Frequently Asked Questions & Getting Started
Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 1:34 am
Welcome to Horse World Online!
We’re so glad to have you! Here we have assembled a Newbie Guide and FAQ to help you get started.
General Help & Knowledge
How do I make money?
The simplest way to make money to begin with is by entering your horse into Local Shows directly from their profile page. Local Shows don’t pay out as well as regular Competitions but they are run instantly and give you a good idea of what level your horse should be competing at. Make sure to enter your horse into regular Competitions for a chance to earn larger purses. Regular Competitions don’t use up time during your day, but Local Shows will cost you 3 hours game time.
Does it cost money to keep a horse?
Currently there are no costs to owning a horse other than perhaps purchasing another pasture or barn. Eventually there will be costs for feed for horses kept in a stable, as well as regular vet and farrier fees.
How do I evaluate my horse? What does it do?
If you buy a book, you can evaluate your horse against the requirements of that breed. Evaluations are useful when you’re trying to create a cross breed. Say for example you are trying to create an Akhal Teke. According to the Breed Wiki an Akhal Teke is created by crossing an Arabian with a Turkmene. So if you have an Arabian and a Turkmene you can evaluate them both as Akhal-Tekes and if they both get good ratings in all categories then you know you have a good chance of creating an Akhal Teke from this mating.
Why does this book cost so much?!
The cost of a book is determined based on how many generations of breeding are needed to create the breed. Easy to create breeds have cheaper books.
How do days work in the game?
Each basic player gets 4 banked days when you start the game (10 for upgraded accounts). Each game day begins at 6am and ends at 10pm. Many actions you to with your horse's (training, breeding, local shows) cost time. You can check your current game time in the top bar, or you can pay attention to the background on the page which will change depending on the time of day it is. To advance to the next day press the Arrow icon on the top right corner (which also indicates how many days you have remaining). Once you use up all your days you’ll have to either wait 30 minutes to regenerate a day, or enter a Local Show and hope for the chance to win another day.
How do I get more Pony Tokens?
You can win Pony Tokens in Local Shows, or you can purchase them from the Store.
Should I keep my horse in the barn or the pasture?
Right now it doesn’t matter if they are in a pasture or a barn, however very soon there will be pros and cons to both barns and pastures. For example horses are more likely to get injured in a pasture, but horses in a barn will have an increased cost as you’ll have to provide them with hay and grain.
I adopted a horse and I can’t have any more, how do I get more horses?
By completing player courses you will be able to own more horses. You can find more information about this in the Player Courses section of the starting guide.
I adopted a horse but I can’t find it in my pasture!
Pastures scroll from side to side. If you don’t see your horse right away he’s probably at the other end of your pasture. You can click and drag on the pasture to find your horse, or you can press the Scatter Horses button to have your horses run around to a new spot in your pasture.
Where do I start:
Obtaining a Horse
You can adopt a horse in the adoption or you can purchase a horse from the general Market. Ancient breeds cost 25 PT, while breeds produced by crossbreeding cost more. Multigenerational breeds appear in the center when there are enough active, living horses in the game. Other players may sell their horses to you from the Horses for Sale page.
Player Courses
Every player can study various courses in order to expand their abilities. These abilities control how many horses the player can own, how many stallions they can post for the public, how many shows they can create, and give various bonuses to training. Each course has 5 levels and completing the 5th level will usually unlock a new course. Each player also has attributes which help determine how quickly you can learn a course. These attributes are listed with the course details, with the first attribute being weighted more heavily than the second. You earn one attribute point every time you level up, and you can apply this to whichever attribute best suits you.
Leveling Up
Nearly every action in the game will earn you experience points. Earn enough experience points and your player will level up. Leveling up gives you rewards (money, PT), fills up your banked days, and gives you 1 attribute point you can assign to any attribute.
Training:
My horse ran out of energy, how do I get it back?
Energy is returned every time you advance to the next day. The amount of energy returned depends on many factors including how much training the horse had during the day, and how old the horse is. Young horses need a lot of energy for growth and if you train them hard you may find they don’t regain as much energy the next morning. Eventually you will be able to feed your young horses grains which will help them gain energy better.
How can I prevent my horse from becoming too fatigued?
Don’t train your horse to exhaustion every turn, and give it a turn off every once in a while. Fatigue will reach zero after a few turns with no training. Eventually, there will be different activities - like massage and stretches - which will reduce your horses’ fatigue.
Breeding:
How old do horses have to be to breed?
Mares have to be 4 years old, but stallions can breed at 3 years old. You can continue to breed them until they retire/die. Currently, bred mares will not retire/die, but eventually there will be the chance that you may lose an old mare while she is pregnant. Also, decreased fertility with age is a planned feature.
How do I create a new breed?
Check out the Breeds Wiki page (under the Help section on the navigation pane). All breeds are listed here along with how they are created. Some breeds are a simple cross such as the Akhal-Teke which is created by crossing an Arabian with a Turkmene. Other breeds are more complicated and can require up to 4 source breeds. For example the Clydesdale is a 4 cross consisting of [Friesian x Shire] x [Galloway x Belgian]. So to create this breed you would need one horse which is a Friesian x Shire, and another horse which is a Galloway x Belgian. Breed these two together and you’ll have a chance to create a Clydesdale. Keep in mind that if the pedigree calls for [Breed A x Breed B], the horse must be a crossbred; for example, a Baladi is produced by crossing an Arabian and a North African Barb, but you cannot use it to create a West African Barb, which requires an [Arab x NAB].
Does training of the mare and stallion affect the outcome of the foals?
The only thing that affects the quality of your foals is the quality of their parents. You can determine this by reading the Breeder’s Report. Training and showing do not improve a horse’s quality, however the results from a competition may help you to determine if a mare or stallion is of good quality, especially if you are breeding for a particular discipline.
Do genetic ailments like HYPP exist in the game?
Not as of yet however there will be genetic ailments added in fairly soon. In addition there will be genes added which effect a horse’s overall condition. For example some horses may be more prone to injury than others.
Is there a cost to breed horses?
You can breed your own horses for free, though it will take up 20 minutes of your day. You can breed to other players’ stallions for a fee; you can find available studs on the Stallions at Stud page (Side Bar -> Market -> Stallions at Stud).
Does the age of my mare/stallion affect fertility rate?
Not right now. This is something we are considering adding in however it’s not a high priority right now, so enjoy instant/successful breedings for now.
How does COI affect my horse’s performance/physical well-being/fertility?
COI is prediction of genetic homozygosity. Essentially, it estimates how related a horse’s parents are. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what the gene is. Inbreeding can increase the likelihood that a poor gene is enhanced, but it can also enhance a good gene too. There are over 110 genes in the game as of writing this. Some have positive effects, some have negative effects, and some are neutral (for example colours). Always remember that COI is an estimate; a horse could have much more or much homozygosity than its COI would suggest.
I have more than 6 mares, but less than the max of 12, in a pasture and I can’t breed them all because it says my pasture is full. Why?
Large Pastures can only hold 12 horses, and unborn foals count to this total. Different pastures can hold different quantities of horses. You can check the capacity of your pasture or barn by viewing the areas details on the overall farm page.
Will a foal’s health be affected if moved away from their mother before a certain age?
No, there are no effects currently for keeping a foal away from it’s mother after birth. The only draw back to this is your won’t get to see the foal running around in the pasture with it’s mother, which can be quite neat.
Showing:
What affects my horse’s score?
Each discipline is judged on 4 main stats. These stats are also influenced by your horse's Build, Height, Temperament and Body Condition Score (BCS, describes how over/under weight your horse is). You can view the stats needed for your chosen sport at Help -> Help Guides -> Discipline Guide.
Is there somewhere where I can see what types (build/temperament) of horses are suited to what kinds of events?
Currently no, this is actually quite a complicated thing to determine. Due to the way that stats and physical characteristics are very intertwined the only true way to determine this is through trial and error. The horses have the ideal build/temperament will be the ones who continually come out on top in higher level competitions. Once Discipline Books are added you’ll be able to evaluate your horse's potential for a particular discipline, but only competition will give the real answer to this.
HALP! My horse is morbidly obese and I can’t fit it in the trailer to take it to shows! WHAT DO I DO?
Do not worry, your horse is just grazing on lush pastures. If you exercise the beast you may find he fits in the trailer, and may actually do better at the show too. Unless you are training for Log Pulling in which case just have the horse pull the trailer and you’ll be fine. Exercise and transportation all in one.
Do fatigue and energy levels affect show scoring?
Currently no, fatigue and energy do not affect a horses showing score. This may or may not change in the future but if it does it will be posted on the news page.
Does participating in shows affect a horse’s training level?
No, participating is hows does not affect a horses training. Training does however affect how well a horse will do in competitions.
Do certain temperaments have a direct effect on consistency while showing? IE high-strung horses being spookier and making errors that an even-tempered horse would not.
Yes temperament does have an effect in competitions. Certain disciplines benefit from being high-strung, while in others it would be a detriment. Same goes for overly quiet horses who may just be too lazy to compete in some disciplines.
How many entries does a show need to run?
The minimum number of entries for a show to run is 5. However, shows with 20 entries will run in a few minutes after filling. This is a temporary feature while the game is still in Beta. There is no limit to how many horses you can enter in a show, and again this is a temporary feature while still in Beta.
Does my horse need to be a pure breed to compete in player run shows?
Unless a show is restricted to a single breed, than any horse, even Mixed breed horses, can compete.
My Farm:
I’m out of space! How do I get more room?
From the Market section on the left, you can find Farm Building. You can buy pastures, barns, decorations and more! You can then add to your farm from the My Farm page. Additionally, you can expand the width and depth of your farm from the Edit My Farm tab. Clicking Toggle Edit Farm will allow you to arrange your farm as you wish!
HALP! I accidentally dropped 15 water buckets in my pasture and I can’t pick them up! What do I do?
Just calm down a bit for now. There is no way to remove an item from a pasture or farm view at the moment but this is high on the to do list and will be coming very soon. Watch the news page for details once this is added.
Colours:
How can I tell what color my horse is?
There is a color guide posted in the forums, though the images are slightly outdated. As a general guide, freckles around the muzzle indicates champagne; pale horses with blue eyes indicates double cream, while pale horses with dark eyes indicates double pearl. The best way to figure out what color you horse is or what genes it may be carrying is to breed it and see what the foals look like. You can also create a topic in the “What Colour Is My Horse?” forum and many other members can help you to figure it out.
Is there a way to test for colour genes in the game?
Not currently, but that is planned.
Where are all the white patterns?
While the game is still in Beta only solid colours are available, plus Roan. Soon we’ll begin adding in the white patterns.
I swear my horse was born chestnut, but now he’s a different colour!
Foal coats are wonderfully fun, but deceptive. Especially when it comes to bays and chestnuts, which look about the same at birth. Your horse will blow its coat at a year old and that will be its adult coloration. However some genes do continue to affect your horses’ coats sometimes until 20 years of age. Sooty in particular can add dark hairs over time. Silver and Flaxen can both lose their intensity as the horse ages, and Grey will gradually turn your horse white over time.
Is LWO a threat to horses in this game? How will it be handled?
There are currently no white patterns in the game, but when they are added, LWO will be a potential issue.
Are existing breeds limited to certain colors? If a horse fits all other criteria for being a certain breed, will their color prevent them from being classified as said breed?
Ancient breeds have limited color genetics, but breeds derived from them do not. A horse that fits all other criteria for a breed will still be listed as that breed. However, they may not be accepted into the breed’s registry (when those are added).
Registries: Are not a thing yet. Sorry <3
Still need help?
Visit us in the Forums, we’ll be happy to assist!
We’re so glad to have you! Here we have assembled a Newbie Guide and FAQ to help you get started.
General Help & Knowledge
How do I make money?
The simplest way to make money to begin with is by entering your horse into Local Shows directly from their profile page. Local Shows don’t pay out as well as regular Competitions but they are run instantly and give you a good idea of what level your horse should be competing at. Make sure to enter your horse into regular Competitions for a chance to earn larger purses. Regular Competitions don’t use up time during your day, but Local Shows will cost you 3 hours game time.
Does it cost money to keep a horse?
Currently there are no costs to owning a horse other than perhaps purchasing another pasture or barn. Eventually there will be costs for feed for horses kept in a stable, as well as regular vet and farrier fees.
How do I evaluate my horse? What does it do?
If you buy a book, you can evaluate your horse against the requirements of that breed. Evaluations are useful when you’re trying to create a cross breed. Say for example you are trying to create an Akhal Teke. According to the Breed Wiki an Akhal Teke is created by crossing an Arabian with a Turkmene. So if you have an Arabian and a Turkmene you can evaluate them both as Akhal-Tekes and if they both get good ratings in all categories then you know you have a good chance of creating an Akhal Teke from this mating.
Why does this book cost so much?!
The cost of a book is determined based on how many generations of breeding are needed to create the breed. Easy to create breeds have cheaper books.
How do days work in the game?
Each basic player gets 4 banked days when you start the game (10 for upgraded accounts). Each game day begins at 6am and ends at 10pm. Many actions you to with your horse's (training, breeding, local shows) cost time. You can check your current game time in the top bar, or you can pay attention to the background on the page which will change depending on the time of day it is. To advance to the next day press the Arrow icon on the top right corner (which also indicates how many days you have remaining). Once you use up all your days you’ll have to either wait 30 minutes to regenerate a day, or enter a Local Show and hope for the chance to win another day.
How do I get more Pony Tokens?
You can win Pony Tokens in Local Shows, or you can purchase them from the Store.
Should I keep my horse in the barn or the pasture?
Right now it doesn’t matter if they are in a pasture or a barn, however very soon there will be pros and cons to both barns and pastures. For example horses are more likely to get injured in a pasture, but horses in a barn will have an increased cost as you’ll have to provide them with hay and grain.
I adopted a horse and I can’t have any more, how do I get more horses?
By completing player courses you will be able to own more horses. You can find more information about this in the Player Courses section of the starting guide.
I adopted a horse but I can’t find it in my pasture!
Pastures scroll from side to side. If you don’t see your horse right away he’s probably at the other end of your pasture. You can click and drag on the pasture to find your horse, or you can press the Scatter Horses button to have your horses run around to a new spot in your pasture.
Where do I start:
Obtaining a Horse
You can adopt a horse in the adoption or you can purchase a horse from the general Market. Ancient breeds cost 25 PT, while breeds produced by crossbreeding cost more. Multigenerational breeds appear in the center when there are enough active, living horses in the game. Other players may sell their horses to you from the Horses for Sale page.
Player Courses
Every player can study various courses in order to expand their abilities. These abilities control how many horses the player can own, how many stallions they can post for the public, how many shows they can create, and give various bonuses to training. Each course has 5 levels and completing the 5th level will usually unlock a new course. Each player also has attributes which help determine how quickly you can learn a course. These attributes are listed with the course details, with the first attribute being weighted more heavily than the second. You earn one attribute point every time you level up, and you can apply this to whichever attribute best suits you.
Leveling Up
Nearly every action in the game will earn you experience points. Earn enough experience points and your player will level up. Leveling up gives you rewards (money, PT), fills up your banked days, and gives you 1 attribute point you can assign to any attribute.
Training:
My horse ran out of energy, how do I get it back?
Energy is returned every time you advance to the next day. The amount of energy returned depends on many factors including how much training the horse had during the day, and how old the horse is. Young horses need a lot of energy for growth and if you train them hard you may find they don’t regain as much energy the next morning. Eventually you will be able to feed your young horses grains which will help them gain energy better.
How can I prevent my horse from becoming too fatigued?
Don’t train your horse to exhaustion every turn, and give it a turn off every once in a while. Fatigue will reach zero after a few turns with no training. Eventually, there will be different activities - like massage and stretches - which will reduce your horses’ fatigue.
Breeding:
How old do horses have to be to breed?
Mares have to be 4 years old, but stallions can breed at 3 years old. You can continue to breed them until they retire/die. Currently, bred mares will not retire/die, but eventually there will be the chance that you may lose an old mare while she is pregnant. Also, decreased fertility with age is a planned feature.
How do I create a new breed?
Check out the Breeds Wiki page (under the Help section on the navigation pane). All breeds are listed here along with how they are created. Some breeds are a simple cross such as the Akhal-Teke which is created by crossing an Arabian with a Turkmene. Other breeds are more complicated and can require up to 4 source breeds. For example the Clydesdale is a 4 cross consisting of [Friesian x Shire] x [Galloway x Belgian]. So to create this breed you would need one horse which is a Friesian x Shire, and another horse which is a Galloway x Belgian. Breed these two together and you’ll have a chance to create a Clydesdale. Keep in mind that if the pedigree calls for [Breed A x Breed B], the horse must be a crossbred; for example, a Baladi is produced by crossing an Arabian and a North African Barb, but you cannot use it to create a West African Barb, which requires an [Arab x NAB].
Does training of the mare and stallion affect the outcome of the foals?
The only thing that affects the quality of your foals is the quality of their parents. You can determine this by reading the Breeder’s Report. Training and showing do not improve a horse’s quality, however the results from a competition may help you to determine if a mare or stallion is of good quality, especially if you are breeding for a particular discipline.
Do genetic ailments like HYPP exist in the game?
Not as of yet however there will be genetic ailments added in fairly soon. In addition there will be genes added which effect a horse’s overall condition. For example some horses may be more prone to injury than others.
Is there a cost to breed horses?
You can breed your own horses for free, though it will take up 20 minutes of your day. You can breed to other players’ stallions for a fee; you can find available studs on the Stallions at Stud page (Side Bar -> Market -> Stallions at Stud).
Does the age of my mare/stallion affect fertility rate?
Not right now. This is something we are considering adding in however it’s not a high priority right now, so enjoy instant/successful breedings for now.
How does COI affect my horse’s performance/physical well-being/fertility?
COI is prediction of genetic homozygosity. Essentially, it estimates how related a horse’s parents are. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what the gene is. Inbreeding can increase the likelihood that a poor gene is enhanced, but it can also enhance a good gene too. There are over 110 genes in the game as of writing this. Some have positive effects, some have negative effects, and some are neutral (for example colours). Always remember that COI is an estimate; a horse could have much more or much homozygosity than its COI would suggest.
I have more than 6 mares, but less than the max of 12, in a pasture and I can’t breed them all because it says my pasture is full. Why?
Large Pastures can only hold 12 horses, and unborn foals count to this total. Different pastures can hold different quantities of horses. You can check the capacity of your pasture or barn by viewing the areas details on the overall farm page.
Will a foal’s health be affected if moved away from their mother before a certain age?
No, there are no effects currently for keeping a foal away from it’s mother after birth. The only draw back to this is your won’t get to see the foal running around in the pasture with it’s mother, which can be quite neat.
Showing:
What affects my horse’s score?
Each discipline is judged on 4 main stats. These stats are also influenced by your horse's Build, Height, Temperament and Body Condition Score (BCS, describes how over/under weight your horse is). You can view the stats needed for your chosen sport at Help -> Help Guides -> Discipline Guide.
Is there somewhere where I can see what types (build/temperament) of horses are suited to what kinds of events?
Currently no, this is actually quite a complicated thing to determine. Due to the way that stats and physical characteristics are very intertwined the only true way to determine this is through trial and error. The horses have the ideal build/temperament will be the ones who continually come out on top in higher level competitions. Once Discipline Books are added you’ll be able to evaluate your horse's potential for a particular discipline, but only competition will give the real answer to this.
HALP! My horse is morbidly obese and I can’t fit it in the trailer to take it to shows! WHAT DO I DO?
Do not worry, your horse is just grazing on lush pastures. If you exercise the beast you may find he fits in the trailer, and may actually do better at the show too. Unless you are training for Log Pulling in which case just have the horse pull the trailer and you’ll be fine. Exercise and transportation all in one.
Do fatigue and energy levels affect show scoring?
Currently no, fatigue and energy do not affect a horses showing score. This may or may not change in the future but if it does it will be posted on the news page.
Does participating in shows affect a horse’s training level?
No, participating is hows does not affect a horses training. Training does however affect how well a horse will do in competitions.
Do certain temperaments have a direct effect on consistency while showing? IE high-strung horses being spookier and making errors that an even-tempered horse would not.
Yes temperament does have an effect in competitions. Certain disciplines benefit from being high-strung, while in others it would be a detriment. Same goes for overly quiet horses who may just be too lazy to compete in some disciplines.
How many entries does a show need to run?
The minimum number of entries for a show to run is 5. However, shows with 20 entries will run in a few minutes after filling. This is a temporary feature while the game is still in Beta. There is no limit to how many horses you can enter in a show, and again this is a temporary feature while still in Beta.
Does my horse need to be a pure breed to compete in player run shows?
Unless a show is restricted to a single breed, than any horse, even Mixed breed horses, can compete.
My Farm:
I’m out of space! How do I get more room?
From the Market section on the left, you can find Farm Building. You can buy pastures, barns, decorations and more! You can then add to your farm from the My Farm page. Additionally, you can expand the width and depth of your farm from the Edit My Farm tab. Clicking Toggle Edit Farm will allow you to arrange your farm as you wish!
HALP! I accidentally dropped 15 water buckets in my pasture and I can’t pick them up! What do I do?
Just calm down a bit for now. There is no way to remove an item from a pasture or farm view at the moment but this is high on the to do list and will be coming very soon. Watch the news page for details once this is added.
Colours:
How can I tell what color my horse is?
There is a color guide posted in the forums, though the images are slightly outdated. As a general guide, freckles around the muzzle indicates champagne; pale horses with blue eyes indicates double cream, while pale horses with dark eyes indicates double pearl. The best way to figure out what color you horse is or what genes it may be carrying is to breed it and see what the foals look like. You can also create a topic in the “What Colour Is My Horse?” forum and many other members can help you to figure it out.
Is there a way to test for colour genes in the game?
Not currently, but that is planned.
Where are all the white patterns?
While the game is still in Beta only solid colours are available, plus Roan. Soon we’ll begin adding in the white patterns.
I swear my horse was born chestnut, but now he’s a different colour!
Foal coats are wonderfully fun, but deceptive. Especially when it comes to bays and chestnuts, which look about the same at birth. Your horse will blow its coat at a year old and that will be its adult coloration. However some genes do continue to affect your horses’ coats sometimes until 20 years of age. Sooty in particular can add dark hairs over time. Silver and Flaxen can both lose their intensity as the horse ages, and Grey will gradually turn your horse white over time.
Is LWO a threat to horses in this game? How will it be handled?
There are currently no white patterns in the game, but when they are added, LWO will be a potential issue.
Are existing breeds limited to certain colors? If a horse fits all other criteria for being a certain breed, will their color prevent them from being classified as said breed?
Ancient breeds have limited color genetics, but breeds derived from them do not. A horse that fits all other criteria for a breed will still be listed as that breed. However, they may not be accepted into the breed’s registry (when those are added).
Registries: Are not a thing yet. Sorry <3
Still need help?
Visit us in the Forums, we’ll be happy to assist!