DEBATE: Lethal genes on Equiverse

I don't see how this adds anything to game play? It's just going to annoy and potentially (new) players who don't understand genetics.

If you're going to have DNA tweaks for O/W eventually then players could just change the genetics later anyway.

- Just curious, If the foal was alive for a day couldn't someone potentially just change the coat colour to avoid it's death?

Forevermore, I want to add this to your question, but at the same time would the genes stay with the foal?

I'm on the fence because it forces people to take precaution while breeding and stops people from breeding with reckless abandon, but at the same time, it would be a bummer if you got an amazing foal that would end up dying.

Complete support. 

What I think is so wonderful about Equiverse is the teaching aspects of genetics. Real life defects should definitely be included for color. If this were imposed, as well as other genetic diseases (in the far future! not suggesting this now), I'd be much more likely to have geldings. Right now, I see no point to having a gelding because there's no driving factor for me. 

I more meant that it appears through people's research (from what's been said on an Equine genetics page) that only about 25% of an Overo x Overo results in a LWO foal, not that in 25% of cases the foal survives. So I'm not sure how easy/hard that would be to implement something like that, just had me curious XD

I assumed that OO was 100% lethal?  If you're talking about the chances of getting an OO it'd be a 25% chance from breeding two Oo horses together.  This Calculator is a good way to look at genetics to understand probability.

My opinion on lethal genes: I think the added realism would be good, and it would be more of a challenge to have to work around potentially losing a foal. However, losing a foal would be a really significant issue for some people, so I can see the downsides to this proposal as well. If changing the colour after birth to save the foal won't be a possibility then I think we definitely need to get a credit item to guarantee a breeding doesn't produce a lethal gene. That way players have a choice of either being more selective in their breedings, taking the risk, or spending the credits to guarantee no lethal genes in a particular breeding.

Regarding genotype testing, this won't be as necessary as some people think. Every horse with the white gene will have its colour listed as white, while every horse with overo will have its pattern listed as Frame Overo, Frame Sabino, Frame Splash, or Tovero, except when white is present. There will be very few cases where there's sufficient ambiguity as to require genotype testing for confirmation, so it's unlikely to present a significant extra cost.

Also, Abbey: In real life when OO is bred the foal is carried to term, but dies soon after birth (usually euthanased the same day, otherwise lives no more than a few days), while WW foals are never born. It's speculated that the embryo is non-viable and gets reabsorbed very early in the pregnancy or something like that. OO and WW are always lethal, but there's only a 25% chance of breeding them from a pairing between two overo horses, or two white horses, respectively.

Just curious, would you handle these two lethal genes the same way, with the mare having a normal pregnancy then giving birth to a foal that dies, or would you do that just for OO foals, then have mares carrying WW foals just stop being pregnant after a day, and maybe be able to be bred immediately?

Last edited on 2017-05-03 at 20:28:43 by UlyssesBlue

I like this idea.

This idea adds realism, and an extra challenge to the game. You don't want dead foals? Be careful about your breeding choices. Plus, it's not like you could 'accidentaly' breed a foal with WW or OO because the stud/brood doesn't have its genetics revealed, you are told in the colour/marking section if the horse carries white or overo even without revealing its genetics.

Lol since genetics confuse me, I'll probably end up culling all of my breeds that have the possibility of lethal. I play to have fun and don't care if it's not realistic if we end up keeping these from being added. I only breed once because I get annoyed when my pairs get off since the mares can't train at whatever point in their pregnancy it happens and so I would have to be crossing my fingers not only for a good color/color I like but in hopes that I didn't get the lethal. I'll be a bit sad at having to get rid of my Vanners and Shetlands in order to not have to deal with this, but at least I got my Fries and Tekes still.

Working off of what Ulysses said above (I'm on my phone and since I don't want to mess up what I've already done by hitting the wrong button, I'm not going to use the quote thing), maybe have a credit item that last for a particular amount of time, like auto showing or care tool, or for so many uses like treats that way people with a huge herds don't got broke trying to keep the lethal white out?

Last edited on 2017-05-03 at 19:28:30 by Wonder Wiki

When I first was reading this, I was against the idea of having lethal combinations added to the game. However, the more I think about it, the more I agree with the idea. For one, you can always breed your white or overo horses to non white/overo horses and still obtain the desired genes. You'd have a 50/50 shot at getting the gene that way. If your argument is that you don't want to breed too many times if the first one doesn't work out, statistically speaking, you should get the gene even if you only breed 2 or 3 times. The odds are pretty in your favor. Second, if 50/50 odds aren't good enough for you, and you do breed your two white/overo horses together, there's only a 25% chance of the foal not making it. So if you breed a little bit earlier, you can allow yourself enough time to try again to obtain the foal you want if you end up breeding a lethal foal. I kind of think this would add a little challenge to the game. If white and/or overo are your main goal to obtain, then you have to plan a little more or take some risk. I also don't think it would be that much harder to plan around than trying to obtain a particular color or pattern combination. Sometimes, you have to breed several times to get exactly what you want, and if you don't get it out of the set number of breedings you set for yourself (if you do that) then you're out of luck.

I'm with Wonder Wiki on this, if it's added it will just keep me out of the breeds that carry those genes, I play for fun. The only breed that I have at the moment that has it is mustangs(and QH)and honestly I will just change the coat of those horses if I pair two white horses together.


Adding a credit item to insure a live foal before breeding two white/overo horses together could could be thing, I understand it could be a 25% chance of it happening but for those who breed less than 3 times it could be beneficial. 




Last edited on 2017-05-03 at 22:15:23 by Nienor

I am against this, sorry guys

Wonder Wiki all you gotta do is make sure you don't pair two Overo horses or two White horses together if you don't want dead foals. Or just accept the one in four chance of breeding a lethal white foal. You literally only have four White horses, so just don't pair them together.

this one , this onee , this one too , and lucky last, this one . these are your only white horses you have no overo ones (didn't include locked ones in either of that) . don't cull an entire breed due to an easily avoidable risk. :D


Nienor, same thing. this is a simple, avoidable thing that shouldn't become an issue for 99.9% of breeders. just as long as you look before you pair horses, you'll be able to avoid it really easily. or just take your chances. it's only 1 in 4 anyway.

why are you against it purple magic?