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Author	Message
majorbabs	Post subject: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:47 pm
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 744 Location: HuskerLand	Which is correct capitalization for the caption:<p>Smith is shown here with his Quarter-Horse, Old Blue; <p>OR<p>Smith is shown here with his quarter-horse, Old Blue?<p>There is 1 vote for capitalization of Quarter-Horse, because it's a breed name; there is one vote for lower-casing it because it's used as a descriptor. Testy Copy Editor opinions?
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nstockdale	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 2:59 pm
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2003 1:01 am Posts: 281 Location: Dallas	I usually follow a dictionary's lead. M-W.com has "quarter horse," lowercase with no hyphen, here.<p>At Dictionary.com, the same is listed from American Heritage and WordNet.
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majorbabs	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:13 pm
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 744 Location: HuskerLand	The editor in this case is a "horse person" who's very knowledgable about them and I don't think a dictionary definition would have any impact. Maybe an AP style book, but I don't find an entry there.
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jjmoney62	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:43 pm
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 3135 Location: Albuquerque, N.M. USA	Maybe Old Blue is three-quarters Great Dane.
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SusanV	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:06 pm
Joined: Thu Apr 18, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 1399 Location: In the newsroom	I've never seen anything other than quarter horse.
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Peter Sibley	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:20 pm
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 12:01 am Posts: 108 Location: Tucson, Ariz.	Ask the horse person if she'd capitalize "beagle" or "golden retriever."
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majorbabs	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 6:28 pm
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 744 Location: HuskerLand	I'm afeared she would, since those are both breeds.<p>Here's the logic: Substitute "austin-healey 3000" for quarter-horse. You would capitalize Austin-Healey, because it's a trade name, which, I gather, is very much like a breed name.<p>An interesting point of view and I find nothing in the AP style book to cover it.
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Peter Sibley	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:15 pm
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2003 12:01 am Posts: 108 Location: Tucson, Ariz.	It's a strange logic that would liken "armadillo," "daisy" and "minnow" to trade names.
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Bumfketeer	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 7:27 pm
Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2002 1:01 am Posts: 3557 Location: Cusp of retirement, grave or both	OK, OK...<p>I cover horse racing (thoroughbreds, not quarter horses) in the summer.<p>We call them quarter horses. And thoroughbreds.<p>There are some references that call for the breeds to be uppercase, but we do not do so. Frankly, I think it looks stupid to uppercase them.<p>Either way, lose that hyphen.
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pzicari	Post subject: Re: Horsin' around Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 10:00 pm
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 131 Location: Cleveland, OH	My AP stylebook sez:<p>For breed names, follow the spelling and capitalization in Webster's New World Dictionary. For breeds not listed in the dictionary, capitalize words derived from proper nouns; use lowercase elsewhere: "basset hound," "Boston terrier."<p>I wouldn't generalize from business names.
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