I was therefore far more interested in the dam of my horse than his sire.

Remnants of the importance of the female line can still be found by the Jews, when the mother is Jewish the children are supposed to be Jewish as well.
And in England the oldest titles can be inherited by a daughter as well as a son.
And in Arabia the families of the Arabian horses were counted by the mother lines. Lord and Lady Blunt were amongst a very small number of European travelers who understood the matriarchal system of Arab horse’s bloodlines.

I drew a tree for my horse Rabhar who was almost exclusively Crabbet Park and whose ancestors go back centuries, and were brought back by the Blunts to England.

Of course my own family tree is fascinating: there was the 17th century pirate ”Thundering Berend” who was the scourge of the seven seas, and went through 6 wives, until the seventh who was too quick for him and ran him through with a cutlass. they were my ancestors from my Father’s family.
Before Thundering Berend my father’s ancestors used to be ”the Black Knights” who ruled much of the northern Netherlands. btw all the women were recorded on the family tree as they were the most dangerous and therefore brought in the most booty.

From my mother’s family I am descended from ancient royal bloodlines, hence the blue color of the blood in my veins, All the women were renowned warriors and carried Germanic names like kriemhild, Sieglinde etc. (Those names mean things like ”Victorious in battle” ”Shield of the snake tree” my mother’s name meant ”Brave and compassionate in battle” (really!)) My mother’s line goes all the way back to the goddess Freia, three thousand years ago and the Walkure which explains my tendency to beat up men whom I don’t like.
Actually both bloodlines explain that.

“Women are angels and when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly…on a broomstick…we’re flexible like that.”

We might work on that when I return to the United States. My family comes from Iran and I have no idea about my family tree past my great grand parents. I prefer not to have a detailed history because it leaves me free to follow a path that is not locked in the past.

Family names is like astrology in my opinion. If your name was Smith several hundred years ago you probably were a blacksmith. I’m a Libra so I must carry the traits of a Libra. In my opinion names, astrological signs, and religions are external issues that have nothing to do with my heart and soul. Just because we are “fallen” into a time and place not of our choosing doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have free-will.

I think they’re interesting to study, but that’s the extent of it for me. If other people like to indulge themselves with lineage, history, religion, or astrology to help define who they are I can’t condemn them. I also can’t condemn how they pick and choose information from those fields of study.

I only learn those things to understand those that use those things to define themselves. Learning how others define themselves gives me a clearer idea of who they are and enables me to better communicate with them. I may not agree with them, but I’m not going to condemn them.