Weird Phrase

Since we have moved up here, I have heard an interesting phrase that's used by alot of people up here that I have never heard before. They usually say it while we are refracting them, you know, which is better 1 or 2, then they say "it's a horse-a-piece." This has happened several times. It basically means "the same" or similar to "six of one, half-dozen of the other." It's just interesting that no one knows where that actually originates from. I guess it's a Wisconsin/UP Michigan thing, but there's not much else I could find on it. Even the all knowing wikipedia doesn't know. If any one has any ideas or knows where this came from I would be grateful to know.