YOUR HORSE'S NAME MATTERS
““ What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”.
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While it’s true that a rose would smell as sweet no matter what we call it, we may falsely conclude that a horse would smell, look, and act the same no matter what we call him too. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many people don't realize how important a name can be to a horse.
Sometimes our horses come to us already named. As an animal communicator, I have had animals share with me that they didn’t like their names. I often recommend when rescuing an animal that their name be changed to represent a new beginning but sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone. Here is a story concerning my own horse Shadow and his thoughts about his name.
Shadow and his mother had already been named when they came into my life. Shadow was not his formal name, but merely a nickname, because he followed his mother around like a shadow. I wasn’t crazy about his name and I knew that in time this beautiful dappled grey would become solid white. As I pondered a new name for him, all of a sudden it came to me. I looked straight at him and said, "How about Wind Dancer?" I kid you not, Shadow looked straight at me and shook his head "NO". There was no mistaking his negative response to this clearly horrendous suggestion. It was a shake of the head that not only expressed distaste, but also made it quite clear that he wasn’t going to like anything I suggested. He already had a name and he liked it just fine! I may not be crazy about his name, but I’ll just have to accept the fact that I have a white horse named Shadow. To be perfectly honest, I must admit that his name does fit. To this very day, if you look for his mother in my pasture, Shadow is never far behind.
We all understand that names matter to humans but we sometimes forget that names are important to animals too. I would love to hear some of your stories of finding the perfect names for your animals as well!
Have a great rest of the week,
Linda & the herd