[ADDED] *modify breeding formula

I agree with this in the sense of aesthetic purposes, but I'm on the fence about the other reasons to do this.   I would like to breed horses down to low non-spec stats, if only for how well I think the horses would sell compared to those with new non-spec stats.  If this means they do slightly better in competitions because they have less ns stats, great.  But I think it should be a slow breed down towards it, just to prevent huge jumps in how good a horse does in competitions.

That being said, I don't think this should be a reason that horses should then be bred across specialties, or that hay/sugar/peppermints should be considered viable.  Those are still of course going to be a less viable option.  Yes, it would open up more avenues for breeding horses to less-viable studs that have been cubed up, but the horse would still do badly in competitions for a long time, since they would have high ns stats from the cross-specialization breeding. I mean, if you wanted to breed across specialization and then have to deal with the breeding-down of whatever ns stat you have to (should this be implemented), then more power to you, but it still doesn't make it a terribly viable way of breeding since the horse wouldn't show well, and all foals would have to go through the riding school until the ns were back down to a manageable level.

Ulysses Blue makes a good point. By eliminating the non discipline specific stats for shows it would make it fair for all .... although I acknowledge pre recode players also started out as new players once & their success hasn't magically appeared overnight! Its taken some players YEARS of dedication to get where they are. 

Glad to see this suggestion brought back to attention again, as it is probably the thing I most wish would happen.

One of the most important things to do if you want to show your horses is to minimize or breed down the total number of non-specialty stats.  They are complete dead weight.  They contribute to bumping a horse to a higher division without helping them win in that division.  A horse with 100 stats who has its stats evenly distributed among the traits will only have 40 stats to help them win.  A horse with 100 stats who has 50 stats in each of the specialty traits and none in the three others will have 100 stats to help them win.  But they will both be in the same division.  The first horse will have no chance of beating the second one.

I do like the fact that non-specialty stats count toward the horse's showing level.  It is hard work to breed those stats low, and that should be rewarded.  Also, it requires careful use of treating.  With the easy availability of hay cubes, no one would bother to use the more specialized treats if it were not necessary to keep the stats in the specialty traits.  Why use a carrot or an apple when a hay cube will give more stats?  Showing advantages should be something that needs to be worked towards and achieved through careful planning.

However, showing advantages should not be tied to whether a horse's ancestry traces back to before the recode or not.  As things stand, it is impossible to get a horse with post-recode foundation ancestry down to single digits the way you can with a horse with pre-recode ancestry, even if they have been bred with the same amount of care, and for the same number of generations.  Pre-recode ancestry horses that were properly bred will beat the post-recode horses every time, even if they were all bred with equal care.  I feel that is not a good reason for a horse to have showing superiority.  

I also don't think it is good for gameplay to have post-recode foundation lines unable to be bred to pre-recode quality levels.  When I heard that this was an issue, it took the wind out of my sails.  I take the show quality of my horses very seriously, and though I certainly do not yet have my non-specialty stats as low as I would like, it is probably my most important goal that I strive for in this game.  That's a huge level of fun and challenge for me that has just been swiped from the game.  All that is really left to me that is a real challenge is conformation, and that is pure bragging rights, because conformation doesn't actually affect showing.  Even color goals can be achieved in an instant if you're willing to spend the credits.  Only low non-specialty stats is a goal that is challenging, is unable to be instantly applied for a fee, and actually impacts the value of the horse in a practical way.

I do hope that Abbey will take this seriously, and adjust the breeding formula so that non-specialty stats can be bred down to below foundation levels with post-recode foundation lines.  I don't care if the process is slower than it used to be.  I think it should be challenging, but I also think it should be possible.

there seems to be quite a bit of support for this change; any chance we might be able to know if Abbey is considering it? 

I'll be honest, this isn't high on the priority list.  I intend to add the majority of suggestions that get more than 70% support but I have a whole queue of upcoming changes and new features that I want to make, alongside a few extremely annoying bugs that I just can't seem to crack.  It has been forwarded to the list, as denoted by the * in the title.. but it most likely won't be soon.

thanks for the quick reply Abbey! 

even just knowing it is on the "eventual additions" is great - gives me a reason to keep my mustangs that have moderate non-spec stats rather than ditch them. even if it's years away, it's not like i won't still be here to enjoy it :P

I am very happy it is on the list, but I honestly will probably not play much until it is implemented.  I am currently getting rid of all of my old stock, and acquiring new foundation stock, and I don't want to start breeding until this is changed.

Confessor, I’m doing a similar thing. I’m raising foundations to 19/20 and then locking them. Once the breeding formula has been adjusted, I’ll immediately have tons of second gens to work with.

In the meantime, I’m definitely going to be cutting down on breeding.

 

I supported this and still do but today I was looking at the pedigrees of some of my old horses and on the old EV, I did different specialties and my horses non discipline stats bred down very quickly, so I agree with what others said that it shouldn't be too easy to Do! By very quickly I mean 2 - 3 generations

(Looking at the old pedigrees made me search specifically for this)

Yes, not too easy, but still possible, would be ideal.

the old formula was (im almost certain) mare + stallion/4 (rounding up)

if the new formula were similar: 

the average store horse has 20 non-spec stats in each category, so a second gen would have 10, a third gen would have 5, a fourth gen would have 3, a fifth gen would have 2, a sixth would have 1, and not until the seventh generation would a horse get close to 0 stats. 

Just looking at my lines and desperately wishing for this so I thought I would bring it back to the surface. I want this feature/change more than any other - including farms and foal art.

This is exactly how I feel, North.

Also, this would probably help improve the horse economy, as then people would be open to breedings in other disciplines.

I don't want to sound ungrateful for foal art or farms (because I really want them both too) but I'd much rather see my horses do better in shows. As my horses' show level gets higher, it gets harder to win shows when most of the competition is pre-recode horses. It feels like my lines aren't going to make it too far.