Starting up horses

So I am starting up horses again with my own line. And I have some questions

1a. Should i use certain treats for certian specialties? (like in the old ev?)
1b. What treats should I use for Racing?

2. About what is the average you sell horses? Is it still around the 10k per 100 stats?

3. About how much do you spend starting lines, like on treats, feed, tack, training, shows, etc..? (not including how much it is for the actual horse)

4. How often do you lock your horses? (I will be doing it quite a bit because of school)

5. How often do you breed your horses with a stud or broodmare outside of your lines?

6. How many foals do you sell (per horse) and how many do you keep?

7. Is there still a view on what is over breeding?

8. At what age do you breed your foudation horses? At what age do you breed your gen 1 horses?

9. Do you keep a spreadsheet of your lines?

10. Do you train all horse at once or do you have a pattern?

11. For leisure riding do you have a method on which horses you use?

12. When should you show your horse?

13. When should you train your horse?

14. Do horse sell better based on color, markings , stats, or confirmation?

15. What age do you sell your foals?

16. What age do you put your horse up for broodmare or stud?

17. How do you price you studs and broodmares?

If you have any advice feel free to comment below! Also I may update when I have more questions. Thanks! Sorry for the many questions

1a. Should i use certain treats for certian specialties? - Yes. It's still very helpful.
1b. What treats should I use for Racing? - Either carrots (speed), or turnips (endurance)

2. About what is the average you sell horses? Is it still around the 10k per 100 stats? - Most people still sell their horses for that price, but it's been hard to sell horses lately, so I usually drop 5-10k off the 10k/100 stats depending on how many stats the horses have. For example, I would figure the price for a 300 stat horse 30k, and then either drop it to 20-25k.

3. About how much do you spend starting lines, like on treats, feed, tack, training, shows, etc..? (not including how much it is for the actual horse) - Haha a lot. Let me figure out the math and then I'll edit this comment with the answers.

4. How often do you lock your horses? - I don't normally lock my horses unless I don't have the time to care for them/show them that day. By locking them, they won't miss out on a day of training.

5. How often do you breed your horses with a stud or broodmare outside of your lines? - Only if I need to. I buy horses here and there, and if I don't have a horse to pair them with that's reasonably close to the horses stats/age, I'll find an outside stud/mare to breed it to.

6. How many foals do you sell (per horse) and how many do you keep? - Because I try to only breed 3-4 horses/pair, I sell 1-2 of them and keep the others.

7. Is there still a view on what is over breeding? - Most people like to keep it to a 3 foal maximum.

8. At what age do you breed your foudation horses? At what age do you breed your gen 1 horses? - I breed my foundations around 17-18, that way they have fairly high stats for being foundations. I start breeding gen 1's at around 15.

9. Do you keep a spreadsheet of your lines? - I used to. But now that we have division notes and the game doesn't let you in breed, I don't need one.

10. Do you train all horse at once or do you have a pattern? - I train them all at once using the appropriate arena for their discipline.

11. For leisure riding do you have a method on which horses you use? - I use whichever horses have the lowest stats.

12. When should you show your horse? - Everyday. I start with 5 hours riding school, and 5 shows for foundations who are just starting to help their stat increase.

13. When should you train your horse? - Everyday.

14. Do horse sell better based on color, markings , stats, or confirmation? - Depends on what the buyer is looking for, but usually all horses should have good stats for someone to buy them. Color/markings are good for people who breed for that, same thing with confo.

15. What age do you sell your foals? - As soon as they're born, they go up. And so do the prices as they get more stats/training.

16. What age do you put your horse up for broodmare or stud? - I don't do brood mares unless asked, so it depends. Studs go up around 10-11, and once they have the amount of outside foals allowed from outside, that's it.

17. How do you price you studs and broodmares? - same as sales. A little extra if they have nice color (as I don't breed for confo.)

Last edited on 2016-08-10 at 19:32:39 by wey™

1a. Should i use certain treats for certian specialties? (like in the old ev?)
1b. What treats should I use for Racing?

You should definitely use the right treats - treating outside of your specialty creates what is often called "dead weight stats." These stats will push your horse up into a higher showing division, but will not help it compete against the other horses. Keeping your stats within the two specialty traits as much as possible means that your horse will be competitive. This means treats that boost random stats, such as peppermints, hay cubes, and sugar cubes may raise your stat total more quickly, but it will handicap your horse when it comes to showing. Some people use these treats when their horses are foals. If you set your foal to a specialty you do not intend to keep, use treats such as peppermints, and then pay the $10,000 to switch your horse to your desired specialty, it maximizes stat gain without impacting showing, since all "earned stats" will switch to the new specialty's traits. However, this tactic can be very expensive.

2. About what is the average you sell horses? Is it still around the 10k per 100 stats?

Unless your horse is really something special, they are often slow to sell at 10k per 100 stats. I cut that price in half, in hopes of moving the stock a little quicker. Others hold out for the full price, but often wait longer to make a sale.

3. About how much do you spend starting lines, like on treats, feed, tack, training, shows, etc..? (not including how much it is for the actual horse)

I don't have a number for this. Starting out can be pricey, particularly for fully upgraded tack. I would recommend getting your own arenas for training if you can (it takes a deluxe account, but it is well worth it, I think.) It costs a bit up front, but you will save money in the long run on training fees. Utilize the item market as much as possible to find deals on things like treats and tack. Shows can be another big expense, especially starting out. You are more likely to make money off of shows if your horse is near the upper stat limit of its division. Obviously, the cheaper shows cost less to enter, but you will get a bigger payout by winning the more expensive shows. If you can't afford shows, you can gain stats (and treats and points) by entering your horses in riding schools. It doesn't cost anything, and if you enter another person's school, you will earn money. But a properly shown horse will gain stats more quickly than a horse in a riding school, so if you can afford it, it is worth it. Just make sure your horse is in a show that has at least five entries, or it will have no chance of earning stats.

4. How often do you lock your horses? (I will be doing it quite a bit because of school)

I personally do not lock my horses. If I knew I was going to be too busy to take care of them, I would lock them, but I am reluctant to do so because I do not want my herd in general to fall behind.

5. How often do you breed your horses with a stud or broodmare outside of your lines?

I will do this occasionally if I am trying to introduce a rare color into my lines, or if I am looking for a conformation boost. I have plenty of horses of my own, so usually I keep it all within my herd.

6. How many foals do you sell (per horse) and how many do you keep?

I sell foals that do not conform to my standards. For example, I am trying to breed grey out of my herds, so I frequently sell my grey foals. I try to keep at least one foal from each horse.

7. Is there still a view on what is over breeding?

There are several schools of thought on this topic. Some people have strict standards on how many foals a horse should have. Some people are more relaxed about it, and some don't care at all. Personally, as long as I have a good variety of bloodlines in my herd, I'm not picky about how many foals come from a given horse.

8. At what age do you breed your foudation horses? At what age do you breed your gen 1 horses?

All of my mares are bred for the first time the day before they turn 17. It does not matter if they are foundation or lined. My stallions aren't quite as regimented, but I choose the oldest appropriate stallion available for each breeding, while trying to not breed the same stallion twice in a day. That means that my stallions are almost always in their late teens when I breed them for the first time.

9. Do you keep a spreadsheet of your lines?

No, I don't. I give a quick check to the pedigrees before breeding, so I can be sure I am keeping maximum genetic diversity.

10. Do you train all horse at once or do you have a pattern?

I train my horses all at once. I find it makes things easier, because then, when I am done, I can run through my horses and see which ones are ready for their stat boosts.

11. For leisure riding do you have a method on which horses you use?

I really don't use leisure riding. All the rest of my horses' care takes so much time, I don't have time to play with that.

12. When should you show your horse?

I start showing my horses as soon as they turn three. All my horses get shown every day if they are the proper age, except the ones who have high non-specialty stat totals. All my horses who have 90 or more total non-specialty stats get entered in riding schools, because they gain stats more quickly that way (because they show so poorly.) I also put horses in the riding school if they are over 21, or mares that are due to foal the next day, because they cannot be shown.

13. When should you train your horse?

I train my horses every day. It gives a significant stat boost, even after you reach Training Level 5 (which affects showing luck.)

14. Do horse sell better based on color, markings , stats, or confirmation?

Stats are a huge draw for sale horses. If you have high stats, with low non-specialty stats, your horses will be in demand even if they aren't the most exciting color. Especially if you chose a popular specialty. People are willing to lower their standards, though, for a rare color or pattern, or for particularly high conformation. Conformation is difficult to breed for, so those who care about it (some don't) are always in search of a well-conformed horse for sale. People don't seem to like grey horses very much. My grey foals are slow to sell, even with a low price and great stats.

15. What age do you sell your foals?

I put them up for sale ASAP. If I'm not going to keep a horse, I don't want to have to feed and care for it longer than necessary, nor do I want it to take up room in my stables that I could put to better use with a horse I intended to show and breed.

16. What age do you put your horse up for broodmare or stud?

I put my stallions up for stud as soon as they turn 3, but I think I'm fairly unusual in that. My personal reasoning is that most of my horses are high-statted enough that even a young horse may be a good choice for someone who has a young herd that needs a boost, especially since I have some rare colors. They may have significantly higher stats in ten years or more, but they would also be more expensive, and I like to make sure that there are good options available even to those who can't afford my most prestigious stallions.

17. How do you price you studs and broodmares?

I price my studs at $5k per 100 stats. That is less than the price that I hear a lot of people quote, but I have my reasons. One is that I am not picky about how many foals my stallions have, so I'm not trying to discourage breedings with my price. Also, I want newer, less established players to be able to afford to breed to a decent stallion, but without making it too cheap. High stats should cost some money. A new player might have to save a little to breed to one of my stallions, but it would be doable.