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Have YOU ever changed a horse's registered name?

Looking around at horses I see some with great names, suitable names, and one with a registered name I Just Do Not Like. (Registery and USEF registered; her stable name is very suitable and has nothing to do with the official name)

I paid $100 to change my horse's registered name. It was "Sketch Mikonte;" not only did it have no connection to anything I could find in his papers or by googling, but we came to the conclusion that an announcer could butcher it into something highly inappropriate.

As he had not competed or sired any offspring, it was easy to do. His new registered name, Almighty Good Guy, reflects his Paint bloodlines. His barn name, Pepper, has always remained the same.

i am considering it.... altho i like my ponies name, combined with his farm name it is a bit unwieldy -

Windy Isles Island Rebel

if i change it i have to keep the Windy Isles part - but to me he is Rebel....... but it's a mouthful! Island Rebel would be great - but his registry wont let me drop the farm name (and i dont want to) ..... so ..... probably i will just show him under Rebel or Island Rebel..... which sucks because then he wont be able to get breed awards....

The horse had been showing for longer than I had been alive and was better known locally (and more talented, frankly) than I ever would be. It would have been hugely disrespectful to his past to have changed his name.

Fortunately his name wasn't awful; it just wasn't the type of name I would have chosen.

I have changed both of my ponies names. The names they were given were cute and good for a kids pony but we do combined driving and I do some ridden shows with them. We also have a car theme with our ponies names since we drive them I did keep their prefix though. I paid $40 to have new papers made for each pony. I also changed their names before they were ever shown (they were 2 and 6 months old).

Yes. When I got my mare her papers said "Horny Snowflake" Apparently it was supposed to be "Hornby Snowflake" (which is equally as bad IMHO but had something to do with her breeding.) They thought it was HYSTERICAL that there was such a typo and left it. I was not so amused. It got changed the day after I bought her.

As long as you "officially" change a horse's name with the registry and/or USEF, the breeder, sire and dam still get "credit" for the horse. Something that is very much appreciated by the person who was responsible for bringing the horse into the world. Because even though the name meant something to the breeder, the new owner may just not like it.

Thanks for feedback, everyone. If I do anything it will be with official papers. I like things nice and tidy

I want to call the breeder to ask if there is some Important Meaning before I do anything ... the first word comes from the sire but the second has NOTHING to do with either the sire or the dam or anything in either pedigree and I'm at a loss.

I successfully changed one horse's name because I could not envision spending the next x number of years being announced by that name. He had no show record and no offspring so I was able to spend the $$$ and change it.

I have had others that I would have changed their registered name if I could have. I couldn't so showed them under a different name and those records were lost to the breeder and the registry as a result.

I bred a couple whose next owners changed their registered names. That was fine with me. I liked the names. New owner didn't. Their choice as far as I am concerned.

As long as you "officially" change a horse's name with the registry and/or USEF, the breeder, sire and dam still get "credit" for the horse. Something that is very much appreciated by the person who was responsible for bringing the horse into the world. Because even though the name meant something to the breeder, the new owner may just not like it.

With this in mind, I find it outrageous that registries charge as much as $100 for what amounts to a clerical change - and one that ultimately benefits them.

Breeders should put pressure on registries to drop those fees to something normal, like $20.

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." - The Little Prince

When I bought my guy...I thought about changing his name, as I have always envisioned a certain name for my horse, however, paying $125 for what amounts to probably 5 minutes or less of typing on a computer and clicking PRINT for a new registry paper just wasn't going to cut it for me.

"Paddington McGhee" aka "Paddy" is what he will always be. His previous owner named him Paddington because he looks like a teddy bear (and ACTS like one...if he could crawl in your lap - HE WOULD) and McGhee because of her irish background. It works for the clyde/tb goober

With this in mind, I find it outrageous that registries charge as much as $100 for what amounts to a clerical change - and one that ultimately benefits them.

Breeders should put pressure on registries to drop those fees to something normal, like $20.

I think it is a bit more complex than that... Reputable registries also have to maintain a pedigree database and in order to keep their database "clean" and the horse's history less confusing, they really don't want to be changing names in their system.

If it were cheap and easy to change names, it might be a bigger trend and I can see where it can create a greater margin for error on the registry's part. I do wish more registries would get on the wagon with requiring permanent identification (ie: microchips) for their horses so that lost papers and fudged pedigrees become a thing of the past.

I do think name changes should be limited to changes that are less frivolous and it's up to the horse owner to determine this. I would not ride anything with the word "horny" in its name. One breeder in the sporthorse forum got her knickers in a bunch when the buyer changed the name of a horse she named "Backstage MF". It was only after explaining to her that that name takes on a WHOLE different meaning in some sub-cultures of America that she went "OMG - if I had known that I would have NEVER named the horse that." We all have to decide what our limits are for social acceptability.

So, I think the price needs to be kept higher to keep it from becoming trendy to change a horse's name willy-nilly. I've known many a hunter princess that would change the horse's name every show until they found that magikal one that made them soar over 3' fences like a pegasus and many parents that wouldn't blink at handing over $20 to make their little princess happy.

Last edited by Snowflake; Nov. 5, 2012 at 02:07 PM.
Reason: Clarification of point

So registries should evaluate name changes and only allow those that address propriety? Come on, you can't really mean to deny people the right to name their horses just because their original name doesn't contain "horny" or slang for something dirty, can you?

As a professional who manages data & data stores all day long, I can tell you that it's a simple matter to change the name. All the associated data (sire, dam, etc.) would remain linked. IF their systems were set up by something other than feral chimps, that is.

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." - The Little Prince

So registries should evaluate name changes and only allow those that address propriety? Come on, you can't really mean to deny people the right to name their horses just because their original name doesn't contain "horny" or slang for something dirty, can you?

As a professional who manages data & data stores all day long, I can tell you that it's a simple matter to change the name. All the associated data (sire, dam, etc.) would remain linked. IF their systems were set up by something other than feral chimps, that is.

No, my apologies, that's not what I meant at all. I think the fees are appropriate to allow us to be self-limiting in requesting that kind of change. And it's us, the horse owning population, that should make that judgement call. There are things that I can live with that another rider cannot and it would make it prudent for them to fork over the $100+ for the name change.

I can see it both ways. Horse owners who want the freedom to do what they want, when they want with their purchase and the registries who are trying to maintain the integrity of what really amounts to a historical database of pedigree information. What would our 5 generation pedigrees look like if the trend was to freely change the horses registered name? Horses get passed around - if each owner wanted to put their own spin on their name - how do we accurately identify that horse and all phases of their identity on a pedigree? I think that is part of the hesitation on the part of the registries as well.