A few thoughts for those that raise babies and/or plan to sell horses.....

[Sanny]

You might want to think twice about that cute name you stick your oh-so-adorable fuzzy little foal with.

I'd always personally felt that horses (all animals for that matter) live up to the name you choose for them.

And over the past few years I've gotten to know a couple of animal communicators/physics that have said the exact same thing and we actually had a reading done on a horse once that resulted in us changing his barn name to what HE preferred and he did seem happier (and more well-behaved) when we started using the name he wanted. He has won multiple national champion titles for us since his barn name changed from Buddy to Magic.

I KNOW you cannot judge a poor horse strictly on the name a human stuck it with but I don't think it helps in the big picture.

I decided to post this as a topic on the forum because I am curious if anyone agrees or disagrees with me and because

I was looking through a sales list for an upcoming sale and reading through the registered names of the horses going through the sale and I started thinking about horses I know from pets in the backyard on up to National Grand Champions, and yes, they all did seem to live up to their names and thinking back to nationals and the National Champions and Grand National Champions all seemed to fit their name and what they had won.

Back to the sales list, if I were attending a sale and I was looking for show quality driving prospects and a horse that could be a future roadster champion and in the sales catalog a horse with a name like "Blueberry Farms FuzzyWuzzyBuckToothBuffalo" or "Crabby Apples Cross-Eyed RolyPoly Crumb Snatcher" is on the same page as "WWF War Admiral" or "XYZ Man of Steel" I would try not to pre-judge the first two horses but in the back of my mind it would be tough to take them seriously as a future national champion which is going to influence whether I would bid on them or how much money I might be willing to spend. They sound like adorable backyard pets and there is nothing wrong with that but we have a limit on how many horses we can have and we already have plenty that are pets,

A couple of examples from our horses.......Our most friendly and affectionate and agreeable minis are named Scooter and Tinker Toy (and yes, they are small and very cute). They both are show quality but are very happy, easy-going laid-back horses. We have a beautiful black Hackney pony mare named Beauty Queen who is the most confident and secure pony I've ever seen. The day she arrived she walked in the barn like she owned the place and when we walked her out to the pasture the herd of minis/ponies parted and practically bowed to her like she was the Queen of England. She immediately took the position of boss mare and ruler of the herd without any of the horses challenging her for the position. Almost all of our horses are geldings and pretty agreeable and pretty evenly matched with each other and I think they took one look at Queen and decided not to mess with her.

Anyone want to compare notes?

Do your horses live up to or match their names......or do you have a horse that is not at all like their name?

Do you have horses that do or don't match the names whether it is their personality or athletic talent?

 

[txminipinto]

I very much agree! Happy Hooligan is exactly that and don't turn your back on him. Texaco is as large and proud as the state of Texas. We have two "western" named boys and they are exactly as named...wild and untamed!

I think some people are good at naming horses and some people aren't. And sometimes you just get lucky. I always shoot for a catchy name that sounds good over a loud speaker. I'm also very supersitious about names. I don't use any that may predispose a horse to bad behaviors or an early death.

 

[muffntuf]

Yes Mary I agree. Whether registered name or barn name, careful consideration is taken before a name is applied to a pony here at my farm.

Unfortunately those that come to the farm from prior owners with names they are used to take a bit of time to figure out because they have been called something for so long.

For instance I wanted to call a pony Dolly - but she clearly requires her name of Haven, which is the name she came with.

My most posted about pony "Tulip" - yes that is her registered name - lives up to it. Trust me I thought the gentleman who sold her to me was joking. But when I received her papers - there it was - Tulp, just Tulip.

So she lives up to her name - you will see in a minute here:

A red tulip usually means believe me. A variegated tulip stands for beautiful eyes and a yellow - sunshine in your smile.

Tulip is bay with red tones. I will choose the "believe me" version of the red Tulip. Also upon further investigation a tulip is a declaration of love. But to go further in my investigation - the origin of the word Tulip reveals that in the 17th century - Tulips were utilized as currency in Holland and become well known for creating passion or helping one show their passionate side. Tulips were a sign of wealth and prestige.

Tulip, the pony, is regal, passionate, has the believe me air about her and definitely exudes love. The funny thing - I see the comical side of this as she has to deal with all the scoffs too. But she does it wel. Think about it - who wants to be called Tulip? Well she does.

I know of another pony - they call him Izzie or something close to that - whenever I am around him I clearly hear in the air, my name is George. LOL!

 

[gatorbait4sure]

I have to laugh here because I once saw a colt advertized with a name "I" felt was offensive. My exact thoughts were that i wouldn't even LOOK at that horse because of his name!

Time passes....and one of my best friends now owns the horse!

 

[Horse Feathers]

Not all horses live up to there name my Big (15 hand) Paint mares name is Ice, she loves everybody(people and horses), and my mini studs name is Dynamite, he should be named Pokey because he has no spark or fire.

 

[Riverdance]

As funny as it sounds, most of my foals tell me their name when they are born, or shortly afterwards.

With Windchaser, all of his foals have to have Wind in them (except for Marbles, she is so distinct, I did not use Wind) With Desperado, I started naming his foals with cowboy and cowgirl names, but there are not too many cowgirl names. 4 on The floor, he came out and said his name was 4 On the Floor, thank you very much, so I just used Desperado's name with it. So far he is a little dear (besides being just BEAUTIFUL) But he sure can trot!

I have a boy whos name is Naughty By Nature and he is small and has the Napolian complex, so is a little naughty. I have a Collie who told me her name was Gaby, and she never shuts up.

So, I do think in many cases they are their name, but, at least for me, I think they tell me their name. Just sometimes I am not listening.

.

 

[LaVern]

I like names that carry the sire and dam. Most horse breeds aren't so hung up with farm names. Lucky Hart -who cares?- It is the horses in the pedigree and what they have done. That is why we went with Rowbuck. It gives credit to Rowdy and Buckeroo.

 

[Kendra]

I don't know - years and years ago we had a mare named Enchanted. She was a mellow, laid-back girl, so when she had a filly who looked just like her, we named her Serena. Now Serena was NOT serene! She was ... opinionated. But when she had her first foal, we went with the theme and called her Patience. Patience had none. She was completely contrary to anything you tried to do with her. By this time we had it figured out. Patience's first foal was named Renegade, and he was a mellow, laid-back sort like his great grandma Enchanted.

We had an old farrier come out once who said that in his experience you had to watch out for the Cupcakes and Angels and Sweethearts .... those were the bad ones!

 

[Leeana]

I like catchy names too. To me, esp with colts that may go on to be used as herd sires I think a catchy name is even more so important, however a broodmare out in the pasture I would still want something catchy but I think I could let that slide ... I don't think that I could let something that sounds to rediculous slide though that would look embarrissing on the site...

I liked both of our colts from this year and I feel that I gave them something "catchy"..

Classical Armani of GCF .... "Armani"

BT Double Take of GCF .... "DT"

 

[Minimor]

I so agree. I like to give names that the horse can live up to.

I've often gotten to name the weanlings we've bought--they have the breeder's prefix but I pick the rest of the name. I named JEM A Touch of Class....and turns out he does have!

Last year I got a colt that would have been named Bob Jo V (because of his wild hairdo) but I got him in time to name him Magical Affair...doesn't sound like the same little horse, does it?

Also last year we'd picked out one colt we were going to buy, then when we went to the farm again saw another one that we wanted....he was named Sudden Temptation....because that's what he was!

If someone names a little colt Something or other's PokeyWokey...

what is there for him to live up to??

Maybe he can overcome the name, but maybe he never will!

 

[ohmt]

I disagree....a good horse is a good horse no matter what the name.

I know of a National Champion halter stallion whos barn name was "Chubs"

I don't believe a name is what gives a horse its personality...that comes from genetics and upbringing. A lot of my babies, I just KNOW what they're supposed to be named. May other people agree with me?? No. A good name is rather subjective, especially if someone doesn't know the horse. Sometimes I like to name my foals after their sire or dam and the name may get a little creative. I had a mare that foaled once when my Uncle was driving through the yard, she got in the way and so he honked his horn twice. She ran off to the side, popped out a gorgeous little filly that we named Beep Beep. The name FIT. Because her name is Beep Beep do I think that ruined her chances of ever being an amazing show mare?? Definitely not. She was gorgeous and I actually ended up selling her to a very well known farm as a broodmare.

 

[mdegner]

Wow, never thought of that of it that way before Mary. We typically try and come up with a name that includes sire and/or dam within the name, or a name thats lyrical and fun to say (Charlotte's Web of Spider) or something where all the babies out of one mare (Moots) starts with an M (Molly, Mitzi, Melody, Mini Me, etc). Kind of the like the "S" thing you have going on with the kids...

However, there may be some truth to that as I think about it. Our stallion Flare is both pretty and excitable...has his "flare ups". Another stallion's name is Telluride and he has that "I'm a real cowboy stud" air about him. We named our weanling filly Stormy--born during a thunderstorm in late june--and she was like a thunderstorm in the ring at the show in late Aug.

Hmmmmm, you've given me somthing to think about as we start thinking about names for next years babies.......

Later, Mary

 

[lilmiraclesfarm]

Oh I so believe it. I've always let my animals name themselves. Although the ones I've purchased deffinently live up to their names.

My mare's barn name is vixon. Let me tell you this girl is all queen bee and attitude.

Her foal is named Beautiful. "Good morning Beautiful". All attitude. This girl is something else. She runs and snorts and grunts and whinnies and throws the biggest temper tantrums I've ever seen.

Then there is feather, my very very laid back and gentle crypt stallion. He's sweeter than my gelding.

We have shyan, we always joke that he's like someone on drugs. Just very quorky personality and always into food.

Last is pippi longstockings. I'm sorry but I hate her name and she is the dumbest, pushiest, disrespectful horse. But oh so sweet to daddy.

 

[Firefall]

I have to agree with the name thing.

I bought a mare, her name being Storm I called her Stormy. She never seemed overly thrilled or social with me. One day the name Lady popped in my head and seemed to fit. I started calling her that and immediately got a response from her. So much so that I asked the previous owner if they called her that, they never did!! She's been different ever since.

I have another mare that I bred and raised, she was kind of a diva so I call her Sassy and boy is she maybe I need to change her name too ..........

When I name my babies I either use the parents name or I wait to see how the foal is and its personality, however that can take some time.

 

[Marty]

My little foaly colt is Blazen Hot Shock, from my former stallion Mountain Meadows Bey Pepito and the Rangers Blaze of Glory background. He was a complete shock seeing his loud and very unexpected red pinto coloration. I was expecting a solid with maybe a hint of white if I got lukcy. His call name is Blaze, but I do refer to him lovingly as "That Blasted Redneck Colt" ......and true to form, he has already been accused of stealing hubcaps and cow tipping and humping every gal in the herd at a very young age. If I catch him chewing tobacco just one more time, he's really in trouble.

 

[minimom1]

Marty - That is HILARIOUS !

I am not a breeder so dont name babies but in looking for horses and donkey's

big and small, I am always amazed at how lame some of the barn names are ie:

I have seen over a dozen palomino's that are either Sunny or the ever origonal Pal

Met a donkey the other day named Donkey

Met a very old dog named Puppy

The one I liked the best (lol) was a 5 yr old QH named " HORSEY "

I think all of my animals live up to or suit thier names:

Mini's: Crystal and Kira (were Clover and Dusty)

Donkey: Beau (was Huck)

QH's: Chex and Levi (Chex came with his name and Levi had no name)

Chihuahua's: Chevy, Tuff and Cheyanne (named them as pups)

 

[Joanne]

We have owned so many horses that we have seen the gambit on names.

Some I just love, some funny, some are just to long, some too silly, some just plain wrong!

We once had three horses that we had bought over a few years that were all named with Lace in their names and all had been called Lace by their owners; Precious Lace, Tiffany's Lace, Indian Lace. We had to preference which one we were discussing to improve communication.

I do have to say when certain names become a fad it takes it toll on having multiple horses with the same name on a large farm.

I prefer shorter names to longer names, and hate names that are hard to pronounce.

 

[christina_ski]

Very interesting topic. We have noticed it as well that they seem to follow their names. For example, my filly I Ain't No Drama Queen has that same diva attitude, in denial she is a drama queen lol. Her barn name is Queenie. Tibbs Mercedes Benz, Mercedes, you put him in a cart and it feels like you are driving something fancy and fast! Don't Mess With The Princess, she was that way at first, but she got very friendly and sweet so fit her barn name Princess. Sweetie was a sweetie, we have had 2 Diva's and both we're BIG Divas. Only one who has not fit is 2 Hot 2 Handle, he is as sweet as can be

I'll be having my first foal that I get to name next year, and I already have 2 names picked out (one for filly, one for colt) I think based on the parents it will definatly fit that foals personality lol. I really didn't pick the names after the parents, as I want this foal to stand out on its own. But it was kinda a country/western theme since I am Color Me Western. We will see lol

I am so rethinking my brand new stud colts name or Rowdy lol, part of his registered name is Illusive Rowdy and he has already figured out how to escape from his pen and he is a little fireball! I thought about Houdini, but I don't want to encourage him lol.

 

[user 488]

if I were attending a sale and I was looking for show quality driving prospects and a horse that could be a future roadster champion and in the sales catalog a horse with a name like "Blueberry Farms FuzzyWuzzyBuckToothBuffalo" or "Crabby Apples Cross-Eyed RolyPoly Crumb Snatcher" is on the same page as "WWF War Admiral" or "XYZ Man of Steel" I would try not to pre-judge the first two horses but in the back of my mind it would be tough to take them seriously as a future national champion which is going to influence whether I would bid on them or how much money I might be willing to spend. They sound like adorable backyard pets and there is nothing wrong with that but we have a limit on how many horses we can have and we already have plenty that are pets,

RolyPolyCrumb Snatcher and BuckToothBuffalo.....

........I kinda have to agree here.

Yes, I know a name really shouldn't have much to do with anything but I also would not take those names seriously or something a show horse breeder (professional breeder or whatever you want to call them) would name their horses. Save the names like "pumpkin pie" or "cutesy wootsy" for their barn names. And no offense to anyone intended. I prefer to hear more professional sounding names.

 

[bpotze]

That applies to those cute...fuzzy little donkeys too......I had a little spotted girl born this summer...but she chose her name before I did.....her name is Little Miss Sassafras....and that she is.........

Becky