Choosing the Perfect Name for Your Horse

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I’ve owned horses most of my life, from the time I was a preteen until a few years ago (we won’t mention how many decades there are in between). The very first horse I called my own was a bay gelding named Mac. That was it. Just Mac. He wasn’t particularly beautiful, but he was gentle and well-behaved. By the time I turned fourteen, I was ready for a more advanced horse, and we acquired Torno – short for Tornado. Now, he was a beauty. A striking black, high-stepping Saddlebred who sailed over fences. In college, I switched from English riding to Western and Baldy was my horse of choice. She was pie-bald mare with an entirely white face and pale blue eyes.

In all three cases, my horse came with an established name, and it seemed to fit them and their characteristics. Not that I would have changed it. As a youngster, I once read in book that changing a horse’s name was bad luck, and I believed it. Over the years, my husband and I came to own many dozens of horses and mules—some of them with silly or just plain awful names. Still, I wouldn’t change them. Instead, I’d come up with a tolerable, if not cute, nickname. A few of the more memorable ones were a pony named Tinkle and an older white swayback called Dumpy. I couldn’t bring myself to call them by those terrible monikers, so I dubbed them Tinker Bell and Dimples. I figured the nicknames were close enough to not rain any bad luck down on us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was also tasked with the job of naming the many babies we had and any nameless horse or mule that came to us. One of my favorites was a baby mule that we had after several years of trying and much money invested. The moment I saw him at a few hours old, I pronounced him Dollar, which made perfect sense. Eighteen months later, his full sister Penny was born. I mean, seriously, what else could I call her? A dun mare we fostered produced a handsome male foal that looked just like her, so I called him Son of a Dun, Sonny for short.

Not all the names I picked were humorous, although I admit I often leaned that way. Neither were all the names clever and original. We had our share of classics like Lady and Fancy and Patches. I named my favorite horse of all time Tiger because he was born in the year of the tiger. What mattered most is that somehow the names all came to fit the horse or mule.

Oh, and this doesn’t take into account all the names of fictional horses and bulls and even dogs that I had to come up with for books. I once had a fierce bucking bull called Orange Crush and most recently a diminutive mule I gave the name of Short Stack.

Just for fun, tell me, what would you name this silly fellow? Who knows? I just might use him and your suggestion in a future book ?

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Cathy McDavid has been penning Westerns for Harlequin since 2005. With over 55 titles in print and 1.6 million-plus books sold, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins is married to her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world seven years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking cowboys riding the range, busting broncs, and sweeping gals off their feet — oops, no. Make that winning the hearts of feisty, independent women who give the cowboys a run for their money. It a tough job, but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.

58 thoughts on “Choosing the Perfect Name for Your Horse”

  10. I had a Palomino named China, because she was so delicate looking when we first got her. I would name this guy Mr. Haney, because he looks like the character from Green Acres with that hat!

  11. Crowley. In England, it means someone who lives near a meadow. He looks like a Crowley to me.

  12. Such a fun post, Cathy. I enjoy naming the horses in my stories almost as much as the characters. Well, the horses ARE characters, so I guess that makes sense. 🙂

    The first name I thought of when looking at your nameless horse was SLIM since he was a skinny fellow.

  18. Hank is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw him. Animals always bring their own personalities to a story or even our lives. Each creature great or small has a purpose.

  26. I got to name a new born little Paint Colt once, in my life, in the 70s. I named him Sundance. He was born early in the morning when the sun was coming up. When he finally got up and was wobbling around and the sun was shining in to the stall it was the perfect name. I knew one day he would dance across that pasture in the early mornings and he was so beautiful.

  28. I looked at this guy and thought about Chester. My favorite horse when I was a kid was Queen. She was a beauty!!

  30. Hey Cathy! I really enjoyed your newsletter. What a cute horse with the straw hat! I would suggest Daffodill….Daffy for short.

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