NORTH DAKOTA BADLANDS HORSE

naming themes over the years 

BEFORE 2008
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
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
Local People and Places 

​Names included: Ellison, Little Mo, Badlands, Medora, Boicourt.
2010
Old West
 
Names included: Arrowhead, Teton, Lakota, Cowgirl and Whiskey.  
2011
Vegetation 

Names included: Wild Rye, Flax, Juniper, Esprit and Sumac. 
2012
ND Towns

Names included: Tioga, Fargo, Minot, Jamestown, Frontier and Lisbon. 
2013
Military & Patriotic 

Names included: Democracy, Eagle, Trooper and Dawn's Early Light.  
2014
Country Artists 

Names included:  Reba, Kat, Vicki, Taylor, Nicols and Wynonna. 
2015
National Parks

Names included: Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Roosevelt, and Pinnacles. 
2016
States
​
​Names included: Carolina, Florida, Maine, Illinois and Minnesota. 
2017
Disney
​
​Names included: Hercules, Merlin, Maleficent, Aurora and Perdita. 
2018
Greek
​
​Names included: Phoebe, Atlas, Poseidon, Hephaestus, and Hestia. 
2019
"A" Geographical
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​Names included: Amite, Antice, Applewood, Amargo and Anuk. 
2020
"B" Geographical 
​
​Names included: Bainbridge, Birch, Bluegrass, Berryhill, and Bear. 
2021
Cowboys, Cowgirls and Celebrity Horses 

Names included: Duke, Tex, Denver, Tillie, Lettie and Oakley. 
2022
Inspirational
  
Names included:  Creed, Noble, Brave, Serendipity, and Dreamer
2023
Names starting with "E"  
Names included:  Edna, Echo, Esperanza, Ethel, and Epic
2024
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!