A Mess, a Muddle, a Mare's Nest

By Tobi Lopez Taylor

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the phrase “to have found a mare’s nest” dates to the late 1500s and originally meant to have made an illusory discovery. Only later, when it may have been conflated with a rat’s nest, did mare’s nest take on the meaning of a mess, a muddle, a confused situation. Non-horse people find the idea of a mare’s nest risible—how could a horse have a nest? But those of us who have watched a mare give birth in a stall deeply bedded with straw know that it becomes a messy, bloody nest. We also know the thrill of discovering the newborn foal that lies within that nest. This phrase, with its multiple meanings, provided the impetus for my imprint, Mare’s Nest Books, and for this blog, which tells stories about the unusual, often amazing people who have owned, ridden, or admired Arabians and other well-bred horses.