HGG Community Forums

Don't ever apologize for asking questions. This is an extremely complex and life-like game and takes a while to learn. I watched my daughter play for 8 months before daring to start for myself. We are also a very friendly community and are always willing to lend a helping hand to new players. It may take a little while, but someone will always be glad to answer specific questions.

1. About levels and topping (or leveling) off. There are eight showing levels and each level has four grades. The levels are (1) Inhand, (2) Green under Saddle, (3) Green over Fences, (4) Training, (5) C Level, (6) B Level, (7) A Level, and (8) Grand Prix. The grades within each level are Local, Regional, National, and World. Horses start with the Local grade in each successive level and progress through World before leveling up to the next level. How far a horse progresses depends on it training potential. Horses progress by being trained weekly and gain a number of points per training that varies according to a pattern hidden in their background program. We can surmise that pattern, but only Ammit knows for sure, because, as the game's creator and owner, she can see the programming. After Level 1, Inhand, most level-grades cover about 10 points and it takes most horses a few weeks to work through them. Levels and grades are referred to by Number and initial letter, 5L, 4N, etc., or by name Green US (2) R. When a horse has pretty much stopped gaining a significant amount, it will say "Leveled Off" on its page. It will still gain a minute amount with each training, but it will take months and months and months for it to gain enough to level up to the next grade. Most horses will level off approximate when they reach the age that is equal to their PT (training potential) score. However, those with PT scores above 11 generally slow down in the amount they gain well before that point.

2. Horses are assigned as Hunters or Jumpers randomly and it makes no difference to their performance or to their breeding suitability. I've never done a project to see if breeding hunters to hunters will yield only hunters, though. It really doesn't seem to affect much. However, once a horse has started training in one discipline, it is wisest to let it continue in that one. If you change a horse that has trained up to 3L as a hunter and then change it to a jumper, it's score will revert to the beginning, and it will lose all the advantages it has gained to that point. If you want to have all hunters or all jumpers, just go to the Control tab on the horse's page when it is first created or born and set it to what you prefer. This will not affect the horse at all except by determining which classes it will be entered in.

3. Generally speaking, over time, it is wise to build up your showing horses over your breeding stock, since neuters have a slight training advantage. However, there is no reason for not showing breeding stock, and many do. I do, and there are always a reasonable number of intact horses in my top profitable horse list. The generally advised ratio is 3:1 in favor of neuters.

Ammit recently revised the showing system in favor of awarding a bonus for the showing points of our horses over the original one of high entry fees and high payouts for winning. This is making it most beneficial to show every horse twice a week, whether it is in a place for making a profit or not, because every horse in a show, except the one that comes in last, gains points and still will add to the weekly bonus. Since she has started this system, my weekly profits have been negative, but my weekly showing bonus has been greater than the profits, so that I come out ahead. And generally speaking the points and bonus have been steadily increasing, although losing 49 older horses to the grim reaper at roll-over this game year, did have a negative effect. I am confident that my stable will recover, due in large part to its size and wide range of the horses' ages and points gathered.

I believe all foals inherit their sire's discipline. Or at least that's what I've noticed with my own horses. I'm not sure if changing a horse's discipline as a foal does them any harm or not - sometimes the starting score seems to go up and sometimes down, or else it's inconsistency that I'm seeing.

Thanks all :)