Joseph Ferris has agreed to collaborate with me on writing an article for my readers. Prevously, Joe provided me with very useful material which I intend to translate into Arabic for educational purposes.
Joe is always generous with his time and knowledge to all those who are ever thirsty to learn about Straight Egyptian and Arabian horse breeding. What is even more startling is his humility. I cannot feel more lucky and hounored.
In case you do not know Joe and you are reading about him for the first time, here’s a short biography he wrote himself and which he kindly emailed to me:
Born in Detroit, Michigan USA in 1946, Joe Ferriss grew up fascinated by automobiles and art, later getting a Bachelors degree in Commercial Art from Michigan State University. Married in 1969, his wife Sharon introduced him to riding horses, immediately after which they discovered Arabians in early 1970. Beginning in 1970 with a half-Arabian mare Joe bred, raised and trained a small group of Arabians for the next 20 years.
From the beginning Joe accumulated a large library on Arabians, Thoroughbreds, and general horse related information, some of which was inherited from his grandfather who was a member of the US Arabian Horse Registry in 1918. Soon after he became involved in historical research on Arabian horses.
Joe traveled around the US and Canada throughout the 1970s and early 1980s filming many ancestors of today’s Arabians while interviewing breeders. For 45 years, Joe has authored numerous articles on Arabians appearing in North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker and lecturer on Arabians since 1980.
Joe was also a past president of Al Khamsa, Inc., an organization devoted to preserving original Bedouin related bloodlines. For 15 years he was also editor and publisher of the Khamsat Magazine for Al Khamsa, Inc.
Joe has traveled on research trips in Europe, Jordan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain including spending time among the Bedouin tribes in the mid 1990s. In addition, he has designed and produced books on Arabian horses and related Middle Eastern subjects for various authors and for the Pyramid Society. He currently serves on the board of the Arabian Horse Archives. This year marks his 55th anniversary of involvement with Arabians as he continues to enjoy his journey with this fabled breed.
The Horse in Word and Picture 