Kiefer El Sherif
This is a bottle in the ocean.. about whether anyone knows anything about a 1999 grey Al Khamsa Arabian mare oddly named Kiefer El Sherif (Hadaya Nile Anwar x Sherlaila by Sheriz) tail female to the W.R. Hearst import *Layya, hence an Obayyan by strain. Jenny Krieg — who owns her sister Maraya and Maraya’s daughter Labwah pictured below — and I were wondering if that was not a stallion mistakenly registered as a mare, because of the name, but then again you never know.
I don’t think you can make much of the masculinity or femininity of a name in the Arabian Horse Registry. You’re assuming that breeders have translated all the Arabic sounding names into the original language and then added the appropriate endings to them. Eh, not so much. (Even the Ibns and Bints aren’t always “properly” used. Look at the name “Ibn Tirf”.)
I think that breeder was highlighting the presence of Anasata El Sherif in the pedigree and didn’t really notice that it’s a masculine name. Same with Ansata Ibn Halima — should Halima be made into a masculine version, or does Ibn create quotation marks around the word Halima. I’m assuming that the use of Ibn does this — but would another Western breeder know that Halima is a woman’s name? What about the stallion named “Halima Sahib”? Or “Halima al Farid”? Both of those, as far as I can tell from my extraordinarily limited understanding of Arabic, essentially mean “Mr. Halima”.
Rambling, sorry, not meaning to offend, but I think Americans mostly put Arabic names in a dice cup, shake it, and name their horses something that sounds mellifluous.
Look how many Abu Farwa-related mares were named “Abu” [father of] “something.”
Sherlaila’s former owner told me that the mare had produced a colt after being sold, and didn’t know of any filly. Either way, it would be great to locate another *Layya horse…
Oh, well that’s somewhat different. I wish you well in this search.