naming themes over the years
BEFORE 2008
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Numbers
As a rancher, giving the horses numbers made sense to Tom Tescher, who documented the horses for decades. He was also famous for giving them honest nicknames like Old Brown Horse and Blue Neck Scars. |
2008
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Marylu's Names
Marylu, mostly, named all the animals and gave the original list to the park. She chose names that fit the horse i.e. Freckles. Or names for the entire band i.e. Weather Band (like Thundercloud, Rain, Hail). |
2009
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Local People and Places
Names included: Ellison, Little Mo, Badlands, Medora, Boicourt. |
2010
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Old West
Names included: Arrowhead, Teton, Lakota, Cowgirl and Whiskey. |
2011
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Vegetation
Names included: Wild Rye, Flax, Juniper, Esprit and Sumac. |
2012
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ND Towns
Names included: Tioga, Fargo, Minot, Jamestown, Frontier and Lisbon. |
2013
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Military & Patriotic
Names included: Democracy, Eagle, Trooper and Dawn's Early Light. |
2014
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Country Artists
Names included: Reba, Kat, Vicki, Taylor, Nicols and Wynonna. |
2015
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National Parks
Names included: Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Roosevelt, and Pinnacles. |
2016
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States
Names included: Carolina, Florida, Maine, Illinois and Minnesota. |
2017
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Disney
Names included: Hercules, Merlin, Maleficent, Aurora and Perdita. |
2018
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Greek
Names included: Phoebe, Atlas, Poseidon, Hephaestus, and Hestia. |
2019
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"A" Geographical
Names included: Amite, Antice, Applewood, Amargo and Anuk. |
2020
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"B" Geographical
Names included: Bainbridge, Birch, Bluegrass, Berryhill, and Bear. |
2021
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Cowboys, Cowgirls and Celebrity Horses
Names included: Duke, Tex, Denver, Tillie, Lettie and Oakley. |
2022
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Inspirational
Names included: Creed, Noble, Brave, Serendipity, and Dreamer |
2023
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Names starting with "E"
Names included: Edna, Echo, Esperanza, Ethel, and Epic |
2024
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Country Music Artists
Names included: Rhett, Tigirlilly, Lainey, Lonestar, and Waylon |
Understanding the naming process
Marylu started naming the horses 20 years ago, as she didn't want to remember the long numbers like her mentor Tom Tescher did. Horses were given names that seemed to fit their band, personality, or appearance.
After Marylu took over the documentation of the horses from Tom, even though the same numbering system was used, she continued the naming tradition with thought and purpose.
In 2008, then Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) Biologist, Mike, asked her for all the names in preparation for the upcoming Colorado State University (CSU) Contraceptive Study.
In 2009 we (NDBH) started using themes to help sort animals by age easier. Because the CSU Field Technicians sometimes only work for one season, it worked very well for NDBH to help come up with the theme and the technicians to assign names to the foals as they were born.
For many years, TRNP, CSU, and NDBH used the same names to coordinate the work we all do with the horses in the park; TRNP for its scientific studies, management and captures, CSU for its research and contraceptive treatments, and NDBH for its documentation, DNA testing and social media purposes. In addition, having the same name across the three organizations helped the public identify which horse they wished to adopt from the park during captures.
In 2019, the park initiated a trial run of naming the foals completely unbiased, by utilizing names from the US Board of Geographic Places. The names were alphabetized, and were the names of summits, lakes, streams, and valleys. CSU techs assigned the foals names from this list.
We would be lying if we said we loved the names chosen for them in these two years, but NDBH worked very closely with CSU and park in documenting this herd, so having ONE name was essential for keeping all the records correct.
In 2021, the park declined to name the horses at this time, and so NDBH joyfully resumed naming the horses, for our documentation purposes.
In 2023, it was decided to return to using the alphabet letters for foal naming. Names in 2023 all started with the letter "E".
In 2024, finding all the names beginning with one letter confusing, we again went to a theme. Country Music Artist names had been used in 2014, but those horses were ten years old, and the theme gave us lots of good options, so it was decided to use it again.
As of January 1, 2025, to make record keeping and tracking work easier, horse trackers have decided to try using the same name for 2025. Foal names will be chosen with a system that works best for them.
We love hearing feedback on names and your naming suggestions throughout the year on our Facebook or Instagram page.
Thank you for being a part of the North Dakota Badlands Horse family!