LETS TALK: Bad Breeding In Game

[Lehiy]

Hey!

I've been on a long hiatus, and just come back for a while. As I came back, I was sorting through horses and came across my beloved rescue horses. I decided to retire the majority of them. One in particular, Dusty, who I'll link below, caught my attention. I'd totally forgotten about him, but he used to be well known amongst myself and my friends. Why? Because he had terrible conformation. You'll see what I mean.

Now, I've decided to extend my rehabilitation program a bit. While I'm low on cash currently, I'm putting a large amount of it towards buying cheap horses with bad conformation. They've totally flooded the market. Anywhere between $1 and $500, and they're all terrible. I've only picked up ones that don't have foals, and I've rehomed them straight away.

It's been really annoying me that the flood has been this bad, and I wanted to hear peoples stories and opinions on bad conformation breeding within the game. Feel free to share horses you've rehomed for this reason, too! I was just interested to hear a bit about it from players who have dealt with it a bit.

Dusty: https://www.horseworldonline.net/horse/profile/3319686

[Gabby_Woodlark]

Hey!

I've been on a long hiatus, and just come back for a while. As I came back, I was sorting through horses and came across my beloved rescue horses. I decided to retire the majority of them. One in particular, Dusty, who I'll link below, caught my attention. I'd totally forgotten about him, but he used to be well known amongst myself and my friends. Why? Because he had terrible conformation. You'll see what I mean.

Now, I've decided to extend my rehabilitation program a bit. While I'm low on cash currently, I'm putting a large amount of it towards buying cheap horses with bad conformation. They've totally flooded the market. Anywhere between $1 and $500, and they're all terrible. I've only picked up ones that don't have foals, and I've rehomed them straight away.

It's been really annoying me that the flood has been this bad, and I wanted to hear peoples stories and opinions on bad conformation breeding within the game. Feel free to share horses you've rehomed for this reason, too! I was just interested to hear a bit about it from players who have dealt with it a bit.

Dusty: https://www.horseworldonline.net/horse/profile/3319686

(Not me realizing I bred him xD)

[BlackOak2]

Are you speaking purely looks?
The good thing and the bad thing about this game is that it's written into the coding that certain body conformation (directly affecting the looks) can push confo scores into certain higher areas. So, even though horses like this can be very ugly to the eye, it can affect those confo scores very positively. The other side to this, is that currently there is no downside (and perhaps may not be any) to such conformation. Like a horse with a sway-back, for instance. It just means that the horse's confo in that affected area will not have any or will barely have any points in that related section.

So... yes, some of these horses come out looking rather ugly to the eye. But it also means that confo scores in those areas have been boosted to certain areas as well.

Dusty, for example, has an uphill back, boosting his strength in that area by 9 points, plus adding a long hip, boosts strength again another 9 points (with 10 points added to speed) and the sloping hips adds again another 10 points to strength, making up 28 total points to strength in total (horse has 37 strength points). Thus this ugly hip accounts for 28 strength points in total.
Had he had other areas devoted to strength, he could've been a conformation horse for strength.

So, yes, ugly, but with purpose still.

[Lehiy]

Are you speaking purely looks?
The good thing and the bad thing about this game is that it's written into the coding that certain body conformation (directly affecting the looks) can push confo scores into certain higher areas. So, even though horses like this can be very ugly to the eye, it can affect those confo scores very positively. The other side to this, is that currently there is no downside (and perhaps may not be any) to such conformation. Like a horse with a sway-back, for instance. It just means that the horse's confo in that affected area will not have any or will barely have any points in that related section.

So... yes, some of these horses come out looking rather ugly to the eye. But it also means that confo scores in those areas have been boosted to certain areas as well.

Dusty, for example, has an uphill back, boosting his strength in that area by 9 points, plus adding a long hip, boosts strength again another 9 points (with 10 points added to speed) and the sloping hips adds again another 10 points to strength, making up 28 total points to strength in total (horse has 37 strength points). Thus this ugly hip accounts for 28 strength points in total.
Had he had other areas devoted to strength, he could've been a conformation horse for strength.

So, yes, ugly, but with purpose still.

Not necessarily just looks, but I'd say at least 99% of the ones I picked up yesterday, which was likely upwards of 20, just had bad breeding overall. Of course, there's exceptions, and I totally agree with what you said! I've just found the majority that physically look a little behind the mark often are a sign of bad breeding, and it usually comes from newer players being unable to access well bred horses!

I also think that it's become a pretty applaudable result when a horse not only is physically above most others but looks healthy and without issue, if they were to be put in the real world, so in the event that I was just talking about conformation and wasn't considering the actual breeding of these horses, which I should have cleared up that I wasn't haha, I feel even then it's still a something to talk about!

It could also be a good goal in future for the game to create more realistic conformation systems? Though it would cause issue, I'm sure, I'd love to see it play a bigger factor in the worth of a horse like it does in the real world! Something else to discuss, I suppose haha

[Lehiy]

Hey!

I've been on a long hiatus, and just come back for a while. As I came back, I was sorting through horses and came across my beloved rescue horses. I decided to retire the majority of them. One in particular, Dusty, who I'll link below, caught my attention. I'd totally forgotten about him, but he used to be well known amongst myself and my friends. Why? Because he had terrible conformation. You'll see what I mean.

Now, I've decided to extend my rehabilitation program a bit. While I'm low on cash currently, I'm putting a large amount of it towards buying cheap horses with bad conformation. They've totally flooded the market. Anywhere between $1 and $500, and they're all terrible. I've only picked up ones that don't have foals, and I've rehomed them straight away.

It's been really annoying me that the flood has been this bad, and I wanted to hear peoples stories and opinions on bad conformation breeding within the game. Feel free to share horses you've rehomed for this reason, too! I was just interested to hear a bit about it from players who have dealt with it a bit.

Dusty: https://www.horseworldonline.net/horse/profile/3319686

(Not me realizing I bred him xD)

AHAHAH

LOOK HES GORG COAT WISE, AND IF I WASNT SO SCARED BY HIS HIPS I KNOW ID LOVE TO BREED HIM, YOU'VE DONE WELL REGARDLESS!

Also, he's honestly just become a bit special to me because of the whole hip situation, I'll be honest I feel sorry for him when I look at him even though he's a heap of pixels, love the man though, I've been considering breeding him anyways just to get him a little family <3

[Gabby_Woodlark]

(Not me realizing I bred him xD)

AHAHAH

LOOK HES GORG COAT WISE, AND IF I WASNT SO SCARED BY HIS HIPS I KNOW ID LOVE TO BREED HIM, YOU'VE DONE WELL REGARDLESS!

Also, he's honestly just become a bit special to me because of the whole hip situation, I'll be honest I feel sorry for him when I look at him even though he's a heap of pixels, love the man though, I've been considering breeding him anyways just to get him a little family <3

Lol don't worry, I wasn't going How-dare-you-insult-a-horse-I-bred-and-treasured-and-loved karen mode

I do agree his coat is stunning :0 Back when I bred him I was still kinda new and just went for markings back then. I trained him a little, but once he hit 1 and his lower end started lowering even more, I just gave up on training and asked my fave mare (His mom) how she could create such a monstrosity.

I don't necessarily like the sway backs and whatnot of the game, but as it adds better conformation and personality, I'm all for it xD I suppose my standards were pretty low if I accepted him

Fun fact, I bought his dad for 20k after I bred to him since he was gorgeous and I wanted to own him and his son, but he ended up retiring the next turn so I was upset :I

[Lehiy]

AHAHAH

LOOK HES GORG COAT WISE, AND IF I WASNT SO SCARED BY HIS HIPS I KNOW ID LOVE TO BREED HIM, YOU'VE DONE WELL REGARDLESS!

Also, he's honestly just become a bit special to me because of the whole hip situation, I'll be honest I feel sorry for him when I look at him even though he's a heap of pixels, love the man though, I've been considering breeding him anyways just to get him a little family <3

Lol don't worry, I wasn't going How-dare-you-insult-a-horse-I-bred-and-treasured-and-loved karen mode

I do agree his coat is stunning :0 Back when I bred him I was still kinda new and just went for markings back then. I trained him a little, but once he hit 1 and his lower end started lowering even more, I just gave up on training and asked my fave mare (His mom) how she could create such a monstrosity.

I don't necessarily like the sway backs and whatnot of the game, but as it adds better conformation and personality, I'm all for it xD I suppose my standards were pretty low if I accepted him

Fun fact, I bought his dad for 20k after I bred to him since he was gorgeous and I wanted to own him and his son, but he ended up retiring the next turn so I was upset :I

AHHA 100% agreed

Yeah, back when I got him and was just picking through horses that needed homes I don't think I saw his hind? I believe he was in really poor condition and was rugged so I saw his cute base coat and training and said "he's gonna be easy to find a home for"- he wasn't HAHA

As soon as he started gaining weight noticeably I realised that it probably wasn't a weight thing - I'll admit- for him and a few other horses with similar situations I planned to feed them up and rehome them. I got down the line, and surprise surprise, I couldn't due to his foals! So he stuck around, saw heaps of horses come and go within his little pasture, and he's been pretty happy with the win he got AHA

Also, YIKES, i'd be upset too 20k and gone after one turn, RIP Dusty's dad <3

[Gabby_Woodlark]

Lol don't worry, I wasn't going How-dare-you-insult-a-horse-I-bred-and-treasured-and-loved karen mode

I do agree his coat is stunning :0 Back when I bred him I was still kinda new and just went for markings back then. I trained him a little, but once he hit 1 and his lower end started lowering even more, I just gave up on training and asked my fave mare (His mom) how she could create such a monstrosity.

I don't necessarily like the sway backs and whatnot of the game, but as it adds better conformation and personality, I'm all for it xD I suppose my standards were pretty low if I accepted him

Fun fact, I bought his dad for 20k after I bred to him since he was gorgeous and I wanted to own him and his son, but he ended up retiring the next turn so I was upset :I

AHHA 100% agreed

Yeah, back when I got him and was just picking through horses that needed homes I don't think I saw his hind? I believe he was in really poor condition and was rugged so I saw his cute base coat and training and said "he's gonna be easy to find a home for"- he wasn't HAHA

As soon as he started gaining weight noticeably I realised that it probably wasn't a weight thing - I'll admit- for him and a few other horses with similar situations I planned to feed them up and rehome them. I got down the line, and surprise surprise, I couldn't due to his foals! So he stuck around, saw heaps of horses come and go within his little pasture, and he's been pretty happy with the win he got AHA

Also, YIKES, i'd be upset too 20k and gone after one turn, RIP Dusty's dad <3

Lol I mean, maybe someone who would be looking for decent strength TBs would find him a dream, but I can't be certain xD

I get where you're coming with the weight. A ton of my horses start out with sway backs or hinds like his, which are usually fixed with some weight gain mix. Then again it doesn't always help. Maybe someone in the future could do a study on tall and small backs. Like, figure out if it's genetic, was causes it, etc, etc.

Yup, rip Dusty's dad I regret not having a frozen account back then-

[Lehiy]

AHHA 100% agreed

Yeah, back when I got him and was just picking through horses that needed homes I don't think I saw his hind? I believe he was in really poor condition and was rugged so I saw his cute base coat and training and said "he's gonna be easy to find a home for"- he wasn't HAHA

As soon as he started gaining weight noticeably I realised that it probably wasn't a weight thing - I'll admit- for him and a few other horses with similar situations I planned to feed them up and rehome them. I got down the line, and surprise surprise, I couldn't due to his foals! So he stuck around, saw heaps of horses come and go within his little pasture, and he's been pretty happy with the win he got AHA

Also, YIKES, i'd be upset too 20k and gone after one turn, RIP Dusty's dad <3

Lol I mean, maybe someone who would be looking for decent strength TBs would find him a dream, but I can't be certain xD

I get where you're coming with the weight. A ton of my horses start out with sway backs or hinds like his, which are usually fixed with some weight gain mix. Then again it doesn't always help. Maybe someone in the future could do a study on tall and small backs. Like, figure out if it's genetic, was causes it, etc, etc.

Yup, rip Dusty's dad I regret not having a frozen account back then-

Totally agreed AHAH someone could love him for his shape and stats, but he just looked a little scary to me when I first figured out that it wasn't weight

And yeah, I've seen heaps of horses look totally different with weight gain, some look like nothing had changed. Would be cool to see if somebody tested it out, figured out the root of a lot of the conformation and general build questions the community has.

AND LOL YEAH, I rely on my freeze so much I don't know what I'd do without it

[Gabby_Woodlark]

Lol I mean, maybe someone who would be looking for decent strength TBs would find him a dream, but I can't be certain xD

I get where you're coming with the weight. A ton of my horses start out with sway backs or hinds like his, which are usually fixed with some weight gain mix. Then again it doesn't always help. Maybe someone in the future could do a study on tall and small backs. Like, figure out if it's genetic, was causes it, etc, etc.

Yup, rip Dusty's dad I regret not having a frozen account back then-

Totally agreed AHAH someone could love him for his shape and stats, but he just looked a little scary to me when I first figured out that it wasn't weight

And yeah, I've seen heaps of horses look totally different with weight gain, some look like nothing had changed. Would be cool to see if somebody tested it out, figured out the root of a lot of the conformation and general build questions the community has.

AND LOL YEAH, I rely on my freeze so much I don't know what I'd do without it

Yeah, a guide would be nice. Perhaps a senior player could tackle that in the future (If they haven't already)? I'm not too good with information regarding areas around conformation, but I know a good lot of players that would.

Yup. Sway backs are usually a newborn foal's normal. Just age them a bit and it'll fix itself. Either that or a horse that is super thin and a sway back appears because of neglect (Same in real life). I've never personally met a horse with a dipping back, but I think I remember a photo somewhere...