Here's my two-cents worth as a SH ratings breeder with multiple horses on the All Breed Leaderboard (ABLB). Also rubs hands gleefully because I LOVE the technical aspects of ratings breeding
Is there a specific age that is the best time to breed horses. Like should I wait for my horses to be older and fully trained or see how they perform in shows? Curious on the general consensus.
As Gem stated above, a higher training level does not equate to a stronger horse or foals. All foals are born as strong as they are ever going to be due to Random Factor(RF). RF is the roulette wheel computer algorithm that is spun every time a foal is bred. The number the algorithm lands on determines how strong the horse is and what ratings it has. Nobody but Eve (game owner), knows how the algorithm works - hence the name, Random Factor. There is a wide range to RF, so not all horses with the same ratings are equally strong. Ex: You might have two EEE horses, but one is a weak EEE that barely avoided being a PPP and the other a strong EEE that almost made WWW.
Possible ratings, from weakest to strongest, are: Sub-Par, Average, Superb, Premium, Elite, and World Class.
Show performance does not influence foal production. It's just a money maker for your stable.
Horses can breed from 3-17 years old. They have a gradually increasing chance of dying from the age of 19. Horses age 1 year per real-life month, as that is equal to 1 game year.
Showing up on the ratings leaderboards is a combination of the parent's innate strength and the strength of their foals. A mare has to have 3 foals to show up on a ratings LB. These foals are generally bred between 3-5 years (now possible at 4yo due to 2 embryos per game year) so breeders know ASAP if a horse is going to make the LB.
Stallions can debut on a LB at 3yo. They have to have at least 10 foals, at least one of which has to be live cover bred instead of straws.
When matching breedings, I see people mark down training progress. Since some ppl track 7 or 12 weeks, what info am I trying to look at here. Like why do you need to look at multiple weeks that have passed when you can see which bars are weaker currently?
Tracking training is essential for ratings breeding. Training tells you what traits are stronger and weaker. The six traits are Movement, Intelligence, Heart, Scope, Speed, & Strength. Mv, Int, & Str are the traits associated with the dressage rating. Hrt, Spd, & Str are the traits associated with the Cross-country rating. Hrt, Scp, & Spd are the traits associated with the Jumping rating.
Wks 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, & 12 are the most significant as these weeks usualy give a good indication of strengths and weaknesses. I
How does breeding for ratings work. Like do you want to pair high rating to low or high to high. Is it an average? Is it mostly random? Can ExE ever throw a W combo?
Breeding is not quite as random as RF might imply. Breeding strong horses and matching well is also important.
Is it possible to be successful/on the leaderboards without inbreeding? Like I dont mind some inbreeding if its further off the front page of pedigree or like great great grandparents but I really prefer to stay away from inbreeding.
Morning Rain, with Cooling Temps Later
