Owners who change horses names.....

[Tapperjockey]

[QUOTE=hansiska;6130275]
IMHO, comparing prefixes to suffixes is like apples and oranges. Morgans, ponies, etc, are allowed to use an entire word, which is much more memorable than an acronym. With most warmblood registries, the convention dictates the first letter of the horse’s name, so those breeders are forced to use a suffix and most everyone I’ve seen uses an acronym. Considering the fact that many warmblood breeders put fewer than four foals on the ground each year – and many only breed one or two – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know your suffix isn’t going down in history. Better to focus on good customer relations and word of mouth to promote your breeding program.

Very few warmblood breeders have circumvented this problem. In fact, I think you could argue that Mo Swanson, who puts an “h” after the first letter of each foal’s name, is the only American breeder to do so. For the record, I do put my farm initials after my foal’s names, but mostly to guarantee that I’ll get the name I submit to the registry. If a buyer drops it, I can live with that.

And DMK, that was gorgeous.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know about that. Wedderlie stud only produces 1-2 foals /year (if that) and their name is known around the globe. 1-2 foals/year… adds up, especially when they do it well, and everyone knows where those foals came from.

[RunningwaterWBs]

I’d argue that most of that name recognition comes from advertising. Even I know that stud as a result!

[Tapperjockey]

[QUOTE=hansiska;6130305]
I’d argue that most of that name recognition comes from advertising. Even I know that stud as a result![/QUOTE]

The thing is though… they don’t advertise barely at all. It took me 2 months to find their website (which is all about angus cattle actually). Just very small breeders. But they have such amazing foals… that are named with their prefix (Wedderlie Martina, Wedderlie Maradonna, Wedderlie Marmaduke, Wedderlie Mardi Gras, etc) that the new owners of said ponies showed (under those names) that now… everyone knows who they are! I doubt many breeding programs started out big or well known… they all start somewhere. Now… Wedderlie is a big name, as is Waxwing, Eyarth, Millcroft… but 30+ years ago… they were just small breeders, trying to showcase their stock. And it worked thank goodness lol

[RunningwaterWBs]

Sorry, I was talking about Wedderlie Mardi Gras. That’s the only one with that prefix I’ve heard of. I still don’t think many of these acronym suffixes will catch on unless the breeder is the next Zangersheide.

[Napoles]

[QUOTE=MaggieF;6127897]
I’d really like to learn more about the UELN system. We need to do the same thing here and have it be reciprocal with Europe.

Maggie[/QUOTE]

Yes, here in Ireland when a foal is registered, their name and number on their passport corresponds with their microchip which is now obligatory.

Breeders can register a Prefix (more usual here than suffixs) and if the new owner wants to make a change to the name then they need special express permission from the breeder.

In fact - I doubt once a horse has an FEI passport whether it can ever change its name then as all of its points and competition results are associated with that name.

I would never change a horse’s name - superstition and also because I know the breeders/ original producers/registerers would be interested to see how their babies go on and progress and my searching their prefix they can do so.

Look at all the Ringwoods, Ballingowans and Fernhills competing over in the US and all over the world.

OP I really feel for you - it must be hugely frustrating especially when he is a stallion.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Snowflake;6130136]
This!! I mean just Urban Dictionary “Backstage” and you’ll understand why Backstage MF may have been a major issue for the buyer.[/QUOTE]

I’m not the only one who thought that? OK.

MF as a “suffix” may be taken in slang parlance to be an abbreviation for something OTHER than the name of the OP’s farm.

[trubandloki]

@vxf111;6130432

I’m not the only one who thought that? OK.

MF as a “suffix” may be taken in slang parlance to be an abbreviation for something OTHER than the name of the OP’s farm.

And used along with Backstage this poor pony’s name takes on a whole new meaning.

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=ynl063w;6130129]
^
This whole prefix/suffix thing has really gotten out of hand, in my opinion. A few decades ago, there were a handful of pony prefixes that really meant something, but plenty of winning ponies didn’t have them (those by Cusop Sparklet, anyone?). Now there are hundreds of them, and the whole concept has been diluted to the point where most really aren’t that prestigious anyway.

.[/QUOTE]

ummm no…the ones that you know are all east coast and they are only really known as
A. it was bad manners to change the names before the 1970s
and B. they were shown
en masse by their BREEDERS…by the dozens in one ring at one time so the breeders paid for the publicity on the animals every time they went out…

so raise your hand if you know the Texas prefix…or Seamair,Talybont,Dacotah,Crefeld,Devonhurst or ANY of the 180 plus registered welsh prefixes that were in regular use in 1960.

many that were then lost to the “fashionable” cartoon-y name changes of the next 20 years.

Tamara

[S_A_McKee]

[QUOTE=Napoles;6130402]
Yes, here in Ireland when a foal is registered, their name and number on their passport corresponds with their microchip which is now obligatory.

In fact - I doubt once a horse has an FEI passport whether it can ever change its name then as all of its points and competition results are associated with that name.

:([/QUOTE]

Horses with FEI passports can and do have their names changed. Often to insert a sponsors name at the start of the name.

Are you saying EVERY foal born in Ireland regardless of registry can’t have a name change? I can think of several eventers that were inported and the names were changed.

[ponygirl]

@Napoles;6130402

In fact - I doubt once a horse has an FEI passport whether it can ever change its name then as all of its points and competition results are associated with that name.

Actually it can be changed. It costs a pretty penny to do so but it can be done and has been done. SCF Renaissance being an example of this.

[trubandloki]

Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that the OP says it is OK for her to not use the breeder’s prefix/suffix because she has a reason (that she admits has nothing to do with her) … But we are supposed to get all upset because someone is not using hers (though they are giving her credit as the breeder)?

[fordtraktor]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;6130537]
Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that the OP says it is OK for her to not use the breeder’s prefix/suffix because she has a reason (that she admits has nothing to do with her) … But we are supposed to get all upset because someone is not using hers (though they are giving her credit as the breeder)?[/QUOTE]

No, you are not. One of the myraid reasons why riders will never take the naming thing seriously.

On the other hand, there’s no good reason an (ethical) rider would have a problem with a lifetime number, to the contrary many of us would love to know the breeding on a few of our favorite “unknowns.” If I were a breeder, I would jump on that bandwagon instead of getting my panties in a wad about a couple of letters no one recognizes anyway.

I have a colt with my farm’s prefix in his breed name – and I don’t even plan to show him USEF using the prefix myself.

[equinedriver]

Late to this thread, but as a buyer, I don’t get the names that breeders choose for their horse. I have changed them because they were so BAD that I couldn’t face hearing it from an announcer or having to tell someone.

One horses REGISTERED name was Dollar. Yep, that’s it…so I changed it with the registry to Ben Along Time, because I had been looking for that horse for a LONG time…

The other horse had a prefix breeder name that was truly unpronouncable. I have no clue what the correct pronunciation was, I showed the papers to several people, including other breeders and no one had a firm opinion as to how it should be said. What were they thinking? I did try to track them down a few years ago when I gave the horse to a member of the last two world championship teams to be her next “world” horse because I felt they should have some recognition, but they are no where to be found, haven’t registered any foals for several years so figured it didn’t really matter.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;6130537]
Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that the OP says it is OK for her to not use the breeder’s prefix/suffix because she has a reason (that she admits has nothing to do with her) … But we are supposed to get all upset because someone is not using hers (though they are giving her credit as the breeder)?[/QUOTE]

I’m stuck on the fact that the obligation to keep the name/suffix didn’t become part of the sales agreement. If it was THAT important to the OP, why wasn’t it part of the deal? Why not take a little cut on the sales price in exchange for an agreement to keep the name/suffix and PUT THAT IN THE AGREEMENT?

Something that is important enough to you to make you cry… if it’s that important, it ought to be part of the terms of the sale.

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;6130537]
Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that the OP says it is OK for her to not use the breeder’s prefix/suffix because she has a reason (that she admits has nothing to do with her) … But we are supposed to get all upset because someone is not using hers (though they are giving her credit as the breeder)?[/QUOTE]

if people are calling for lawsuits over name changes and the OP says there has been “something” that keeps his name as it is…

then that is a fine enough answer for me

Tamara

[CHSatwork]

I’m in the club that a persons word should mean EVERYTHING. I’m so disgusted with where the horse industry has gone I threw in the towel. :yes:

[Trixie]

Something that is important enough to you to make you cry… if it’s that important, it ought to be part of the terms of the sale.

It seems very clear that this is not about logic or practicality, it’s about emotion.

If it were about practicality, there would be a clause written into the contract, end of discussion.

But, I know that I - as an owner - would be very hesitant to buy a horse or ever do business from someone who is known for posting negatively on a public forum about how they got “screwed” by someone who did nothing illegal, didn’t harm a horse, and didn’t break a contract.

Add to that the crying and harassing and frankly, it makes the OP look crazy.

[Tamara_in_TN]

[QUOTE=Trixie;6130860]
It seems very clear that this is not about logic or practicality, it’s about emotion.

I know that I - as an owner - would be very hesitant to buy a horse or ever do business from someone who is known for posting negatively on a public forum about how they got “screwed” by someone who did nothing illegal, didn’t harm a horse, and didn’t break a contract.

Add to that the crying and harassing and frankly, it makes the OP look crazy.[/QUOTE]

your word should be all you need…sadly it’s not much anymore

have I FELT like doing exactly what the OP has done…sure times 100 in spades…however, I have restrained myself…

I do know that for everyone that intentionally dropped my prefix after agreeing not to…well, I’ve never called them back to sell another one.

Tamara

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Trixie;6130860]
It seems very clear that this is not about logic or practicality, it’s about emotion.

I know that I - as an owner - would be very hesitant to buy a horse or ever do business from someone who is known for posting negatively on a public forum about how they got “screwed” by someone who did nothing illegal, didn’t harm a horse, and didn’t break a contract.

Add to that the crying and harassing and frankly, it makes the OP look crazy.[/QUOTE]

This is from a person who OWNS a horse whose suffix is removed because of some kind of legal battle. And yet, it never occured to her to make it part of the agreement??

It just doesn’t make sense. It’s a stallion prospect. It’s an “educated” seller (based on her experience with her own stallion’s suffix issues, at least). And yet she didn’t bother to include it in the agreement. Which suggests to me, back then, it wasn’t QUITE as big of a deal as it suddenly seems now.

How was the seller to know that she viewed it as so critically important? By her own account, she mentioned it as an after-the-fact aside POST agreement and then flew off the handle when she later discovered the name was changed.

I’ll tell you what mattered when the horse was sold… the money and the home. And the seller was clearly satisfied because she went through with the deal. If the name had been on her mind at the time, if it had been a dealbreaker-- it would have been part of the deal. It wasn’t. Reading between the lines, between the sale and now, the OP has changed her opinion about the sale and NOW she’s upset because the name was changed. This is something she should have addressed earlier, and her failure to do so is not the buyer’s fault. Asking the buyer offhand not to change the name is not sufficient, and although it would have been nice for the seller to keep the name-- he was under no obligation to do so, and what he did is not so unusual or unexpected. It’s his horse, his property, his money. He’s calling it what he wants to call it because he can.

If you want to keep your horse’s name. Keep the horse. If you want to sell it and the name is of critical importance, make that part of the agreement. Period. Otherwise, don’t expect someone who buys a horse to keep the name. And to get emotional when they don’t, is, frankly, really unrealistic!

[sketcher]

[QUOTE=trubandloki;6130537]
Am I the only one still stuck on the fact that the OP says it is OK for her to not use the breeder’s prefix/suffix because she has a reason (that she admits has nothing to do with her) … But we are supposed to get all upset because someone is not using hers (though they are giving her credit as the breeder)?[/QUOTE]

It sounds lit there was a legal dispute over the usage of the suffix on her stallion. Perhaps 2 farms were using the same suffix? That, to me is a perfectly valid explanation. I could see where a farm might dispute a duplicate suffix on a breeding stallion.

I really don’t understand why buyers should be so reluctant to keep a prefix or suffix. If you respect the breeder enough to buy a horse from them then why not respect them enough to keep a few silly letters.

And as to the folks who are offended by what the letters ‘might’ stand for (not necessarily on this board but in general)…good god, grow up. Are we in Jr High?