Chetar Arabians ~ ABOUT ~ Breeding Program

Chetar Arabians is young, the Breeding Programs even younger, but everything takes time, and the endeavours that end up being the ones worthwhile are those that are meticulously planned. The Stud may be young, but I've had the idea of where I want to go with my Breeding Program etched in my mind for a very long time!
Early on, my passion for the Arabian horse was cemented by select individuals that to this day influence my idea of the ideal Arabian horse. It was only natural that those horses that have had such an impact on my life be the ones I looked to when the time came for me to really get to work on focusing the Breeding Program at Chetar Arabians.

My primary goal in breeding is to pair individuals together that compliment eachother, to the extent that they have the best possible chance to produce consistently outstanding progeny. Every horse that is a member of my current [and future] Breeding Program has been chosen for very specific reasons that reflect how I believe they will breed on, how they prove to breed on, and who they should be paired with to breed on well. Being objective of my own herd is one rule I strive hard to never forget! I truly do believe that it is by far the first and most important rule anyone who aims to breed horses [or any other animal for that matter!] should have. It's a simple rule I was lucky enough to learn early on in my career from some of the countrys' best and is always the first rule - the most important rule - that I teach to anyone wanting to learn about breeding horses.

Chetar Arabians is dedicated to attaining a wide variety of colour expressions in unmistakably Arabian horses of the highest calibre.
While I am enamoured by the various white patterns found across all breeds, I find the Arabian and its' Derivative breeds, regardless of their colour/s, to be the best of all horse breeds found throughout the world - For their superior beauty, charisma and carriage, for their unsurpassed intelligence and versatility, for their loyalty, their love of people and their 'never say die' attitudes + much more!
And an Arabian with the spectacular addition of Colour along with all of those traits - Well, what more could anyone ask for!!

While Chetar Arabians Breeding Program is focused on bringing colour to awesome examples of Purebred and high percentage Derivative Arabians, the Chetar Arabians Breeding Program does not forfeit quality for colour - A mistake that I think has been made often enough by breeders focused solely upon colour as to have resulted in many "coloured breeders" being lumped under the sterotype of having substituted the calibre and quality of horse for that of addition of colour rather than having further improved an already excellent example of the highest calibre of horse with the addition of colour, which is what I am aiming for!
Chetar Arabians does not breed for colour, and certainly not for colour alone! All Chetar horses are of the highest calibre.
Chetar Arabians breeds for beauty, temperament, conformation and versatility in individuals who surpass the Purebred Arabian and Derivative Arabians breeds' Standard of Excellence - With the addition of Colour!

For as long as I can remember, I have been enamoured of the Arabian as a breed, for their ethereal beauty, grace, intelligence and people loving nature. I’ve always held an even greater passion for coloured horses, and dedicating myself to introducing those magical colour displays to the Arabian breed was a dream I have held since I was able to set goals for myself as a youngster. I realized early in life that I wanted my future to revolve completely around horses, and there was never any other idea in my head but that the horses my life would revolve around would eventually be ‘Coloured Arabians’. So much so that my majors at University included Genetics and Breeding, and I am still to this day always researching the newest advancements and available research on colour genes and their control in the spare time that I do have.
While I have a love of all white pattern and dilution expressions, the Sabino Overo gene has always held the greatest interest for me. I find the markings that result from the Sabino gene are the ones I prefer above all others. There is such a wide variety of characteristics and patterns, that are more complicated in genetic control, and therefore harder to breed, that the challenge presented by dedicating a Breeding Program to the Sabino Overo gene has always been something I couldn’t pass up. I have recently expanded my Breeding Program to include Purebred Arabians in my Sabino Overo goals with the acquisition of Chetar Arabians’ first Purebred Arabian Sabino Overo mares.
All of Chetar Arabians "coloured" horses carry the Sabino Overo gene. All bar two also carry a second, and a few a third, white pattern &/or dilution gene in addition to Sabino. The white pattern expressions of Frame Overo, Tobiano and Rabicano, and the Creme Dilution are the genes currently represented at Chetar Arabians, with plans to expand the mare band to include a few more others in the future.

While I don’t consider the Chetar Arabians Breeding Program as being one that line breeds - At least, not to the extent of how the term is commonly used in the Arabian Industry today, and not to the point that I consider an individuals lineage as its' most important trait. I most certainly do have personal preferences that're reflected in my choice of individuals for my Breeding Program however, which has resulted in a handful of families being represented repeatedly by those individuals I have chosen to join the Chetar Arabians herd.
I am more than aware of that Arabian lineage, and the subsequent faults as well as the type, consistently produced by these families.
As there are but two true white patterns present in the Purebred Arabian, the pure lines must be diluted to attain the colour expressions not found in the pure breed - For this reason alone it is critical that I know for certain that the best Arabian attributes possessed by my horses will consistently be reproduced in their progeny! Irrespective of their colour/s - Or lack thereof! - All of the Chetar Arabians horses and progeny are unmistakenly Arabians of the highest quality and calibre first and foremost - Should they possess/inherit a little colour in addition to being thus, then I'm lucky enought to have met the breeding goals that I've set!

In the beginning, my acquisition of the first mares I intended to breed on with did not involve a conscious choice of bloodlines on my part. I looked at the horse as a whole and was only interested in the pedigree as far as ascertaining what that mare could be counted on to bring to Chetar Arabians – What her bloodlines were recognized for consistently reproducing. I knew I wanted to breed colour into my stock, but it was more important that from the beginning the mares I chose were of the highest quality affordable to me, regardless of their colour.
After I made my first few selections, I realized I had made choices that, while actually based upon the horses themselves, the individuals also had bloodlines in common, and those lines happened to be the families that I had idolized since my early childhood. So while it was an unconscious decision on my part, in the beginning at least, my Breeding Program does have a select gene pool and while I don’t aim to line breed, or breed based on the bloodlines of the sire versus those of the dam, I do look to utilizing specific lines to improve the areas I consider somewhat lacking.

The Egyptian/Spanish "Golden Cross" cross of the immortal El Shaklan, with his legendary sons Amir El Shaklan and Simeon Sa’ar at the forefront, are the foundation blocks I begun to build upon with my breeding program. My first selections were destined for the Derivative section of my Breeding Program. I planned to eventually procure Purebreds, but the qualities I wanted and needed in those Purebreds were not financially available to me at that time. Even though I didn’t make the conscious decision that my first Derivative breeding stock were going to be of El Shaklan descent, I did have the intention of eventually focusing my future Purebred Breeding Program on El Shaklan related descendants. It ended up that I was so drawn to that type of Arabian that I found that my Derivative choices reflected my personal preference anyway and my Derivative Breeding Program also began with a noteworthy number of El Shaklan influenced stock.
El Shaklan has always been ‘The Stallion’ that was closest to my ideal Arabian. I grew up in a time when the Arabian Horse World was overwhelmed by, and totally crazy for El Shaklan. I truly believe that he is the reason I am so very passionate toward, and entirely committed to, every single one of my horses. My love affair with the Arabian Horse began the day I saw my first photo of El Shaklan and I still remember that photo to this day! His beauty and aesthetic appeal was my emotional reasoning in the beginning, wheres now, as a breeder, logic tells me I can rely on the families’ overall consistent correctness and prepotency to throw those correct traits for generations down the line.
I essentially view my Breeding Program as focusing on bringing colour to El Shaklan descendants, with specific Straight Egyptian, Polish and Crabbet influences utilized when required to improve upon the areas lacking.

So in addition to El Shaklan bred lines, there are a few other Straight Egyptian, Pure Polish and Crabbet families that have begun to consistently pop up in the pedigrees of the Chetar Arabians horses. The more prominent ones, and the ones I feel will have the most influence, are individuals that are generally widely recognized for their contributions to the Arabian breed.

The descendants of the Straight Egyptian Shaikh Al Badi and Bint Magidaa cross – predominantly through their son Ruminaja Ali, are the first that come to mind. The dynasty created by Ruminaja Ali, his sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters in turn have had such a worldwide impact on the Arabian breed it's hard to fathom what it would be today had they not been around. I am always drawn to the Arabians that are the result of crossing these lines with those of El Shaklan heritage. They are unmistakable, even generations down the line, their prepotency still stamps their great grandget and beyond.

The descendants of the great Straight Egyptian El Hilal (Ansata Ibn Halima x Bint Nafisaa) are another of the influential families making a contribution to the gene pool here. A few of Chetar Arabians stock carry multiple crosses to El Hilal within a few generations. I regard El Hilal as one of those stallions that was used not nearly enough during his time, and while Australia hasn't really all that many of his descendants on our shores, I feel his contribution to the breed both here and overseas is still highly underrated and not valued anywhere near enough.

A significant influence is also being made to the Chetar Arabians Breeding Program by the great stallion Danteffa, another Arabian whom I’ve admired since his days with Bluegrass Arabians. Danteffa brings the Pure Polish influence of his sire, the double Bask grandson BPL Dante, and an Egyptian/Crabbet cross through his dam, the awesome show and breeding mare Serreffa (Al Karim Sirhalima x Fanfare). Danteffa is a more recent stallion and his influence to the Arabian breed as a whole isn't seen to be on par with those of the past, but I truly feel this magnificent Arabian was the result of an almost perfect blending of Egyptian, Crabbet and Polish lines. He consistently produced such qualities in his progeny, who are now in turn passing those qualities on to their progeny and their progenys' progeny. I feel his influence will eventually be as far reaching as some of the more well known household names, at least on our own shores, and as a result I have given him what I feel is a deserving place in my Breeding Program. Which is turning out to be a great decision on my part based on the progeny that have been produced from the El Shaklan/Danteffa cross at Chetar Arabians so far!

The Pure Crabbet breeding in the stud is actually very minimal in comparison to the above mentioned families. Minimal though it may be, it does make a contribution and so should be mentioned! The Crabbet blood represented in the Stud traces back to the early original Crabbets imported into Australia, with more prominent members of the Silver Family being the most prominent of Crabbet lines represented at Chetar Arabians. For those who wonder why I don't further incorporate Crabbet lines into my Breeding Program [because of their tendancy to produce a fair amount of white markings and my love of such], it is simply a personal preference! I adore all of the aspects of the El Shaklan and Egyptian "looking" Arabians, and much prefer these over the Crabbet bred individuals - Even those horses that do descend from the Silver Family here at Chetar Arabians only possess the most minimal of strain characteristic, so much so that it's hard to discern at all.