So “What’s in a Name?”  How do we come up with our foals names?  Well, for starters, each registry has naming conventions which must be followed.  Here are a three naming conventions of the registry’s that we use:

  • KWPN (Dutch Warmblood):  The KWPN naming system using designated letters each year has been in place for many years. By using letters for each year it is easier to identify when the horse was born. The letters Q, X & Y are not used.  Each foal born in a given year must have a name not to exceed 20 characters or spaces and beginning with the designated letter for that year. The KWPN does not have a unique naming requirement except in the case of Approved stallions. Approved stallions must have a unique name and in some cases  must be renamed.  For example, 2017 the letter is “M”, 2016 “L”, 2016 “K”, and so forth.
  • Oldenburg Horse Breeder’s Society (OHBS / GOV):  When naming your Oldenburg foal you must choose a name that follows the rules of the Oldenburg Horse Breeding Society – German Oldenburg Verband. Those rules state that if the foal is a filly that is intended for breeding the name must start with the first letter of the Dam’s name. If the filly is not intended for breeding then the name can start either with the first letter of the Dam’s name or with the first letter of the Sire’s name, but cannot start with any other letter.  If the foal is a colt the name must start with the first letter of the Sire’s name.
  • Hanoverian: The foal’s name must begin with the first letter of the sire’s registered name. The only exception to this rule of registration involves the W line. Offspring of certain W-line stallions whose pedigrees contain Feiner Kerl and Ferdinand must be named beginning with the letter F. AHS stallions whose foals are affected by this ruling include Walldorf, Walter Scott, Wishing Well, Wodan and Wümmestern.

Ok… so now we have a letter to start with.  So how do we come up with names after that?

Using the starting letter, we then select a name that some how “jives”, “connects”, or pays tribute to the dam.  So for example:

  • Our star mare, Divine’s 2016 KWPN filly was name LEGACY.  We felt that “divine” and “legacy” have similar connotation or feel.
  • With our premium mare Roman Holiday (by Roman Nature) we’ve decided to stick with an Italian theme for all her foals.  So her 2015 KWPN colt was named Koraggio.  “coraggio” in Italian means courage.  So we just changed the “c” in coraggio to a “k” to come up with his name.
  • This year’s 2017 KWPN colt by Roman Holiday we named Masolino.  Masolino is a famous Italian painter.
  • Divine’s 2017 KWPN filly we decided to name……..