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I fell in love with the filly shortly after I had purchased Chizzam, but I was very loyal to my gelding and would not part with him. Anna was one of three fillies at the farm that year. One of the fillies was a very expensive, straight Russian Arab and one was an American-bred Arab that had a lot of good quality show horses in her pedigree.
And one was Anna! Anna was the one I liked the best. She was bred to stay small (she matured at 14.3hh), and she had the sort of useful conformation that I like. (Her legs aren't really crooked, she's just standing funny in the photograph.)
Anna's bloodlines were not remarkable. She was 1/4 Spanish, just like Chizzam, but a different sire line. The rest of her was old American bloodlines.
Her owners gave her to me, as she didn't fit their breeding goals and wasn't worth very much as an untrained filly.
She had a perfect head with attractive, kind brown eyes, and the thickest mane and tail I've ever seen on an Arab. She was very smart, and easy to train and work with.
As she got older, she developed difficulties during her periods of heat, and as the years went by she started "freaking out" during these times. It was not safe to ride or work with her during those times (as I found to my chagrin.)
Fortunately, at all other times, she was a safe and pleasant mare to be around, and actually easier to train than Chizzam (who was also very smart.) I had both horses for several years, then I finally gave Anna to a friend of mine, who also thought she was the cutest mare she'd ever seen. She knew about the terrible heats Anna went through, and had actually seen me attempt to ride Anna when she was coming into season. (Needless to say, I ended up suddenly on the ground, having been kicked in the gut on the way down. Ouch!)
She still felt that Anna was the perfect horse for her, so I finally gave in and gave Anna to her. That worked out great for both of us, as I had enough time to devote to Chizzam and he and Anna could still be pasture mates as they had been for years.
My friend Sue did work with Anna and ride her occasionally, but she mostly just enjoyed grooming her and feeding her treats! Sue was the owner of the stable where I boarded them, so she mothered everyone's horses!
The vets always said Anna was completely healthy, but I can't help wondering if she had an ovarian cyst that caused her extreme personality change during heat!