HGG Community Forums

1) Technically, yes, they do count. But talking to us makes a difference. :) Since I'm usually the one that goes after the rule-breakers, knowing that you're taking a "do over" rather than just randomly opening and closing account after account after account makes a difference. Now, if you *keep* doing it and end up with like 8 accounts, I likely won't be quite so friendly. ;)

I believe all the salary goes to the open account.

2) The lottery winnings are completely random. No one stable is going to get it any more frequently than any other. Having won it won't impact your future odds of winning again, one way or the other. To have never won it won't matter either.

3) Once or twice is no big deal. If a horse had trained in one style for several game years, then switching out would be a bad idea because all that went into stats the horse won't use if you change his discipline. But one week isn't going to make that big of a difference in the long run.

As to game play, I wouldn't even bother with stallions in a young stable. There are lots up for public stud very cheaply. (Just be sure to make sure to read the owner's notes so you don't accidentally annoy someone.)

Using public stallions your first few seasons gives you a nice mix of lines. If you use only your own stallion, then all your foals end up related to each other. (Or you have a lot of stalls ate up by stallions standing around when you could have solid show horses making you money.) The smartest player won't bother creating.... go find some foundations up for sale by the foundation rescue. (Search for horses for sale by player id number 13). They won't be fancy colors, but they will be good breeding horses if they are being sold as a mare or a stallion. They cost the same as a create for the most part, but unlike a random create, they are guaranteed to be good whereas you can drop 2500 on a random create and have them be a total junker. Creating is more fun, but it's also a grand way to burn through all your cash in a heartbeat and not have much to show for it when you're done.

So I'd say pick up a few mares from the foundation rescue to start off your herd. There's nothing wrong with plain to get your started, you'll find plenty of fancy looking stallions up for stud to cross them to. In the long run, quality horses will do you far more good than flashy horses. Both is nice, but as a new player, it's hard to get both right from the start.

Show horses are a very good idea in this game - they make you the money. Geldings and spayed mares do a bit better than the same horse if it was a stallion or mare. Not that breeding stock can't make you money too, but if all else is the same, the edge goes to the geldings and spayed horses. So don't dump a foal just because it gets spayed or gelded by the free testing options. They could make you a good bit of money. (Speaking as someone who stalks the sales boards for show horse yearlings - some of my best money makers were ones people "threw out" because they got spayed or gelded.)

Hope that helps!

I would run the stallions through gelding advice. Charlie might decide they won't make good sires. Or, you could just go ahead and geld them any way and see how they do as show horses. All three of them have pretty decent opening scores, I think. I've seen starting scores as low as -1, at least.

Remember that horses can be shown twice each week. Placement in Level 1 classes, which are small and have a short range of scores, owes more to luck than anything else. You can show them again this week, to see if their scores are relatively stable, then I would probably not show them until after they get to Level 2 Local. If they are average foundations for showing they should gain about 3 points each week when they are trained. As soon as they level up into Level 2 local, continue to train them for two weeks without showing them, then show them in the third week. Send me a PM if you'd like my help evaluating them at that point, and I'll be glad to help made a decision.

Ah, ok. I was wondering why it would be better to geld show horses. I thought if they were better all around, wouldn’t you want to breed more of that? But what you say makes sense.

SandyCreek Acres, thanks for the game plan! I certainly will do that. One question though, where do I find the opening score you mentioned? Is that the number under the records tab?

Thanks!

Yes, it is on the records tab. It is the last column on the right. It will be the score shown for the earliest show entered in Level 1. If the horse was trained before showing it will be slightly higher than the base score, of course. You can get an accurate base score estimate by showing foals about 4 times before they start training, if you want. They don't begin training until they are 2, but there's not much point in showing them much before they do begin.