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Corvus · Jun 16, 2025 1:45 PM

Im kinda at a cross roads here. Im not having fun with the Stallion Futurities or the Era breeding. I have read and listened to all the tricks of getting your stock up there, but I just dont have the account room, HBs (GMTs) or time. Honestly I have no idea how those bigger barns do it ... maxing everything, flushing mares and stallions and the AI breeding ... Ive tried and I have found that I sorta stopped playing all together. At one point was thinking maybe my run with the game had come to an end ... But remebered we dont have to play like everyone else is. Got way to over whelmed. A lot of my account has gone unbred just trying to keep up with those two things, so Ive decided to go back to my basics and stop chasing the Leader Boards.

But ... in saying that I have the Era 18s that I did breed and now Im at a loss on what to do with them. Do I continue breeding them just for the heck of it; its only a few, or do I throw them into the auction and turn their barn in to make room for more show stock and their pasture back to being able to breed my other horses.

When I started the Era I wasn't thinking of my other lines that I have been breeding so they really dont fit into those lines, which is why I kept them separate same with the Futurites foals. I wasn't keeping them for breeding .... just AI Breed, spay/geld and into the show barns. Im outa room now and hit the cap on IV Barns. I can downsize my barns again ... but Im hoping to get back into breeding those lines. Im a colour/pattern breeder ... I like to see the different patterns and the different colours ... the ribbons are nice but to me nothing beats a really cute foal with an outstanding pattern, that has everything that Ive been trying to get. (kinda miss all the glow up posts that there used to be, not as many anymore). Do I spay and geld and go through the show barns and auction off the older ones to make room. I keep everything I breed. If it doesn't go into the breeding barns then it goes into the show barns.

Ive opened their tab ... stared at them ... closed their tab and then rise and repeat.

Im just looking for ideas ... Im not saying anything bad against the Leader boards or the Era Breeding or the Stallion Futurities. Im grateful for all the changes to keep the game going and viable for people who are doing that ... Its me ... nothing about the game ... Im not having fun with it.

ps I did get really excited about the new breed thing ... went and updated all my breed stuff and went through and made sure everyone was where they are suppose to be.

Sorry this was so long ...

annismyrph · Jun 16, 2025 2:28 PM

I ve given up on Era's completely ( and I think I might be one of those "Big Barns" ).. Leaderboards I only bred to you, Cheshire, and the few others who ask me.. more to keep your studs up then to get GMT's myself.. I also ran out of room but was able to finagle 1 last 1k Mondo barn for IV's ( thanks Ammit for giving us the total stall count ). I am fortunate enough to make close to 1mil in dailies so can just get my own GMT's when I want them.. I know some people think I am "cheap" becuase I wont max and boost everything in my barns, but to me it feels like I am cheating my self. It seems like it doesnt matter how good my breedings are doing if all I have to do is Max and Boost them, and Voila they are That Much Better. I would rather actually work to get my lines to that point on their own I guess. So yeah, I am right there with you... back to playing my own way and being happy with it!

bluchrystals · Jun 16, 2025 2:55 PM

I've only bred my BootStrap herd to keep my show abrns full, but hit the leader board often in the Chichilla club until the new updates went through. With everything I breed I have more than enough show foals to keep my daily going. I don't breed for Era or Futurity, only color and superior. I've made a few side breeds to keep things interesting and just because I'm enjoying the new heavy/medium BCs. Play when I can l, and have a mini meltdown when I forget to get my foals from my pastures until last minute! =))

CheshireFarms · Jun 16, 2025 7:15 PM

I've pulled out of doing the Eras and the Furts. It's just too much and I often feel like I regret having changed things up. But I remind myself I wanted to do it because I needed the GMT income. But now I find that I really don't need the GMT's and my show horses make me enough money that I can't even spend it all.

So I say all that to say, I'm getting back to my roots if I'm going to continue to play the game. I did start an Era 19 line, but I'm not going to chase on the board. I've been giving away a lot of my quality horses, or auctioning them off so other people can work on the boards.

Also with the new Eras, they all seem to grow at the same rate, so you'll be in a pool of people all with the same PT or show points. If you breed enough horses you could hit the top for producers, but then you need a lot of breeding's, which means a lot of space being used.

So I'd say just try to make the most use out of show barns, and getting horses that will be able to earn you money. If you make enough in the game, you won't have to worry about the boards, and can just work on your passion projects.

If you can consolidate your eras that will probably help you some. And if you can breed some of your horses into certain Eras, there are some that have room to be competitive in. For example, Era 5 has less than 10k horses, and doesn't seem to be very competitive when my Stallion and mares have been on the top of the boards for a long time now.

I did learn a lot by playing the boards, but I think I just want to apply that knowledge to my projects and ignore the boards.

Ammit · Jun 16, 2025 7:35 PM

Just because those leaderboard options exist does not mean you have to pursue them. And if you do choose to you certainly don't have to do them every time there is a new era. I think that is a big mistake I have seen multiple players making. Just because there is a new start every 6 months doesn't mean you have to start something new every 6 months.

Ammit · Jun 16, 2025 9:32 PM

If you just want to concentrate on creating a strong line the best of breeds board may be for you. You already have multiple ranked breeds and it's mostly based on just having good show stock which you clearly already do. Your breed slowly gains prestige points and ranks over the years, so it is not directly competitive. More just a personal goal to aim for.

annismyrph · Jun 16, 2025 10:54 PM

Not to Hijack the post, but, @Ammit.. what exactly are the "Prestige Points" and what to do they / give?

Ammit · Jun 16, 2025 11:04 PM

It's what you earn on the new leaderboard.

https://bluegrass.horsegeneticsgame.com/clubs.php?bob=y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nUnsJs6mXY&t=2s

MackZ · Jun 16, 2025 11:12 PM

I agree with a lot of your viewpoint. I, too, enjoy seeing a wide variety of patterns and colors in my two main lines. I tried getting into the new stuff when it came out, learned some helpful things, had a little fun, etc, but the fun from all of the new competitive avenues dwindled for me. Personally, I chose to scale back my futurity breeding to a level that would be supportive, but wouldn't overtake the aspects I consistently enjoy or any little side projects I want to try out. My show ponies make enough for me to afford the GMTs I need to max and edit as I like, so I don't need to chase LBs if I don't want to, mostly because of sheer volume in the show barns. Pasture breeding got my numbers up fast!
My suggestion: if you are interested in supporting the futurities, keep a manageable herd of new-era mares, since they can be used to support any older era as well. Any others you have that don't fit your personal breeding goals could be offered for sale on the forum, or just spayed and kept as show ponies.
Another thing I like to do is pull eggs from my favorite, most fun-gene-packed mares, include their era, generation, and paper level in their name, and combine them with straws of fancy compatible studs in the futurities. That way, the foals still fit into my program, I'm supporting the stud owners, and my futurity eligible foals occasionally win some awards with nice little bonus GMTs.

annismyrph · Jun 17, 2025 3:24 AM

@Ammit, yes I saw the list, and I watched the Video, my question is are "Prestige Points" just bragging rights or will they have a value in the game like IV's or GMT's?

Ammit · Jun 17, 2025 4:48 AM

They are to rank up your breed. They are not an in game coin. They are more like super show points.

kgstable · Jun 17, 2025 10:48 AM

I 100% get where you're coming from! I am in NO way a large barn. I've been working on my show horses for years and still don't have as many as I'd like. But I've recently narrowed down what exactly I want to breed! I hardly ever have extra money to spend in the game, so I don't do much in the way of boosting or upgrading with RL$.
It's so easy to just enjoy this game without having to spend money and it's so refreshing. I'd say find the colors/breed/etc. that you enjoy and breed that! I try to reach certain goals every few months with breeding stock. or I'll breed mini lines where I try out different colors and sometimes keep, sometimes don't. Just remember to have fun!
Of course, getting awards is a bonus. But don't overwork trying to get there :)

Corvus · Jun 17, 2025 1:53 PM

Thank you for the help. I mean it, I was seriously stuck on what to do with them, but figure I'll test them against the other stock and integrate what I can in and spay the rest throw them in the show barn.

As for the futurities, I've done them since release and honestly they started off fun but then got to be a job ( To Me) the maxing, boosting, finding mares to flush and AI ... and I only had a small group that I worked with.
When I first started them it was to look at getting other's stock into my lines ... then it just went to breeding everything I had in that Era to then flushing and AI-ing as fast as I could. In saying that I'm not taking down the straws that I have up ... in case someone does want what those stallions offer ... not for futurities, but to actually put their genes in their herds ... (looking at the Breed board, thank you Ammit)

Its not to bash the Leader Board and all the hard work that has been put into it ... but the amount of GMTing and stuff to get on those boards is just not fun for me. So Im gonna go back to only GMTing what I want to keep for my breeding and not GMTing for the boards.

Besides nothing beats a surprise Chimera ... I still love that.

Forestshadow · Jun 17, 2025 5:51 PM

I never was one to chase the leaderboards. To make the list at all was a bonus for me, and in those days I had bred my lines with a normal progression. Even generations, and all the breeding stock had to be superior to their respective parents and pass SBA. Before I took my leave of absence from the game because I was burnt out, I was at the point where my lines were consistently producing Star and Gold in 4th generation, so I was doing good there. I bred for more flashy horses but they still had to meet some criteria. It depended on what sire line they were from, but they still had to pass my basic criteria first. So do what you find fun. Now that I'm back, I'm sticking to my roots. I don't have the money to compete with the big barns so I'm not gonna worry about that. I'm just gonna do what I find to be enjoyable and leave it at that.

paradoxphoenix · Jun 18, 2025 2:09 PM

I only chase the leader boards because it’s what I enjoy specifically. I’ve tried to have lines just for color or just to have nice horses, but I find I quickly loose interest in those lines and prefer to focus on my lines that rank.

It is expensive and time consuming. Absolutely not worthwhile unless you specifically enjoy the competition aspect. If I ever decide I don’t enjoy that and just want to breed pretty ponies, I’ll step away from the boards.

Don’t ruin your game chasing things you don’t enjoy! We need every kind of player here! The ones who chase the leader boards AND the people who just have fun breeding what makes them smile.

Treble · Jun 18, 2025 5:18 PM

I'm a fellow color breeder and get what you're saying. If you need some HBs to get back into it, I can give you some.

Ammit · Jun 18, 2025 11:40 PM

Don’t ruin your game chasing things you don’t enjoy! We need every kind of player here!

100% This!

Competition aspects are something I have been slowly building into the game. Since the game did not have those things before it is natural that people who played here before they were added would often not be the kind of person who loves competition. On the flip side I had a player who was super competitive who quit because I was making the competition more equitable, transparent and available to all. She preferred the old system where should could more easily dominate. Fair enough.

Me expanding the ways for people to play does not mean everyone should participate in all of those things. Me cultivating a strong culture around era and LB competition does not mean everyone will like those things. The era boards are one small part of the leaderboard system. I have been steadily adding a variety of ways to engage with the leaderboard so there isn't just one way to have a strong barn.

Play in a way that brings you joy. All sorts of players are welcome, wanted and good for the game.

Corvus · Jun 19, 2025 8:03 PM

Thank You Ammit
Not gonna lie, I miss the days of going out and scouring for the absolute perfect stallion or mare. I would search for hours through people's Barns, writing down what I was interested in, making sure I had something to offer them back. Made many a friend this way ... many a friend, looking for what gene or color (or body at the time, when light was introduced).

I stopped doing that. I stopped looking at what they looked like and just the APT or the PT.
Too tell you the truth I stopped interacting with other players but the select few that are in our chat room. I didn't need to interact with people anymore ... grab the straws breed as high as you can go and carry on.

So as Im probably not gonna be hitting the LBs any more, I'm good with that. I have a strong show stock that can bring HBs to use on GMTs ... and maybe finally get that 4th or 5th Gen Home bred Chimera ...

Corvus · Jun 20, 2025 8:16 AM

All in all glad I made the decision .... Had the most productive morning in game than Ive had in months :)
(and Shopping ... so much shopping)

paradoxphoenix · Jun 21, 2025 11:36 AM

I have a ton of color going to waste in my barn! Particularly my stallion barn. Feel free to look through them, mares too although I can be a little stingy with those :))

Corvus · Jun 21, 2025 7:19 PM

A shopping I will go ... a shopping i will go ... high ho the dairy o ... a shopping I will go ...
Tell me yah didn't sing that LOL

annismyrph · Jun 22, 2025 3:51 AM

lol yeah i cadanced it

GoldenHeartAcres · Jun 22, 2025 8:04 AM

You’re welcome to see if I have anything that you’d like. I did a revamp of a lot of my stock recently and got a lot stricter on who can keep their goodies, so I have mostly younger generations right now. 175087.

Kintara · Jun 26, 2025 4:57 PM

I do the LBs, at least some of them anyway, I've always bred within Eras so it was an easy transition to chase the Era LBs. I have seasons where I max a heap, and seasons where I don't, and I'm not sure it makes all that much difference. When I have time I do get quite a lot of enjoyment out of doing a heap of comparison testing to find my best horses of a generation, rather than just maxxing. I do have a heap of mares in pasture just to use as ET mares, so that definitely helps, and then I just have to go through them all to find those extra best ones. Can be a challenge to find the right horse to compare them to so I can isolate the best ones. I like a challenge lol! Also other than keeping out most fantasy genes for the newer ears, I also breed for my favourite genes, so my Era horses can be included in all my breeding programs. I don't clone, so I leave all the pretty genes in there!
I love the futurities, as there are so many great horses up for breeding, plus a chance to win gmts! I rarely breed futurity horses just for show horses, I use it as a chance to get some new genetics.
To answer your question on what to do with the newer era horses, I have seasons when I can't compete, but I do try to always breed a few from the new eras so I can pick it back up if I want to. I just let them tick along in the background, and use a few of the maxxed horses are for public breeding. Again I still try and breed for my favourite colours, so era horses always have a place in my herd.
But I am moderately competitive, and enjoy a challenge. I'll spend money when I have it, and find ways around it when I don't (outside stallions, comparison testing etc) as Era breeding can be about strategy rather than just who spend the most. If that's not the sort of thing you enjoy, think about what you do enjoy. Is it breeding your favourite colours, is it developing a new line with a new colour. Is it the new tack options and getting your horses looking nice? There are quite a lot of options in the game now I think, for people that like different things

Humboldt · Jun 27, 2025 5:10 AM

I really only got involved in the ERAs and futurity after the start of Era 17, I had picked up a couple horses and tried breeding. I have done some heavy maxing to stay at the top of the boards but I realized its getting a bit overwhelming, so I am scaling back a bit. I'm trying to figure out what works best for me.

Because I focused so much on the newer ERAs, I did lose a lot of ground with my color lines - like Platinum. There aren't a lot of blinged out Foundations anymore for me to use as cross breeding so I am struggling with how I used to breed my Fantasy lines too. The past couple seasons I haven't been able to clear my pastures in time before they sold back to the game.

Futurity foals have been fun for me because I don't actually know how good my show babies are doing - its a little surprise when I realize that I had foals from a #1 Futurity stud.

I think as the barns get older, we all go through a process of how we want to adjust our breeding and how to play the game. No one way is better, we all just figure out what works best for the each of us.

Corvus · Jun 27, 2025 8:00 PM

Yah I just found that the competitive side is just too time consuming and that my account just wasn't big enough to house everything and my colour lines. I just realized that my color lines that I have been working on the the entire time that I have been playing were more important and interested me more.

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