# Names - barn name, registered name, show name???



## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

The majority of horse owners don't breed their own horse or have it from the time it's a foal to register with the name of their choosing. So, I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that don't care for their horse's registered name. Why not pick one that you actually like? There are also plenty of unregistered horses being shown out there, so the answer is pretty obvious with those. You're more than welcome to use your horse's registered name, and plenty of people do. My horse's previous owner used a different show name for him related to how she acquired him. The name didn't mean anything to me and I like his registered name, so I switched when I was showing him.

And, of course, spelling out the horse's entire registered or show name on a day to day basis would get old really fast. So, barn names!


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Barn names I understand - I do it myself. If the reg. name is too long, then why not use the barn name? I just don't understand why another name for show. It doesn't seem to have any regulations attached to it - so use either the reg. name (if there is one) or the barn name. 

Is the show name supposed to "say" something about the horse? Influence the judges somehow? Or the other competitors?


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

I think that the barn name, is like a nickname, the registered name is the actual name, and the show name is a fancy name for your horse.
At least that is how I figure it.


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

Barn name is the name that you use everyday for your horse. If you don't show or anything its the only name the horse needs. 

However you might want to show, and having ten horses called "Star" in the program might not be the best. You'll also find that many people use registered names when showing, and I guess a specified show name can be used to fit in at the shows. 

Then you have registered horses. The tricky thing with registered horses is that each name can only be registered once. So while you might have a simple barn name for your horse chances are it won't be available in your registry. Registered names often have a prefix for the breeders or trainers of the horse. The name is also often chosen to reflect the horses heritage. They can be complicated and expensive to change if you don't like them, so a show name may also be used in these circumstances.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

A registered name is usually longer & more than one word hence why people pick a short barn name to call the horse everyday:wink:. Registered names are just like your full name,registration paper much like your birth certificate. They are required when wanting to register foals if horse is ever bred, the required name to be used in showing in that horse's breed shows ,so they can record show records etc. Many people when picking a registered name will incorporate the names in pedigree usually sire/dam, many also may use initials to indicate farm were horse was bred. Creating names this way can often be challenging to come up with something that sounds nice:lol:


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

For registered horses, most will use the registered name as the show name. This makes it very easy to prove a horse's show record if you need to (when selling a horse, for example). It would look somewhat suspicious to a buyer if your horse had a registered name and yet all of the performance results were under some other, unrelated name.

For unregistered horses, people often show them under a longer (fancier) name. The kids at my barn have a great time coming up with impressive or silly names for the school horses when we go to shows. Rainy becomes "Rainy Superpony" and Vin becomes "Vinny Vidi Vici." The show record doesn't matter for these horses, so they have fun with it.

My horse's registered name is very short (Garzo), so it's also his barn name, but I admit sometimes I wish his registered name sounded more impressive when announced over the loudspeaker at shows! :lol:


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Just for the sake of anyone unfamiliar..

Registered Name: This is the name on the paperwork with a breed registration. For racehorses, it's the name used at the track. For breed shows, the registered name is also the name they show under.

Barn Name: Pretty much their nickname. If your horse's name is Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, that's a big mouthful to have to use. Some people will take something close and use that as the barn name (so in this case, this horse might be Lucy, or Sky, or Diamond) and sometimes not (someone might decide to call her Sally).

Show Name: Sometimes a registered name is really awful - it could be really bad, or just embarrassing. Sometimes you thought of something you'd like better. For whatever the reason, some people will show under a different name than the registered name. You could show under your barn name, but "Joe" is awfully plain when compared to "Joe Daddy's Paycheck".


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## CAP (Jun 18, 2014)

I always thought people only did "show names" for horses who weren't registered lol news to me, I guess I get that some names can be bad, but I know providing the horse hasn't been shown you can pay/request for it to be changed which is an option instead of having three names for one horse, my friend did that with a stud she bought the name was kind of offensive so before she started showing she paid to have his name changed. I also did it with one of my filly's name it was nothing horrible but I wasn't a fan and I had thought of a better one, I think AQHA charged me $25?


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

DancingArabian said:


> Just for the sake of anyone unfamiliar..
> 
> Registered Name: This is the name on the paperwork with a breed registration. For racehorses, it's the name used at the track. For breed shows, the registered name is also the name they show under.
> 
> ...


Exactly right. I had an OTTB whose registered JC name was Rippling Jiggs. His barn name was jigs, which was fine, but I would have chosen something else had I shown him. I also have found that if is somewhat breed/discipline specific. For example, registered QH's and Paints who do western disciplines, at least from my experience, are more likely to use their registered names in the ring, as are Morgans. Hunter Jumper seems to be the discipline most likely to have the most names. For unregistered-anything goes. I am one of the few who shows an unregistered grade horse in the NRHA. THey have to have a license name. So, his barn name is Guinness, and his show (the name on his license) is Gotchur Six (has meaning to me). My hunter horse was also grade-and I could have used a different name in every show if I wanted to.


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