Saturday, December 4, 2010

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I memorized practically that entire play in high school and could speak "Shakespeare" like it was modern English. I was the weirdest combination of nerd and pot-head (for awhile). I once smoked a joint with a friend, in a field at night, and recited Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy by heart. It was the first time she understood the meaning behind the words.

But I digress.

Have you ever re-named a horse?  I'm thinking mostly about barn names but I'd be interested in hearing about any re-naming experiences.  Was it easy or difficult to come up with a name you liked better?  If the horse was known to people at your barn before you re-named him, did they continue calling him or her by the old name even though you re-named him/her? Did people eventually come around? How long did it take?

Let me hear your stories of re-naming horses.

7 comments:

Jason said...

Nope, never have done it, but I don't think it carries the superstitious consequences of renaming a ship, so go for it ! :)

Laura said...

Yep, I renamed Rusty. His name was Jesse and I didn't like it for a bunch of reasons. We didn't stay at the barn where I bought him, so the name change wasn't a big deal. Might be tricky if you stayed at the same barn...

I actually tried to pick something that sounded similar so he wouldn't be confused. Not sure why I bothered though, since he doesn't come when I call his name, lol...

Some horse people say it is bad luck, but I don't know about that...

Country Girl said...

kIn the cowboy world it's considered bad luck to rename a horse. However, I have on occasion done it. I renamed my Arab from Jake to Charro (part of his papered name). I renamed Brownie to Whiskey. And with my young horse I tried to stick with Stella but gave up and named her Roxy.

Never tried it with a barn horse though. In a name quandary??

RuckusButt said...

I'm not superstitious, so that part hasn't bothered me. I just imagine people continuing to use the old name all the time.

Country Girl - the horse I have in mind isn't really a "barn horse" at least not in the way I think about it (i.e., lesson horse). He is owned by the owners of the barn and has been there since birth.

It's not really my quandry...yet (and probably never). It's more like my dream quandry. I'm playing with a lot of "what if's" lately...

RuckusButt said...

Laura, my lease only comes when called when he thinks it's dinner time! I think Rusty suits him much better than Jesse!

HorseOfCourse said...

Hmmm...could we please hear a bit more on the topic "what if"?
I am getting curious.

Anonymous said...

I usually keep horse's names - superstitious about it I guess. Maisie didn't come with a name (poor girl) so that one I had to make up myself. The only exception I've made is with Lily - her name when we got her was Lulu and I couldn't stand it - I decided Lily was close enough and much nicer.