What You Need To Consider When Naming Your Racehorse
Once you own a racehorse, there are considerations of which to be aware when it comes to giving your steed a name. Initially, thoroughbred offspring are not named. When so much has gone into the breeding to produce the foal, the emphasis remains on their heritage. It is a bit of a no-nonsense process to develop a name for a beast that will potentially make history.
To start with, foals and yearlings are simply referred to by their colour, which may or may not change as they grow, as in the example of the darling favourite grey, Desert Orchid. The famous Desert Orchid was bay when he was a foal and as he grew he became grey. His name is made up of a combination of names from his heritage.
Grey Mirage was Desert Orchid’s Sire and his dam was Flower Child, he also had Grey Orchid in his bloodline. There is no great rush to decide upon a name, the horse can be given a stable name until the decision has been reached as to what is to be registered with Weatherby’s – the company responsible for administrating the sport. Along with choosing your racing colours, deciding upon a name is one of the most fun aspects of owning a racehorse.
The first choice was Desert Air, but as there are strict criteria to selecting a name for racehorses, this was too close in sound to the name Desert Heir which was already on record, so with a little adjustment referencing back in the bloodline to Grey Orchid, the name that was finally registered with Weatherbys was Desert Orchid and the rest, as they say, is history.
As a means to honour both the dam and the sire as well as fitting a structure that is recognised worldwide, merging their names is the preferred method of forming a new name that is befitting the offspring, especially when history is made. Desert Orchid lived up to his name and became an iconic racehorse.
There are also other criteria which should be adhered to when deciding upon a name for a racehorse. For instance, there are restrictions on names that by their meaning, pronunciation or spelling are obscene, insulting or racist. A name must not exceed 18 characters, including spaces, which would explain why sometimes you see the wordsmashedogether. As described in the previously mentioned example, the name cannot be currently on the Register of Horse Names.
Once a horse has won a major race then that particular name can no longer be used for any other horse. This serves to maintain the unique quality of such beloved creatures as Best Mate or the poignant Shergar. Successful naming is as special as it is to own a racehorse.
May 31, 2011
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Posted by Jam Man
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