Witez II - An Arabian Horse with History
One of my favorite books of all time is about Witez II. The book is, "And Miles To Go: The Biography of a Great Arabian Horse, Witez II", by Linell Smith. It is no longer in print but there are copies to be had from Amazon starting at $84. If you are fortunate enough to find this book in a public library, read it!
What I love about Witez II's story is the absolute love and dedication of the people in his life to save this horse and preserve his bloodline. Without that dedication the horse could easily have ended up on someone's dinner plate!
Witez II was born in Poland at the Janow Stud in 1938. Unfortunate for him as Hitler's forces were to invade Poland the very next year. Witez II and the rest of the yearlings were sent off in a group to try to escape the invaders. The group was barely started on their journey when German bombers appeared in the sky above them and started dropping bombs. The startled yearlings scattered. Luckily Witez II's handler managed to regain control of him and they continued on their treacherous journey. Only now they were on their own. The pair traveled across Poland with the handler at times covering the horse with mud to try to disguise the fact that this was a quality horse. Although they found help along the way feeding the horse was becoming a problem and they had to make their way back to Janow to find food. His handler bravely snuck in to the farm at night and stole food for the horse but ultimately he could not provide the animal with enough feed and turned him over to the Germans who had taken over the stud.
A German veterinarian Dr. Lessing and his assistant W. Kroll made their way through enemy lines to get help from the Americans to save the horses before the Russians got to them. It was then that General Patton took action to secure these fine animals and bring them to the United States. Luckily for Arab fanciers today Witez II was one of them.
Read the book if you love horses. While some of the characters are fictional the events are real.
Published by herbie
retired horse trainer and riding instructor, have 2 college age children, been married for 25 years, just lost my father to cancer, worst job ever was working in a call center for a cell phone company, have... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentI have a copy of this book and will never get rid of it! Fantastic story and a wonderful read.
What an inspiring story. I find it amazing that the German veterinarians would risk so much to get help from the Americans. Horse lovers are horse lovers no matter what! One of my favorite books ever was King Of The Wind by Marguerite Henry - a true(ish) story of an Arabian horse. I was home from school sick with the flu when it arrived in my Arrow book order. My friends at school knew that I would want it and brought it to me. I read and read while I was sick. Just couldn't put it down! Thanks for this. By the way, you may enjoy my new poem, I Have A Cat Upon My Lap! :)