I feel strongly that this needs to be left to the breed and registry organizations and I actually feel the word “protect” in the proposal is a bit misleading. Here are my reasons:
-
A quick look at the naming conventions of the various warmblood registries soon reveals each has its own naming conventions. Often this regulates the first letter of the horse’s name. Many change the first letter from year to year (KWPN). In some cases, the first letter depends on the sire or the dam (GOV, AHS). So, a prefix which might work for a pony or Morgan won’t work for a warmblood.
-
Many warmblood breeders get around the first letter regulation by using a suffix. So, you say, we can simply register the suffix! Unfortunately, no. Several breeders have the same suffix. I can think of three who use CF, two who use WF, two who use WT, several who use MF. You can bet the first thing they’ll feel pressured to do – though of course the plan laid out describes it as optional – is try to register their suffixes with USEF in order to preserve their suffixes for their own use.
-
What seems like an option to register the suffix really becomes an imperative. Breeders who have used a suffix for years or decades will feel compelled to register that suffix in order to keep the right to continue using the suffix, a suffix they may well share with other farms. In the proposed system, only one breeder can officially “own” the suffix with the USEF, much like a domain name. The proposed rule change just doesn’t work for warmblood breeders.
-
What happens to those breeders who lose out? If someone else registers their suffix (or prefix) before they get the chance, are they forced to use another name? If someone registers WT before Wild Turkey Farm gets a chance, are they supposed to use WTF?
-
Among warmblood breeders, there’s also a naming convention that allows owners to change the prefix. Blue Hors Romanov becomes Glock’s Romanov, etc. This custom would seem in direct contradiction to the proposed rule change. How would this rule change deal with those breeders and buyers?
-
If a buyer or owner doesn’t like a prefix or suffix and aren’t allowed to drop it, they may pass on buying the horse or choose to scrap the registration (including the breeder info) and register the horse under a new name, this time with “unknown” breeding. Of course, the breeder’s connection to the horse is lost. Many of us are comfortable letting our buyers know they can rename the horse or even drop our suffixes PROVIDED WE’RE LISTED AS BREEDER ON SHOW ENTRIES.
-
Being listed as the official breeder of the horse is enough for me. I don’t expect it to be announced at shows. I want it on all official documents, however. If someone likes the horse, I want the rider or owner to be able to say I bred the horse (not, having felt compelled to scrap the papers and listed the breeding as unknown, to feel she must say she doesn’t know).
-
How about fining people who try to change or lose the suffix or prefix? That won’t work either, since they’ll likely just just choose the less expensive route and rename the horse anyway, which again results in loss of the breeder and the breeding. (See #7).
I’m a warmblood breeder. I’ve bred and registered horses with the GOV/ OHBS, KWPN-NA, AHS, and Dansk Varmblod since 2001. Based on my experience, I feel strongly that, while this proposed rule change would work well for pony breeders, it fails to serve warmblood breeders at all. I think it’s safe to say warmbloods field more divisions, in a greater variety of competitive disciplines, than ponies (including the Olympic disciplines). Please don’t attempt to make warmblood breeders obey the naming rules of a pony breed. This discussion is and should remain within the purview of registries and breed associations.
The USEF has made great strides recently to regulate one horse/ one number. I’m happy as a breeder to have my name associated with that number. I don’t think we need to regulate prefixes or suffixes to get that done, not with the almost certain inevitability of life numbers and microchips being required by all breeds, registries, and disciplines.
One horse.
One number.
One breeder.
That works for me.
Sincerely,
Kendra Hansis
If anyone from the USEF or any other organization wants to discuss this with me, just email kendrahansis@gmail.com
