Spanish Horse Names
Naming a Purebred Spanish horse here in Spain is a mixture of personal choice, traditionalism, and certain Stud Book limitations.
You may have wondered about references to a horse, whether referred to as Andalusian or PRE, who has a spanish sounding name. It is a name that you are sure you have seen before, perhaps even as a prizewinner.
Does the fact that this PRE has the same name as another mean that they are related? Not necessarily.
Spanish Horse Names - How they are composed
Pull up a comfy chair, settle down with the spanish necessity of a cup of good coffee, and I’ll share how we see it from here in Andalucia, southern Spain.
Here we are talking about the naming of a PRE, a purebred spanish horse, who is inscribed and entered in the Spanish Stud Book.
This is the name by which he is known, and under which he will be Revised after he reaches 3 years of age.
Think about the PRE horse’s name as having 2 parts
- The Prefix - a word, that is the first part of the name.
- The Suffix - numbers or initials after the Word Prefix.
The First Word in a PRE’s name
The WORD part of the name is what most people recognise easily.
A horse is named by his breeder. His choice is absolutely open - he can call the newborn spanish foal anything he wants. His choice can be influenced by Tradition, Conformity or a Personal Whim.
TRADITION in the Naming of a Pure Spanish Horse
Spanish tradition is everywhere in Spanish Horse breeding, and one way it shows up is in the naming of the foals, where it links inextricably to the people of the land.
In a spanish family, and especially a family in Andalucia, parents have traditionally named their children after a certain flow. The eldest son is named after the father, the second son after the paternal grandfather, the third son after the maternal grandfather. Likewise the daughters are named after their mother and grandmothers.
This identification flowed naturally into the naming of the horses, and so the spanish foal can be named after one of its parents.
It is interesting to note that a colt is often given the male form of its mother’s name. Thus a mare named Bandolera could present a colt foal that her breeder decided to call Bandolero.
A second Tradition in Spanish Horse Names in Spain
ALPHABETICAL IDENTIFICATION
A number of breeders like to name their foals in a way that shows the year of their birth.
It is thought that this manner of naming was brought in - or as some would rather have it, was merely emphasised by the Yeguada Militar.
A stud begins its breeding program. The first crop of foals are born in the spring of the year, and all are given names beginning with the letter ’A’. The names of the foals born the next year would then all begin with ’B’, and so it progresses, making it easier to keep track of the stock as the stud grows.
The military stud was indeed a military organisation, and with military efficiency still utilises this manner of naming their young stock.
NB This manner of naming is individual to each stud.
The foals of my first year of breeding would be my ’ A’ crop, but this would not necessarily be the A crop year for my neighbour breeder.
He may have been established for 3 years longer, so my A crop year would be his D crop year.
PERSONAL CHOICE in naming a spanish horse
A breeder may choose to follow his own whims, and name each horse as he pleases.
Personal Choice can well fit in with the alphabetical flow above. A breeder, for example, may choose to go with flower names for his fillies, fitting them to the alphabetical order.
What about the Numbers in a PRE name?
Let’s keep as an example that name Bandolero.
Let us assume that in the spring of 2010
- Breeder One, a traditionalist, has a colt foal from his mare Bandolera, and he names this colt Bandolero
- Breeder 2, a retired general who served 30 years with YM, is in his B year, and decides he likes the name Bandolero. He names his colt.
- Breeder 3 is naming all his stock after professions, and he chooses the name Bandolero
As you can see, things could very quickly get very confusing.
Names of PREs in the Spanish STUD BOOK
To be registered, that is inscribed, in the Stud Book of the PRE, a horse must have a unique name. You simply can’t have 3 - or 23, or 103 - Bandoleros.
That’s where the second part of the name comes in.
PART 2 of the name, the ’Suffix’.
The Prefix, or Word Part of the Name followed by a Number or Initials
A NUMBER after the name of a spanish horse:
The number following the name will be either in Roman numerals, or in the everyday numbers we use.
This means that horses can be distinguished when they are registered.
To return to our random example
- There are over 100 Bandoleros, and an equal number of Bandoleras listed in the Registry
- Each one has a different ’Suffix’
- 35 of the Bandoleros have a mother named Bandolera.
- . . . .not the same mother for them all!
INITIALS and a PRE name:
Some studs are known to use the initials of the stud or the owner after the name.
This creates a unique name, and also serves to identify the horse as to his origin. An example here could be Genio MAC, from the well reputed stud of Manuel Angel Cardenas.
A YEAR after the name of a spanish horse:
Occasionally a breeder may choose to suffix the name with the horse’s year of birth.
ANCCE Regulations on Spanish Horse Names
ANCCE, the Organisation responsible for administering the Stud Book of the Purebred Spanish horse in Spain, has certain regulations in place about the naming of a PRE. Among these
- maximum 20 characters including spaces
- no letter combinations which compose a roman number
- should not be the name of a famous or public person
- should not sound offensive
Why do we do it this way?
Because this is Spain - what else can I say!
Original images © Josephine Cánovas
