HGG Community Forums

In real life, some horses can show/race/work like no body's business but can't pass those traits on very well (Secretariat is a good example, though he turned out to throw daughters with really high "breeding ability" and is known as a highly desirable "broodmare sire". Some can do both. And some aren't very good on the track/show ring/ranch but somehow breed really high performing horses--these guys tend to be unnoticed until several of their progeny become highly recognized...some will never be identified and go unappreciated.

In the game there isn't quite as much nuance as there is in reality (though Ammit does a fabulous job of imparting a huge amount of realism in the game). Your mare is a dud show pony, that's for sure. And you've for all intents and purposes bred her to a gen 2 quality sire--the ExPers and ExPros are "boosted" a generation in quality. Because boosted quality horses haven't really been available in this version of the game before, we are all going to have to readjust our expectations of what boosted lines can produce and decide if we are going to hold them to higher standards or not. I honestly am not sure yet what I'm going to do with my boosted lines. But your mare's dud PT and showing ability will not directly impact her foals.

Anyway, this is getting long and convoluted.

The hidden numbers every horse has for breeding and showing ability are not specifically related. From what I can tell, they are separately generated, somewhat at random from a specific range in regular create foundations and then from a range predetermined by each parent's BREEDING quality in foals. But that is where breeding ability is related to showing ability IN A HORSE'S OFFSPRING--a high breeding ability parent will be more likely to throw foals that have a high Ability to breed AND show.

The other thing to note is that the Showing Aptitude Test hints at the relative value of breeding and showing ability numbers in any horse. To pass SAT intact, a horse needs to be at least about as good of a breeder as a shower. If they are a better shower than breeder the game will recommend that you snip them. So if you have a horse with a super super high PT for their generation and they pass SAT, you can expect them to be a pretty high quality breeder too.

I do not cull foundation broodmares on PT. They have to pass all other testing though and they are held to my Papering and AFPT standards for the generation. I have seen broodmares with PTs in the 2s and below with AFPTs well over 10.0. I have also seen them throw 8.something PTd foals with the full pasture bonus and a rank special stallion.....those guys get snipped!

Good explanation. The Secretariat example is exactly what I was thinking about. Thank-you Cheers for that. :)

Repeat 10 times: There are no stupid questions; there are no stupid questions; ... It's a very complex game and it's taken all of us some time to master it.

To answer your latest question:

Not really, since the phrase "uneven breeding" is usually applied to the visible pedigree. However, within each generation there will be horses with high showing or breeding ability (or both), horses of slightly better showing or breeding ability (or both) than their parents, or worse breeding or showing ability (or both) than their parents. This is why the Average Foal PT score or AFPT is the best indicator of how any horse compares to its parents. In practical terms, yes the sire's and dam's breeding abilities are uneven, but not disastrously so.

More than a few players make a point of using exceptional breeding sires with ordinary creates. It's a good way to get show horses, for sure, and can also give a boost to the breeding ability of a filly. Because we have instant papering and the Comparison Test for stallions, it's easier to make a determination in the case of colts. For fillies, we have to wait until they have 3 foals and are papered to compare them with their dams.

Your filly is obviously a stronger show horse than her parents, so there's no worry there. Since she did so well on the PT test, we can assume that her dam has quite high breeding ability, even 100%, as has been suggested. If her color genes meet your program, if you have one, I would recommend giving her a chance to have at least one foal. If she produces a foal with a PT above 10, I would give her more chances. If her first foal is in the mid to low 9's, it's a good sign that her breeding abililty is no better than her dam's or even worse, and you might want to snip her.

No worries. I appreciated the answer! There is so much to learn in this game.