HGG Community Forums

You do NOT need an upgrade to make it to the top producer boards, but it will help you because you will have access to better testing and therefore you will have an easier time selecting top breeding prospects.

The most likely way for a new player to get on the boards is to get on the Era boards--we are currently in Era 4. Every new horse created during this era will be an Era 4 horse, but when you breed your horses naturally inherit the oldest era in their pedigree. So, an old established player will mostly have horses from an older era, meaning you aren't competing against someone with generation 8 horses and 3 calendar years invested in the game--eras keep the playing field pretty even. In the color boards you will be competing against these players and a foundation has little to no chance to compete on the Producer boards with well bred upper generation horses....so don't get frustrated if you aren't getting awards on those boards!

Mares and stallions earn spots on the boards based on the quality of foals produced, but they do also have to have a minimum number of foals to be eligible. I always forget, but I'm pretty sure stallions need at least 10 foals overall, and at least one from the current breeding season. Mares need at least 3 foals overall and at least one in the current breeding season.

Using the pasture bonus can help you produce higher quality foals (mares with the bonus produce foals from the top end of their breeding ability range, resulting in a higher quality batch than if all the mares are producing foals from their entire range.).