The Name Game
Mar. 21st, 2005 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziI like a lot of the names people suggested for the new pony at the barn. Keep 'em coming. I'll pass 'em along to Don. It got me thinking that I should provide a little more information on horse names and a couple factors that affect the naming decisions at the barn.
First, a list of the names of current and recent horses at the barn
School Horses:
Amber Amigo Angel Baby Doc Bandit Bandy Bart Bebe Blackjack Bonnie Bucky Calvin Casanova Cascade Cappucino Charm Cheerio Chelsea Chunky Cricket Confetti Cowboy Cupcake Dan Daisy Doc DotCom Eddy (Wyatt) Firecracker Glo Hercules Hobbes JR Lad Mickey (Mouse) Mischief Miss Ellie Nikki Nugget Pumpkin Sugar Toby Tonka Tuck Wheatchex Zip
Boarded Horses
Amy BJ Bo Cisco Cloud Gambler Jack Jasper Max Pabst Rain Sherman T Silver Summer Wyatt (Eddy)
There have been many more, of course, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.
A few guidelines which are (usually) followed when deciding on a name:
1. It can't be too similar to an existing or recent horse's name*
2. Not too many syllables. When an instructor is teaching a group, it's easier to say something like 'Abe' than 'Abercrombie.' The horses that have longer type names tend to get them shortened. (ie Cas, 'fetti, 'cino')
3. Not too cutesy. Nothing'll get Don to say 'no' faster than suggesting a name like Snugglymufflekins.
4. Names related to the horse's origin, or a the time of year it was born/bought tend to go over well. (ie Pumpkin, the round orange-ish pony bought just before Halloween)
* There have been some exceptions, which have led to other horses' names being modified. One of the ponies, Mickey, has been at the barn forever. Years back, another horse was bought, named Nikki. The similarity in names could cause confusion sometimes so Mickey became Mickey Mouse. When Nikki was retired and left the barn a few years back, Mickey still officially kept the Mouse at the end of his name, but is mostly just called Mickey again. Sometimes he's referred to as The Mouse, though. (That's his nose in the LJ avatar for this post)
And a little more information about the new guy that I didn't mention in the earlier post: he was previously owned by a 13 year old girl, and was the 13th horse shown in the auction on Friday. That and the St. Patrick's day luck of the Irish thing did have a couple folks suggesting Lucky as a name yesterday.
First, a list of the names of current and recent horses at the barn
School Horses:
Amber Amigo Angel Baby Doc Bandit Bandy Bart Bebe Blackjack Bonnie Bucky Calvin Casanova Cascade Cappucino Charm Cheerio Chelsea Chunky Cricket Confetti Cowboy Cupcake Dan Daisy Doc DotCom Eddy (Wyatt) Firecracker Glo Hercules Hobbes JR Lad Mickey (Mouse) Mischief Miss Ellie Nikki Nugget Pumpkin Sugar Toby Tonka Tuck Wheatchex Zip
Boarded Horses
Amy BJ Bo Cisco Cloud Gambler Jack Jasper Max Pabst Rain Sherman T Silver Summer Wyatt (Eddy)
There have been many more, of course, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.
A few guidelines which are (usually) followed when deciding on a name:
1. It can't be too similar to an existing or recent horse's name*
2. Not too many syllables. When an instructor is teaching a group, it's easier to say something like 'Abe' than 'Abercrombie.' The horses that have longer type names tend to get them shortened. (ie Cas, 'fetti, 'cino')
3. Not too cutesy. Nothing'll get Don to say 'no' faster than suggesting a name like Snugglymufflekins.
4. Names related to the horse's origin, or a the time of year it was born/bought tend to go over well. (ie Pumpkin, the round orange-ish pony bought just before Halloween)
* There have been some exceptions, which have led to other horses' names being modified. One of the ponies, Mickey, has been at the barn forever. Years back, another horse was bought, named Nikki. The similarity in names could cause confusion sometimes so Mickey became Mickey Mouse. When Nikki was retired and left the barn a few years back, Mickey still officially kept the Mouse at the end of his name, but is mostly just called Mickey again. Sometimes he's referred to as The Mouse, though. (That's his nose in the LJ avatar for this post)
And a little more information about the new guy that I didn't mention in the earlier post: he was previously owned by a 13 year old girl, and was the 13th horse shown in the auction on Friday. That and the St. Patrick's day luck of the Irish thing did have a couple folks suggesting Lucky as a name yesterday.