HGG Community Forums

Edit by game owner: The below is a member's opinion only and not a rule or stand point of the game. Breeding uneven makes it harder to get intact foals. If you don't care about that feel free to ignore everything posted below. Breed how you want.

(I wasn't quite sure where to put this, apologies if it's in the wrong place).

It seems like we have a lot of new blood, which is AWESOME, welcome to the game and the addiction!

There's been a bit of discussion on the forum about even breeding so I wanted to put this out there. Veteran players may or may not agree with me, these are my opinions, and a little explanation for the curious... and if any veterans have anything to add, please do; I've only been playing since October myself.

If you're new to the game you'll find that many people who have been playing a while are absolutely adamant about keeping pedigrees even, and I figured you might wonder (as I did), what's the big deal?

I'll start by saying that you can breed however you want, it's a game and it's not against the rules to breed whatever you like, with ONE caveat: If you're using a public stallion or mare that belongs to someone else, you should comply with the requests in the notes section on the stallion's page. Failing to do so isn't strictly against the rules but that breeder can ban you from breeding to any of their stock in the future.

So, why bother with even pedigrees? I mean, you can make all the foundation mares you want, and you've got this really awesome 3rd gen stud you picked up.

A few reasons.

1. You should be breeding for quality as well as color -- in fact, you should be breeding for quality first, THEN color. When you go to test your horses on Gelding Advice or Mare Advice, the game compares your horse to its sire or dam, depending on gender, and if the foal is inferior then it will be altered. Foundation horses are almost always poorer quality than subsequent generations (assuming the breeder is breeding for quality), so if you're breeding unevenly, especially more than one generation unevenly, you're going to end up with a lot more spays and gelds. It is heartbreaking and it doesn't go far in advancing your breeding goals.

2. Unevenly bred horses have a much higher incidence of inconsistency.

3. It looks much nicer on the pedigree. This may seem nitpicky but it's a factor. Some players breed to make the pedigree look cool -- all black and white, for example.

4. If you want to sell your horses at all, you should definitely breed evenly. I have noticed that when I am ready to sell breeding stock, well bred horses with even pedigrees sell (because they are valued in the game), whereas unevenly bred horses typically have practically no value. There might be a few exceptions if the color is outrageously awesome, but you'll have a very difficult time selling an unevenly bred horse for more than you can auction him/her. By the same token, if you want people to use your stud, you'll have success offering him if he's bred evenly, and little success if he's not, even if his color is really cool.

5. Breeders Clubs. If the breeders clubs and awards matter to you, you should be aware that an unevenly bred horse won't show up on the leaderboards unless it's 3+ generations minimum ("lined"). I'm not 100% sure this is the case but I think so. Otherwise it would be unfair to 2nd gen horses to compete with horses who are 2nd gen on one side and 3rd gen on the other, and unfair to the uneven horse to compete with higher gen horses.

6. The best equivalent I can think of in real horses is inbreeding. While inbreeding siblings is mostly OK here in the game, there's a pretty heavy stigma against uneven horses for all of the above reasons.




So, what to do instead of breeding your 3rd gen stallion (or someone else's 3rd gen stallion) to a bunch of foundation mares?

1. Keep a weather eye on auctions and sales. This is the BEST way to pick up good mares. Those of us who have been playing a while end up with barns full of stock because we're breeding a LOT... which means either buying a bunch of new barns for real money, or unloading stock that is pretty good quality because it's the wrong color for our breeding program or not quiiiiiiiite as good as this other horse... this is especially true of studs. You can often get a color, excellent quality stallion for a few thousand HBs.

2. Be patient. Get a little bit of lined stock started with purchased horses, but by all means, start your own line from scratch. Tattoo them. It's so rewarding to have a good quality, fully lined horse whose pedigree is full of horses you bred yourself. If you want color, decide what you can afford in real money and GMT one stud (caveat emptor... this is highly addictive!), then start working on your foundation band of mares. (Also, make sure the stud is good quality before you GMT him; on HJ2 that means C papered). Pick up good quality foundation mares either by going on a create spree and testing, or get them from Foundation Rescue. Rescue mares are among the highest quality in the game. (Put Player #13 in your search when looking for rescues). It takes a little while to get stock built up this way but it works. Keep an eye on Facebook and the Forum daily for Herd Helpers that go with the color(s) you're breeding for. Cull mares who aren't putting out quality. Oh, and put them in your pasture! The pastures are putting out fabulous quality, if you leave the mares in there long-term.

3. Ask! You'll find that people in this game are ENORMOUSLY helpful and generous. If you put a post on the forum saying "I'm breeding for brown tobianos, does anyone have any stock/straws that they might lend? Here's the mare/stallion I want to breed to." You'll be surprised at how much response you get. Especially if you are upgraded to the point where you can use the advanced breeding facilities -- most of us are happy to sell straws at cost to a new player (especially if you agree to breed evenly and responsibly *wink*), and this is a great way to get some color into your herd.

I hope that helps! If I can offer a hand with your stock, or any questions, I'm player #382, just send a message. Happy breeding!