Mr. Halima

Bay Halima (*Ansata Ibn Halima x Al Nahr Mona Lisa) as photographed  by the late Johnny Johnston

I was looking for something else this morning, not really thinking that I would post a blog this weekend, on account of the Labor Day holiday. However, the blog on Ansata Halim Bay really got me last week. Off and on, I have been thinking about this horse and not much else. As I was looking through the Bentwood catalogue, I turned the page and there he was, just like that. Another bay *Ansata Ibn Halima son! However, this particular "flavor" is Farida-enhanced with no added Bint Sabah! 

Bay Halima, a 1972 stallion, bred by the late Jarrell McCracken of Bentwood Farm, was a son of *Ansata Ibn Halima, out of Al Nahr Mona Lisa, an *Ibn Moniet el Nefous daughter, out of *Nagat (Anter x Abla). 

In a previous blog for Ansata Halim Bay, we explored the meaning of "Bay", as used in Ansata Halim Bay's name, which we learned is of Turkish origin. "Bay" is similar to our use of the word, mister (Mr.). Roughly translated, using "Halima" together with "Bay" is the same as calling this horse, "Mister Halima", which also suggests that he was more like his paternal granddam, even down to the coat color. What's really interesting about this pedigree are the matrilines, it is the same for both sire and dam. Bay Halima is  double Farida (Saklawi II x Nadra el Saghira), as well as pure-in-the-strain Dahman Shawan. The intensification of Farida explains the broad chest, the wide back, the robust hindquarter, the deep shoulder and neck set. Also consider that he has 3 lines to Nazeer, through *Ansata Ibn Halima, through *Morafic and through Abla. That's approximately 40% Nazeer. We also have the 2 full brothers in the pedigree, Hamdan (the sire of Anter) and Shahloul (2x as the sire of Moniet el Nefous). While Farida serves as the "genetic glue" unifying the pedigree maternally through her influence, it is interesting to note that in a paternal sense, we also have common ground in the use of Sheikh el Arab, through his daughters, Wanisa and Halima. 

Bentwood Farm was focused on the Saqlawi strain, specifically through utilizing the blood of Moniet el Nefous. While Bay Halima incorporated the influence of Bentwood's celebrated stallion, *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, he was a strong Dahman stallion and as such, his opportunies were not as expansive as TheEgyptianPrince, Moniet el Sharaf and the other Saqlawi stallions. While he sired horses of both genders, his daughter, Il Bint Ahlam, out of the Anter daughter, Cleopatraa is an interesting mare, as the breeding which produced her, involved doubling the use of Anter, through Cleopatraa and *Nagat, the maternal granddam of Bay Halima, as well as maintaining the purity of breeding within the Dahman strain for another generation.