In the late 1870s, a devastating epidemic of African horse sickness hit Egypt, killing thousands of horses, including many horses of prized bloodlines. Only the horses Ali Pasha Sherif had moved to upper Egypt were saved. As he aged, Ali Pasha Sherif's health failed and he encountered financial and political problems, leading to many problems for his stud farm, including a decline in the quality of his stock due to managers who bred to pedigree with no assessment of the ensuing livestock and often engaging in inbreeding.