Pet names for our horses

I ran across this lovely picture while browsing The International Pattern Sport Horse Registry web site. It's part of an online memorial for a horse that looks pretty special. In the text the author gives her horse's registered name, Bimbo's Crazy King, and she states, "Yes, I know, possibly THE stupidest name in horse history." He is "Bimbo" for short. Personally I would have renamed him.

Harvey's name was not quite that bad, but I did rename him. His TB racing name was Sodily Tober. Like totally sober -- get it? Har har. He was Sody for short, which in my mind was equally loathesome.

What's in a name?
I re-christened Sody (shudder) as Harvey, because the affable Harvey from the Jimmy Stewart movie matched his personality perfectly. Of course there are the derivative affectionate names...

Harvster.
Vinkster.
Vinkster boy (That's actually Bob's)
Harvmeister.
Vinkmeister.

How I see Harvey
But I digress. Harv's name mirrors how I think of him -- as a simple, fair-minded, honest, thoughtful, wise old soul--a bit of a worrier. And of course, with a healthy bit of self-interest mixed in. Bob does a "voice over" for Harvey -- imitating how Harvey would sound if he had a human voice. It's a low, deep, kind, but slightly befuddled sounding voice. Harvey's favorite phrase, per Bob's interpretation, is "How can this be?" It's a phrase that goes along with a stricken expression Harvey gets when we run out of treats, or curtail the hand-grazing.

I sometimes walk Harvey out of earshot to graze, and I tell him about my problems -- a bad day at work, hurt feelings, car problems, whatever. It's a one-sided interaction, but I do sense certain responses...

Mind if I eat while you talk?
I saw that coming.
Could we move over to that patch of clover?

It's immensely comforting.

And here's a fun barn game!
Can you tell this is a rambling entry? Stay with me! A year or so ago, the young girls who mucked stalls at Harv's boarding barn played a game while they worked. The game was, "What TV character does [every horse in the barn] most closely resemble?" One of our mares was Elaine on Seinfeld, and I'm pleased to report that Harvey was Joey Triviani from Friends.