Member Report from Libya
REPORT FROM THE 2019 WAHO CONFERENCE:
Dr. Yousef Wafa, Libya: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Yousef Wafa, I am representing the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society.
In Libya the number of registered foals was almost the same in the last three years. The number of imported horses is slightly decreased in the last year and the year before, especially in stallion numbers, this may be due to a suitable number of stallions in the country for natural service, as well as breeders starting to prefer using imported frozen semen. Libya has never been an Arabian horse exporting country, even though a small number of horses have been exported, the main reason for exportation is either for breeding reasons abroad or to stay for racing and looking for better rewards.
Horse racing is still the largest activity of Arabian horses in Libya, in which there is around 30 to 40 racing days every year. There are always two, three or more Arabian horse races in each race meeting. There are about two to four endurance races every year, in which the number of Arabian horses constitutes more than half of the participants. Show jumping is quite popular equestrian sport, only a very few Arabian horses are involved in this sport. Traditional horse riding is a very popular equestrian horse activity, Anglo Arab and half-bred horses are dominating this game, only the larger size Arabian horses can be accepted in this game.
There are some efforts from our Society to promote the Arabian horse in the country. The first thing is to register all foals to include them in the stud book, which we are working seriously on. This will encourage more people to acquire this breed and take part in various sports and activities. We decided that the WAHO trophy this year will be dedicated in remembrance of those Arabian horses who died, were lost and wounded during the sad situation which occurred in our country in the last few years. There are about two seminars every year to educate breeders and owners in the field of show horses and health care, training young vets in marking, microchip implantation and in explaining the registration process, this is done in workshops and meetings.
We are making a great effort and investing a lot of time for the next volume of our stud book, lately there is very good cooperation with Dr. Mohamed Machmoum who is our external adviser in this matter. We are compiling with Dr. Machmoum all the material for the stud book which is almost ready. There is also very good cooperation with the Tunisian Registry office and some other countries’ registries for providing all export and DNA documents. We are expecting to produce the stud book in a maximum of one or two months, the stud book will be in both printed and .pdf copies. We are adopting a modern and up to date passport version. We have already started issuing passports for horses that are DNA verified for the first time ever in the country. We ordered a considerable number of ISO microchips, specially designed for Libya, all 2019 born foals will be identified with these microchips. After an arrangement with the laboratory in Morocco we started sampling hair instead of blood for DNA verification.
We have called all our LAHBS active members for a general meeting, we set the date for the meeting for the middle of March with the following agenda. Number one: reading reports from the department of finance management, the department of registration and the stud book and department of activities. Number two: election of the new LAHBS President and managing committee.
At the end, I wish the WAHO 2019 Conference every success, we remain faithful to WAHO principles, rules and regulations. Thank you very much for your attention.
REPORT FROM 2017 WAHO CONFERENCE:
Faraj AlBeelah, Libya: (Translated from Arabic) In the name of God most gracious, most merciful. On behalf of myself, Mr. Faraj AlBeelah the first Vice-President of the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society, and in the name of the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society and all of its members from all over Libya, I wish to thank the Kingdom of Bahrain, its government and people for their great hospitality and hosting this Conference in their beautiful country. I would also like to thank the Executive Committee of WAHO and also Katrina Murray especially for all her efforts with our Society.
Our Society is the Authority which regulates the Arabian horse breeding in Libya and it is very grateful for all the work of WAHO for what they do. We abide by all the rules and regulations of WAHO in the studbook matters, maintaining the studbook to preserve the breed and purity and pedigree of the horses. Our delay in issuing the latest volume of our studbook is due to the interferences of some Libyan parties and those that are making use of the difficult situation that our country is going through at the moment, and WAHO is very aware of this situation. Thank you very much for listening.
REPORT FROM 2011 WAHO CONFERENCE:
Mr. Ali Abubakr Aneizi, Libya: My name is Ali Aneizi from Libya, I represent the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society. We would like to thank the State of Qatar for their hospitality and in particular His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar; His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani and the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club. I would also like to thank the Executive Committee of WAHO and all member countries of WAHO. We are very pleased as a Society to be part of this wonderful family. In Libya, we know the meaning of friendship and brotherhood, and we would like to thank all who supported us in our crisis and hardship and also I would like to send my appreciation for the support of the family of WAHO during this time.
The Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society is a non-government organization, it was established in 1997, first our horses were registered for us by Morocco, and we became a full member of WAHO in 2002 when we published our first independent studbook, following all WAHO rules.
We now have more than 500 registered purebred Arabian horses, and also there are now approximately 230 breeders. We organize 3 shows each year, two nationals and one international. We also organize races throughout the year, we have a long racing season which covers 9 months of the year. Libya is a member of both ECAHO and IFAHR. We also organize 2 to 3 endurance races per year. Our Society is still young and it has aspirations and great ambitions in the future and with your support we shall reach our goals, God willing. Thank you.
REPORT FROM 2009 WAHO CONFERENCE:
My name is Brigadier Abdelbaset Barki, I am the General Coordinator for the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society. General El Khweldi El Hamedi, President of the Society, has asked us to participate in this Conference and I convey to you his deepest salutations and his sincere wish for the success of this Conference. He would also like to convey to you the appreciation of all the Arabian horse breeders in Libya.
Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to confirm to you that purebred Arabians in Libya go back for hundreds of years and they hold a very high status in our culture, which regards horsemanship and equestrianism as an important part of our heritage. For our people, horses and horsemanship are very important and part of our culture, with a very long history. Under the guidance of the Libyan Arabian Horse Breeders Society, the breeders of purebred Arabians in Libya have started to achieve the objectives that were set particularly to preserve the purebred Arabian and the horses which are regarded as a national treasure.
We are proud to be Members of WAHO, this important international organization, and we thank WAHO for its efforts to collect people from around the world together in order to preserve the purebred Arabian. We give high importance to these horses and we abide by all the rules, standards, regulations and guidelines of WAHO in their registration. We have issued two stud books and so far we have registered more than 250 purebred Arabians up to 2008, 160 of them are stallions. In 2008 we registered 52 horses, 32 of which were colts. As for the imports, we imported 40 horses from Belgium, France, Tunisia, Italy and Syria. We exported 2 horses. We use passports according to WAHO standards and procedures, we also use microchipping now. As regards DNA, all our Arabians are DNA-typed through our cooperation with the Registry in Morocco, and all foals are parent verified at first registration.
Our horses do take part in some International Shows, we also organize our own annual National Championship Show. We also have races on a weekly basis. We give both certificates and financial awards and prizes. Our horses have participated in International races in Tunisia, and also in endurance races. What makes us even more proud is the fact that we now have a broader base of breeders and owners in Libya. In order to improve and promote our performance, we have asked the best experts from around the world for advice in order to benefit from their experience and in order for them to assess our initiatives, and now we are creating a new 150-hectare facility specifically for this purpose.
We also cannot forget to address our deepest thanks to the reason for our meeting here from all over the world, by that I mean the purebred Arabian horse. Thank you for your kind attention.
REPORT FROM 2007 WAHO CONFERENCE:
The first Libyan Arabian stud book was published in March 2003, before that our horses were registered in a separate section of the Moroccan Stud Book. The current stud book is volume 2 under printing, covering the period between 2003 until the end of 2006.
During the year 2005, 21 foals were registered and in 2006, 25 foals were registered. The estimated number of active stallions in 2005 was 5, and 8 active stallions in 2006. The number of active broodmares in 2005 was 21 mares, and in 2006 the number of mares was about 26. The estimated number of living WAHO Arabians in Libya is about 210 horses. During the period of 2006, about 20 horses were imported from Tunisia, Italy, France and Belgium. One mare was exported to Tunisia. We use DNA and microchipping for every foal before registration. We allow the use of Artificial Insemination, transported semen and Embryo transfer, even though none of these techniques have yet been used and we still use natural covering only.
Popular activities for Arabians are showing, but the Libyan breeders appear to have more interest in racing. About 40 races are now held each year. We have just started our endurance competitions under FEI regulations, and it seems that more breeders are enthusiastic about this. In the traditional riding Fantasia, WAHO Arabians have started to take their place in this very popular activity. Our Society is making considerable effort to promote WAHO Arabians, first of all by organizing shows in different places in the country, by organizing an annual National Show which this year will be under ECAHO, it will be held on 1st June. We also try to organize seminars and television programmes, as well as encouraging people to acquire WAHO Arabians with reasonable prices, and again we are trying to increase the money prizes in racing and endurance. So the number of breeders has increased to 75.
In 2007 Libya reported 16 foals registered, no exports and 6 imports. 2 Shows were held, also 48 races and 2 endurance rides.
