Arabische Pferde IN THE FOCUS 2/2022 (Vol. 30) - public

The Beginnings of Arabian Horse Breeding in Germany
Gertraude
Griesbach
Part 2
In Memoriam of
Zucht-Geschichte
In the first part we witnessed
how six mares of the old
Hungarian lines could be saved
after the Second World
War thanks to the dedicated
efforts of Gertraude Griesbach.
Their lines and those
of the Marbach mares Jemen
and Jacaranda have been
preserved through 167 foals
that were born in Achental
between 1947 and 1964.
2/2022 - www.in-the-focus.com
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Finally, in January 1953, Wisznu came into
our stud! "What a joy, yes, what a celebration
it was when, after the 2 years during
which our stallion was leased to the prince of
Lütetsburg, the proud Wisznu moved in with
us! He was brought in a comfortable trailer and
cheered by everyone. Wisznu whinnied loudly
and resoundingly around, did his old passage
trot in the yard, looked everywhere and was
very excited when he was led into the stable
by Mr. Amthor. Of course he smelled the mares
and didn't stop greeting them.” In the following
years he had 73 foals, making him the most frequently
used stallion in Achental.
Since they had a worthy successor in Rualla,
her mother Rozka was sold to the GDR in 1953,
while being pregnant by Wisznu. Owned by Dr.
Lehrmann, she foaled a colt called Wesir, who
was later used in Moritzburg to improve warmblood
breeding. Several years later, on a trip to
the GDR, Gertraude Griesbach visited Dr. Lehrmann
and Wesir, who was set up as a breeding
stallion in Moritzburg. "He is the head's personal
horse, Mrs. Dr. Steiner, who has a very reliable
riding stallion in him, although she lost a leg
in a car accident and wears prosthesis. I suspect
that Dr. Lehrmann is already proud to have sold
the stallion to Moritzburg, because there he has
many more opportunities to show his value
as a sire. And Rozka produced other beautiful
foals by Adonah, the Fetysz son. I can imagine
that Dr. Lehrmann will not forget that you
sold him this good mare". But joy and sorrow
are often close together; in the same year that
Rozka was sold, the beautiful, noble Khabitha
unfortunately died giving birth to her sixth foal.
"She really was our finest mare and brought us
my Kalif, who did so well in breeding. We now
have a replacement in Kassandra, but she's not
a Khabitha after all," writes Irmelin Griesbach,
describing the loss. The last foal was Khabithan
by Wisznu, and was raised with the bottle.
Numerous prospective buyers
Numerous interested parties and buyers came
to Achental, for example Mr. Hansen from Ahrensburg,
“who, after the war, kept purebred
Arabians, such as the Witraz daughter Europa,
the noble Kerbella (Mecca), as well as several
Arabian Partbreds and Anglo-Arab mares.
He had acquired the old stallion Kohinoor
and wanted to enlarge the Arabian herd. So
he bought from us in 1954 the noble filly Kenya
(out of Khemah), the colts Kashan (out of
Comtesse), Ismael (out of Isabella) and Jasir II
(out of Joschi), all by Wisznu.” A year later, none
other than Federico Zichy-Thyssen visited the
stud. “He wanted to buy a stallion for himself
as a riding horse. You offered him Komet (Kalif
/ Khema) who turned three in January. So he
can take him to Switzerland and ride there. He
wants to finish his high-school there and then