How Much Does The Horse's Registered Name Matter

[Joanne]

I have often wondered if other people are also turned on or off by a name.

Have you not purchased a horse if you did not like the name?

Have you asked the owner if they have registered the horse yet and if you could change the name to a mutually acceptable name?

Has the name ever made you stop and think about getting it because the name was so good ??

Share your personal stories please !

 

[Horse Feathers]

Would you buy a amazing horse named "Spit on Mud" or something like that, I would.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Interesting question. I know of such a horse. I don't even know why the registry would allow such a stupid name. Anyway, It would never stop me from buying the horse or breeding to a horse with a stupid name. His name can't be changed because he has foals on the ground, but I guess if he were younger, and I wanted to show him, I probably would ask if I could change his name. A horses name would be the last reason that I would buy a horse.

Have the registrys ever NOT allowed a name for reasons other than the obvious, someone else already has it, or it's obscene?

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

If I love the horse I could care less what its name is...I can make up my own name to call it at home, if it is really bad maybe people would be able to remember the horse more at shows so it could be a good thing!

 

[Becky]

It won't stop me from buying a horse, but sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they name a horse!

I like to think I name my horses great names, but I'm sure others would argue that sometimes!

 

[Matt73]

A name means nothing. I've never known anyone to not buy a horse because of its name. If someone refused a good horse because of its name, then the horse is lucky IMHO

 

[disneyhorse]

I actually HAVE not purchased a horse because the name was SPELLED WRONG. It would bother me to no end if I had to deal with that. I hate when people spell words wrong, and what if I had to advertise the horse? OMG.

I am sensitive to registered names... I probably would NOT buy a horse if I hated the name. I wouldn't bother changing the name either, why pay more when there are so many good horses out there? The horse would have to be pretty darn nice, at a pretty darn good price, for me to overlook the name.

Yep, I'm petty, but oh well

Andrea

 

[Songcatcher]

I can't say that I have ever passed on a horse because of its name, but there is a horse that I simply pass over ads for his get because of his name. I'm sure he is a very nice horse, but to me his name is sacreligious and there are things more important to me than a great horse. There are plenty of horses with a name that doesn't make me cringe.

 

[Minimor]

I bought one horse--a 2 year old stallion--that had a name we really disliked. Scarlet's Little Stud...the lady that raised him said she couldn't think of any good names, and he'd always be little stud....we were thinking "not if he's gelded". He was already registered; we bought him and then paid the $100 to have his name changed. He is now a gelding named Scarlet's Little Sun. Much better than having a gelding named Little Stud...

There are a few names out there that do make me cringe, and if I were going to buy a horse with one of those sorts of names I would have to like the horse a lot. Call me petty, but if I were looking at two horses that were close enough in quality, conformation, pedigree, etc that I was having trouble deciding between them, the name could very well be the deciding factor.

 

[lil hoofbeats]

We bought a stallion, and his AMHA name was Ultra Blond Lover! UGGGHHHH!!! made me want to barf, oh well needless to say when he was put in AMHR, he had a different name!!!

 

[LindaL]

I am kind of with disneyhorse on this one. It bugs me when a horse's name is misspelled. My very 1st Mini had a name that was misspelled....Paradise Acres Little Britchs...so I paid the $100 to add the "e" in Britches...

As far as not buying a horse with a name I didn't like...If I liked the horse enough, I'd probably still buy it, but never use it's registered name unless at a show or for paperwork.

 

[muffntuf]

Interesting topic.

There are a few names I have come across that make me wonder. The most interesting was a pony name, legendary pony by the way - 'Lucifer Again'. Again?! What were the folks thinking???? I would never name a pony that way, but I tell you what that pony was legendary and drop dead gorgeous.

Would make me think twice though about buying him - I didn't like the name at all.

 

[Matt73]

A good horse is a good horse. Regardless of colour or name. If a horse has impeccable conformation and a great temperament but is pink and named Sunset Tiddly Winks, I'd still buy it. I guess if you're not looking at conformation or performance, then a name may matter (as would colour). I have my favourite colours for minis, of course. But a nice looking horse comes first. Then temperament. Then colour. I don't even think the name would be on the list (maybe at the bottom).

 

[krissy3]

I agree with Andrea..if I had two horses to choose from and I liked them both , I would choose the horse with the better name. There are some employees that I have had in the past that made my life a nightmare... If a horse that i wanted to buy was named Phillip , I would RUN in the other direction. Name association is a terrible thing. I have a mare that I purchased last year names Swiss Silvers Black Pearl or something to that effect..I call her Juniper Pearl ...JP for short. The breeders still call her Silvy , and I let them call her their nickname. Hope I remember her registered name at the show.

 

[Feather]

Names become associated with owners/farms. Several times we have passed on purchases for items such as a name. Names are also associated with your past relationships(not just people). Their are just too too many choices out there to buy something that you do not want to live with daily. "Are their exceptions?"; of course but it sure puts that decision down a couple notches to bring about that all important decision process in the very beginning!

We very recently decided at the last minute to bypass an excellent filly to fill a large hole in our program's future when the owner's trainer name appeared.

That farm has a hidden(??) problem; the name association killed a solid purchase which we needed.

We have other places that if the mini's name contains their place we do not even look further. On the flip side we'll look twice at a mini just because it holds a place's name in their name as we know their program follows what we want for our program. We know those places produce XXX that we are striving to achieve & can probably cut a few generations out of our long term goals.

Names can be looked at in many ways, not just in the sounding of the words!

 

[susanne]

I'm sitting here waxing nostalgic about the time everyone "ripped me a new one" when I complained about registered names with misspelled words...

Like Disney and Linda, it would bug me no end to have a misspelled word in my horse's name. Not saying that I would refuse to buy, but I would pay to get it corrected.

(Keith named one of his original tunes Run Amok, but on a set list for a gig he spelled it Run Amuck, and our drummer thought I didn't know the correct spelling. This still rankles...I'm really anal about spelling...)

There are some naming traditions I absolutely hate, and while they probably wouldn't keep me from buying a horse I really wanted, I know I'd spend an inordinate amount of time telling everyone that I wasn't the one who named him or her!

On the other hand, if a name were truly offensive to me or to someone else (and there are some names from the past that are indeed offensive), I would have a very difficult time having my name associated with that horse.

 

[mininik]

For me, a rose by any other name...

 

[Jill]

No, the name would not keep me from buying a horse.

However, I am a horse name junkie. I daydream of names for foals. If I've seen a horse in person and been told its full name, I rarely forget it -- don't I WISH I could say the same for people names!!!

As long as the horse was what I wanted, it wouldn't keep me from buying him/her if the name was "objectionable". My biggest pet peeve in names, the thing that would bug me the most, would be a misspelling by accident (vs. for effect ... I've used Buckin, Dun to mean Done, etc., and like that but a misspelling out of "dumbness" would bug me...).

(and Jill remembers to spell check THIS post, wonder of wonders!)

 

[Minimor]

That reminds me--I did once have a horse for sale, and there was someone that was interested in the horse but in the end didn't buy because the horse's name (prefix) made it obvious that the horse had come from a specific farm. The potential buyer wanted to know how long had I owned the horse and how long had the horse been on that breeder's farm--and in the end they didn't buy, primarily because they didn't want a horse that had been in this other farm's care for any length of time...that farm has a reputation for not caring for their young horses well, and buyer was concerned that the horse could have lasting health issues (worm aneurysm for example).

I do know others that have sold a horse (or passed on a horse purchase) because of a prefix...person wanted no horse that had any association with the specific farm and/or trainer.

And Matt....sometimes color can count too! It's kind of the whole package--I would have a lot of trouble getting enthused over an otherwise lovely horse if it happened to come in that revolting "mule bay" color. You know--the mud brown color with mealy muzzle that you take one look at the color and think "mule". I loathe that color & don't plan to own it!

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

I will admit that I have been attracted to a horse because I really liked it's name. But I know that is a little silly.

I have also been turned off by a name.. Very nice horse named Pimples.

I do feel that some of my better named foals have sold faster. again, a silly reason.

Another funny thing... I can't seem to hold onto any horse that has "Dream" in her name.

My first mare "Dream" that I was so crazy over died after foaling.

The next 3 "Dreams" that I had, sold right away. I didn't even have them advertised. Now days, I don't even like to look if a horse has Dream in her name!

Robin