does a horses name really matter..i think it does

S

stephaniekate

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 April 2011
Messages
73
Location
co cavan
Visit site
when you are looking for a new horse, does its name play a part in your desicion whether to look at it or buy it?..when i see horses advertised and ring up, the first thing i ask is what he is called..when i meet my friends new horses for the first time i want to know their name first before i actually really look at them....somehow, to me the name of a horse makes a difference.....the few foals i have bred, i have made sure i call them names that i find attractive...and that suit them... also would you change the name of a horse once youve bought it?.i dont because they usually know their name and eventually you get used to it!!!!
 
No, I couldn't care less what a horse's name was :confused: Didn't even ask what ginger horse's name was until I'd put the deposit down.

I never have changed a name, and don't think that I ever would :) Similarly I won't ask a friend to change their name just 'cos I don't like it ;)
 
Don't mind what the name is. I bought one without knowing name. When I found out it was a name I didn't like and did not suit her so changed it
 
Doesn't matter in the slightest.

I'm hoping OP that you aren't quite so selective when it comes to human friends :D
 
When buying horses the name doesn't really matter example: you see a horse you really like but the name is not right would you buy it or would you rather buy the horses who you fell off of because the name suited it?
 
Didn't know my ponys name untill I went to collect him on the day after he had been vetted! The man we got him from also didn't know his name untill that day!
 
Cocorules said:
Don't mind what the name is. I bought one without knowing name. When I found out it was a name I didn't like and did not suit her so changed it
Click to expand...

This exactly for me too. I bought my guy and his name was hideous (IMO!) so I just changed it. Rather than it being anything but bad luck, 3 years later and we have had the best luck together than any other horse I have had :D
 
It should not really matter but with many people it does influence how they perceive the horse or more especially a pony.
I sell a few and people often ask the name when phoning and I am sure some are put off by a negative sounding name, imagine finding what sounds like the ideal pony to hear it is called something like Piggy or Grumpy it will give you a sense of its possible nature.

I sold one called Buck he was also known as Robbie, much more friendly:D

Another I had several calls for that was called Mizzy, I know the name put people off, I changed it and she sold to the next callers, they loved her new name Faith:D
 
team barney said:
Certain names would make me extra cautious, horses ofter earn names like Jaws or Psycho!!
Click to expand...

I knew a welshie called Killer - he was a vicious and merciless killer.... of buckets :p

That was his only vice - sweetest pony I ever met, had been through every family in the surrounding area and would look after anything placed in his care :D

Names don't mean a thing in my opinion :)
 
Yes - to the horse apparently! When we bought Hattie she was named Hattie in the passport but the owners called her Pudding. We always had communications done on the horses we bought at auction with unknown history, just to see if we could find out anything that may help (they all came with issues!). The first thing we were told about Hattie was that she hated the name Pudding, we changed her name back to Hattie and she became more settled almost immediately - she is still a temperamental mare but it did make a difference!
 
If I bought a horse with a name I hated, I would change it.
However, I really don't like the name Ned, not only does it remind me of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons, but also the Scottish word for Chav! But I wouldn't change it. I've got to know him very well and to me he IS Ned. If I had bought him without getting to know him over the 4 years he's been there, I would have changed it.
 
Hmm, like you, OP, a horse's name is one of the first things I ask about them (admittedly not when purchasing, but when visiting friends' horses, meeting a new one). Names can give such a sense of character - either the horse or the owner (in the case of homebred youngstock!). For me, it offers an anchor around which the overall picture of the animal is built from other elements. It's a starting point for forming a connection with them.

Is it actually relevant? Not usually. Would it stop me buying a horse? Nope. My current youngster has a name I absolutely hate. She's fab, though, so I've altered her stable name (since she didn't know any better) and knowing what it was when I saw her didn't put me off her in the slightest. Neither did her ridiculous colouring for that matter!
 
think it's rather shallow to judge a horse on it's name!! do you do it to your friends too??
Would a name stop me buying a horse i liked , absolutely not, and would i change it, probably as most of mine have nicknames as well as their 'proper' names anyway lol.
 
No its not really somethings that occurs to me. Stable name that is. I will ask the registered name so I can google the breeding/records etc., but not really the stable name.

If it has a stable name I dont like I absolutley WILL change it without a second thought.

Never would change the registered name though, even if I could. In reality probably the last few horses I got had a registered name but didnt actually have a stable name at all. (Just 'that black mare by X stallion' and descriptions like that)

So no, the (stable) name doenst matter at all to me :)
 
I have changed a horses name, on at least 4 occasions that I can recall. I mostly won't unless I really take a dislike to current name, and sometimes it is just a variation.

For example Snow White became Snow Girl, which I think suited her better.

Misty became Polo, and an unnamed pony became Chequers.
 
PapaFrita said:
Doesn't bother me in the least. PF's real name is Charlie Big Potato!
Click to expand...

Anyone who likes Skunk Anansie will find her name uber :cool:

I still think that my TB (Home By Now
ack.gif
) doesn't have a lovely official name. However she is lovely and her stable name suits her (Melody).

A name would never put me off a good horse. I always find that after you've owned them for a while, they end up with individual nick names anyway. :)
 
Doesn't bother me at all, Grace isn't a name I would have chosen myself but it suits her and fitted in well to how I was feeling when I decided to part with my previous horse.
 
It wouldn't stop me buying a horse because of it's name but sometimes a horse is given a name for a reason.

At a stud where I worked all the horses were given proper registered names but the nick names were often given on the true character of the horse. One young horse was a big strapping chap with a mind of his own and strenght to match and his nick name was Bruiser! My mare is constantly on the move, either fidgeting of pushing me around and her name is Tictac. I call her my tourettes horse lol and another stud horse was born with long wonky legs and had to have an operation to put them right. His nick name is Spider ( but is the sweetest chap ever)........

I have bought horses from dealers that have come without names and have then named them based on their character.
 
No, personally, I don't think it does. I often see adverts and think "What a stupid/unfitting/something else name" but it would never affect my decision on a horse. Indeed, I have bought horses with terrible names, and changed them. No, it has not caused bad luck. That is just an old wives tale

Just my humble opinion on this.;)
 
My filly is called Magic. It's pretty generic but she gets called Midge most of the time (short for midget as she isn't one....don't ask)
I didn't want to change her name as its part of her full name and I couldn't use any other part of her name as one was her mums and I wasn't calling her black as that's daft....she's bay. Lol
I would probably name her Diva now though :D
 
Not really bothered, would change it if the name really offended me (eg knew a huge cob whose owner called him cuddlekins) but mine
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top