and turn Hal back out, where he would put his nose to the ground like a bloodhound, searching intently until he found the muddiest possible spot, at which point he would drop and roll exuberantly until he was coated as though he were an adobe dwelling. [Ed.: We suppose that it would be possible to fill a Khamsat with remarks from all of our readers on this topic!
Ibn Fadl (*Fadl x *Turfa) at the Babson Farm c1952, photo by Charles Craver. A foundation stallion in Blue Star and BabsonTurfa breeding.
*Aire, photo from Jeździec i Hodowca, No.14, 1935, courtesy of Kate McLachlan. “Brazylja, Haras Er Rasul: pani Wanda Medeiros Marques de Echenique i jej ulubiona klacz AIRE, rody Seclawieh Jedranieh, ur. w Haras Er Rasul, nabyta przez p. J.M. Dickinson’s do stada Travelers Rest Farm, w Stanach Zjednoczonych.”
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