When you buy an older horse, it will already have its name. However, when a new foal is born, you have to choose from pony names, which may include the stable name or a variation of the mother's name. Whether you will be registering the pony as a racer or you just want to enjoy riding it, you need to give it a good strong name. Most people prefer two syllable names, rather than official sounding names of two or three words. When you choose short names that are easy to say, there is less chance that you will shorten the name to a nickname and that will be the only name the pony responds to.

Before you name the pony, try it out. Try calling it out, which may seem funny calling out a name on a pasture to a horse that isn't there, but it will give you an idea of what it will sound like when you do start calling the pony. Think about how it sounds when you combine it with other words that you will use when talking to the pony, such as commands. It is possible that when you say the name in conjunction with words used in training horses, the two do not sound good together and may even be a sort of tongue twister.

You can also try to give your pony an elegant name, such as those who are in shows and movies. The time of day that the pony was born can give you some inspiration, such as a pony that was born just as the sun came up could well be called Morning Glory or one that was born when the night was full of stars, could be Night Star or Bright Stars.  You can also look at the pony itself and think about its physical attributes to give you help in finding a name. Maybe the pony is very docile and patient, in which case it could be called Patience. If it runs around and wants to play with the other ponies, then you might decide to call the pony Troublemaker. If there are any unusual markings on the pony, this might help you in choosing a name. It may have a star shape on its head or its ears may be a different color. It may have long legs are different colors or have spots of white or another color on them.

If you decide to choose a name for your pony from the horse registry, then you have to abide by certain rules. You may have a name chosen for the pony, but since two registered ponies cannot have the same name, you will have to make another choice if that name is already registered. Other rules of registering a pony have to do with the breed of the horse. You may have to choose a name beginning with a certain letter. Most registered names have a limit in the number of letters that the name can contain. Even if you don't want to register the pony, looking at the list of registered names will give you ideas you can work with, such as using two registered names and using them as one name.