Spanish Jennet/Amblin

[Gretchen Patterson <tpranch@internetwork.net>]

From: "A Collection of Articles" by Carl Raswan
               Republished by Alice Payne and her son Robert.
               Jan. 1967
                                                   The Barb and Jennet
Horse
                                                              by Carl R.
Raswan

This is an excerpt from the complete article--

.............."When Mohammed's voice aroused the Bedouin tribes of the
wilderness of Arabia, they rode victoriously on Ishmael's steeds from
the Ganges of Hind, the iron gates of Vienna, the snow-capped mountains
of Morocco and the hot plains of the Caspian. Bedouins soon became
masters of  the world and their horses fed the green pastures of Europe.

               The Moorish sultans of Granada and the princes of the
desert with their entourage of guards and troops were mounted on Arabian
horses of the               choicest blood. Loyally they kept the
breeding of their animals pure and preserved their bloodlines in
Andalusian stud farms, adding from time to time new importations from
their distant homelands in Arabia. The nomadic nations of the Barbary
coast also submitted to the conquest of the  Moslem Arabs and their
warrior clans were presented with stallions from the Sultan's own
stables. Special body guards were mounted on  imported horses to escort
royalty. These were called the Jennetat, because they were mounted on
horses of the Jinah't Tayr strain of the
               Kuhaylan, which translated means: "wings of the bird" in
reference to their powerful shoulders.  The young Barbary princes were
not only accomplished riders but masters of training and gaiting their
handsome steeds. Taking advantage of          their horse's natural
endowment of strong, pliable shoulders and light-footedness,the young
knights developed the famous ambling gait of the Arabian which to this
day has survived in the Peruvian horse, descendant of the Jinah't Tayr
as well as in the Lippizaner of the old Spanish riding  School of
Vienna. This special unit of intrepid horsemen excelled by their heroism
and loyalty, any other Moslem or foreign cavalry in Spain. They were
allowed to keep their stallion colts and send them as stud horses to
their relatives and retainers in north Africa who mated the Jinah't
with their Barb mares thus producing what was later called in Spain the
celebrated Jennet horse and the special style of riding which is still
called "a la Ginneta" (riding with knees drawn up to the shoulder of the
horse with a very short stirrup).

               For centuries the Jennets of Spain were considered the
most beautiful, fastest and perfect horses in Europe. After the Moslems
left Spain (1492) the Jennets and Barbs were bred to the royal horses of
the kings and princes of Holy Europe. In Sicily and Naples these crosses
became known as the "Genetti de Regno"--a cross of the Arabo-Barb with a
heavy cart horse -- the military type of 15th to 18th century of
Europe.
               After the Moslem wars, Spain had a super abundance of
light riding horses taken from the Arabs. The discovery of the new
continent across the sea resulted in many of the smaller horses being
sent to the New World. Many of the Jinah't Tayr steeds reached America."


Here is the complete article--
http://members.aol.com/lazyjarabs/Muniqi/Raswan/BarbandJennetHorse.html


Gretchen Patterson
NATRC, Texas
http://www.horsemassage.com