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STUD AND EQUINE RESEARCH WHO ARE WE? Our Equine Family Working with the horses at Xenophon Non-Equine Friends at Xenophon Books by Lesley Skipper Who was Xenophon? Xenophon Stud is a small private yard devoted to research into equine behaviour, with emphasis on social behaviour, and into various aspects of training. We also carry out research into the history and type pf various breeds, with emphasis on the Arabian horse.We have eleven horses, whom we keep not specifically for either breeding or competition (though we do a little of both), but as friends and companions, and for the immense pleasure we gain from riding and training them, as well as just being with them. Seven of them are pure-bred Arabians: a stallion, Guisburn Nivalis (Prince Shalamzar x Roxzella); his dam Roxzella (Roxan x Fire Fairy); the mare Mikenah (Manzala x Coppermead Bel Echo), known as Tiff, who lives with Nivalis; 2-year-old Tariel, son of Tiff and Nivalis; Tiff and Nivalis's colt foal Rigel (Jas); Nivalis's daughter Princess Orilla (Zara) out of Arabian mare Manigen, and a gelding, Zareeba (Count Kasbah x Solkie). We also have two part-breds: Zareeba's half-brother, Kruger (Eugano x Solkie) by a Belgian Warmblood stallion; and Nivalis's daughter Imzadi (Guisburn Nivalis x Kiri) out of a Cleveland Bay x TB mare. All are regularly ridden except Tiff and, of course, the youngsters! Our other horses are Imzadi's dam Kiri (no longer ridden because of an old injury - she's happiest having babies), and the latter's son by a Belgian Warmblood stallion, the gelding Toska (Losker x Kiri), who is progressing very nicely under saddle. All of the above are trained and ridden according to classical principles, with the emphasis on Xenophon's maxim that anything forced can never be beautiful. Our researches are enhanced by the fact that we have several family groups on our yard. The Nivalis family comprises the stallion Nivalis, his dam Roxzella, his daughter Imzadi (out of Kiri), his companion Tiff, their sons Tariel and Jas, and our recent acquisition, Nivalis's daughter Zara. Strictly speaking Kiri should also belong to this group, but she has her own family group, consisting of herself and her son Toska, by Belgian Warmblood stallion Losker. Imzadi, being Kiri’s daughter, also belongs to this group as well as to Nivalis’s, and in fact she is on very good terms with her grandmother Roxzella and with Tiff. She also tries to flirt with her father Nivalis, who would definitely like to respond; however there is some conflict there as natural inhibitions against incest seem to be creating hesitation on both sides. The third family group is composed of Arabian gelding Zareeba and his younger half-brother Kruger. All of these horses, apart from Tiff who came to us in 1998 aged 7, and Zara who came to us in April 2007 aged 21 months, have spent most or all of their lives together. They therefore form a very stable group and sub-groups, so it is possible to study their behaviour without the disruptions caused by constant changes in the social structure. Arabian horses and classical riding are not often thought of as belonging together. Mention Arabian horses to the average horse lover, and they are more likely to think of showing, long distance riding, or racing; while the rider interested in the concept of classical riding may think more in terms of the breeds traditionally associated with the old masters of equitation - Spanish horses, Lusitanos, Lipizzaners and the like. At Xenophon, though, we believe that the whole philosophy of classical riding is eminently suited to the Arabian horse, with its intelligence, sensitivity and willingness to work with those humans who see the horse as a friend and partner, rather than as a servant or even a slave. Our Equine Family Working with the horses at Xenophon Non-Equine Friends at Xenophon Books by Lesley Skipper Who was Xenophon? ©Lesley Skipper
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