Author Topic: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program  (Read 325488 times)

MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #120 on: October 25, 2011, 12:08:41 PM »
Thank you, Wevee. As a long-time player, I've learned to never go near fire without an extinguisher handy. I love the extinguishers (bought in Egypt, France, and China -- or via the Buydebug cheat in Buy mode) because they will auto-extinguish your Sim immediatly without you having to do anything.

Offline Lesleyxxx

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #121 on: October 25, 2011, 12:40:33 PM »
On a sad note I think I'm going to have to suspend my ranching exploits for a while.  I think I need to train myself in handling multiple sims?  My second go at horse ranching is actually going worse than the first.  I'm fighting with my sim to get her to look after the horses and the ranch instead of just wandering around trying to ride everything. Plus the horses are all racing around increasing their racing skills without a rider.

So I'm going to retire gracefully and go try playing a few of families in Apaloosa [sp?], starting with a family of 2 and gradually working up to many. Developing my ability to handle more sims will hopefully help and allow me to enjoy the challenge instead of just struggling.

I will still be following this thread with interest and I will be back, that's a promise.



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Offline slpc04

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #122 on: October 25, 2011, 12:58:57 PM »
Hi Mary,

Any idea how long it takes from training ( Jumping/Racing ) for the horse to become fatigue? Im always plagued with the Pet Fatigue moodlet, sometimes it has a timer on the moodlet, which is about 6 hours and sometimes none, which means I don't know how long the moodlet lasts in which I will reload the game. Please help!

Offline Joria

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #123 on: October 25, 2011, 02:04:34 PM »
I've been following this thread for quite awhile now and have some observations, comments and questions:

1.  Blogging is all very well and good but what we need for OUR group is not a bunch of separate blogs, which can take quite a bit of time to navigate to and read, but a thread just for you ranchers out there to share your stories, progress and inspirations.  Please, Admins!  Add a new special area to the "Share Your Stories" section for Pets with a subheading for Horse Ranching.

2.  Someone needs to gather up all these words of wisdom Mary has shared and post them in a logically well ordered post with no comments and questions from us, her fans.  Just the facts and pictures.

3.  Mary you have managed to peak the interest of so many of us, myself included.  Thank you so much.  I feel like I've had an entire course in horse raising and ranching just from reading this thread!

QUESTIONS: (that not only myself but some newbies might have)

I would like to create a horse, and other pets, in CAS but I have my small family already started.  How do I go into CAS, without having to unselect my family, to create a new pet?  I don't want to adopt.

I have adopted a black, wild horse who is the loveliest thing.  How do I find out what sex it is?  It's rather obvious in rl!

How much space do you really need to have a viable ranch?

What if all you want to do is have a couple of horses/unicorns as pets, how much space do you really need for them?

What is the smallest size lot possible for a ranch or just a few horses?

Does a barn HAVE to be two stories high? 

I've noticed some barns are open on one side and not totally enclosed.  Is this the best way to have a barn for a single horse or two or would an enclosed barn work?

What about foundations under a barn?  I would imagine you would have to build on a slope or build a ramp, right?

What is the best flooring for a barn?  (Mine is terrain paint dried grass to look like straw bedding)

Do you have to have those post things and a lot of run around room on your property for your horse, or can you just train at the training facility?

Comment:  If Pets was more like RL, we could raise a horse like the fabulous Secretariat, (r.i.p.), who held back till the very last minute and then blazed several furlongs ahead to win pretty near every race he ran.  I wish the races were viewable and that it wasn't a rabbit hole!  There is nothing lovelier than watching a field of horses racing.

What?  Grannies can't play games?
I speak perfect Nooblik, (and some Simlish)!

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Offline Lesleyxxx

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #124 on: October 25, 2011, 02:48:02 PM »
I can only answer 2 of your questions so here goes:

Yes an enclosed barn works fine too, so long as you allow a good amount of turning space for the horses. They cannot turn on the spot like sims can. The barn doors I've seen are 2 floor size and will not fit a single floor.

Yes you can have a single floor barn if you want.  The way I did was by using the stalls and walling around 3 sides, then manually roofing it [auto roof won't work it].  This actually uses the entrance side of the stalls as the 4th side.

I absolutely agree and vote for a whole thread devoted exclusively for the info on horse ranching, amalgamating all the info MaryMarsh has given us in this thread. There will be a lot of people to learn and lot to enrich their game from reading it.


MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #125 on: October 25, 2011, 03:00:47 PM »
Joria ... thank you so very much!

1. My blog isn't informative concerning the game; it's nothing but a fanciful blog about a fictitious ranch -- the kind of thing I might do if I had a real horse ranch.

2. Thank you again. I'm afraid I have rambled more than a little.

3. I've been in love with horses -- all horses -- since I was a little snip.

4. With a preexisting family I don't know of a way you can go into CAS and create a new pet. It's possible to go into Edit Town and create a new family (with a pet), then merge that family with the other. In fact, I did that with my Sim's husband and his horse.

5. Not sure. I'd be guided by the animal's original name, if he had one.

6. You don't need anymore space than what is required for a box stall and enough additional room for the horse to move around to get in and out of the box stall. I should think a 5x5 area plus box stall would be sufficient for one horse.

7. See #6. You'll need that much for each horse/unicorn.

8. See # 6.

9. Horses will not enter through a pedestrian doorway -- they will only enter through the barn doors/passageways which require a second story.

10. I have built both open and enclosed barns (where stalls and stall doors are on the inside). I prefer the open style, where stalls are exposed on at least one side because the horses haven't as far to travel to be outside. Also, for woohoo'ing, horses need some maneuver room to get to the stall or they tend to block one another and the Try for Foal icon times out. Horses need exercise and they will gallop on their own if possible. A locked barn is probably too restrictive. The simplest solution is simply to put your stall outside, with no barn whatsoever.

11. I've built barns with and without foundations (see my example of a split-level barn in my first post in this thread). I prefer having my stalls at ground level, so it's easiest to not use foundations. Horses will not go up stairways. I'm currently designing a large veterinary facility that will have an area for small animals in the basement level, stalls and a surgical area on ground level for large animals, and an upstairs (2nd floor) for a laboratory and lounge space for the medical personnel. The lot will be designated as a hospital, where my current Sim's daughter will work.

12. I prefer terrain paint. In real life most stalls have dirt or composit flooring. Horse urine will rot wooden floors very quickly. Hard-surfaced substrates are iffy because horses can slip and fall in a confined surface and may not be able to get up. The reason horses seldom lie down to sleep is because their intestines twist easily and that spells death. Note that when they do get down to sleep, they're still in a somewhat upright position. There was a very famous Arabian stallion who got himself stuck on his back in a stall and he died overnight. Hard-surfaced stalls require a lot of bedding, usually wood shavings. Straw is NOT a good bedding material for horses because it is not as absorbant.

13. Yes, you need the twin pylons for racing. However, horses can max their racing skill while training on the advanced jump obstacles, it simply takes longer. As has been said previously, you can get away with one pair of pylons, or two, three, or four. An area with four pylons simply looks more natural when the horse is training.

14. Absolutely! I've tried to make my stallion, Scenic, like him. Instead of competing in advanced races for his Racehorse Champion component, I only entered him in international races. It took a bit longer, but I feel like he's a better horse for it (in my mind anyway  ;D )

Welcome to the fold, Joria. I am far and away having more fun with my Equestrian Sim than anything else I've ever done. Unlike all the others, my Sims and their ranch have taken on a life of their own ... and if you'll allow me to run full circle, that's part of what the blog is about.  

MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #126 on: October 25, 2011, 03:09:13 PM »
Any idea how long it takes from training ( Jumping/Racing ) for the horse to become fatigue? Im always plagued with the Pet Fatigue moodlet, sometimes it has a timer on the moodlet, which is about 6 hours and sometimes none, which means I don't know how long the moodlet lasts in which I will reload the game. Please help!

I can't answer that question competently. It depends on your horse's level of endurance and the quality of their sleep and possibly any moodlets that they begin exercise with. Once your horse achieves the 'Endurance Equine' component of the Racing skill, it will not get fatigued at all from training.



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Offline Blackluck

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #127 on: October 25, 2011, 04:19:26 PM »
Couple things:
The gender of the horse is on the same tab as their age (it's a symbol.)

To add a horse to an existing family, go into CAS. Select a pre existing SIM, select the desired pet (in this case a horse, of course) then choose/edit your desired breed. After that merge the horse with your family (he or she will also add 15K to the household.)

And thank you, Mary, for your earlier feedback.

Offline simfulicious

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #128 on: October 25, 2011, 04:38:40 PM »
Bad news... I needed to uninstall/reinstall my games and so I will have to start my farm over.  Don't worry, I will still be using the same type of horses, etc. and the blog will still be the same...I just wanted you to know because the offspring could end up different.

MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #129 on: October 25, 2011, 05:51:00 PM »
Saracen Arabian Farm has Expanded Again

Saracen Arabian Farm's world-class trainers can now train in a state-of-the-art facility. Besides an international-level jumping course, the facility features a grandstand for clients, prospective clients, and visitors. Modern mens and womens restrooms are located under the grandstand. The facility also includes a 3-stall barn, party pavillion, and ample parking. The new property is located directly across the road from Saracen Arabian Farm's main facility and ranch house.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-25

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Technically, this is what I did:

1. Bulldozed and built up the lot to specifications for International training
2. Converted the property from Residential to Horse Ranch
3. Purchased the lot for 52K

Saracen Arabian Farms now comprises the following properties:

1. Original lot
2. Equestrian Center, which nets over 13K weekly
3. Appaloosa County Hunt Club, which nets over 5K weekly
4. Horse Farm expansion #1, which nets about 10K weekly
5. Horse Farm expansion #2, which nets about 10K weekly

Our next major expansion will include a 50x50 lot immediately adjacent to the International Training Facility. This will be our most energetic expansion, which will be an advanced veterinary hospital on three levels. The basement level will include complete medical facilities for small animals, the ground-floor level will be designated for large animals, and the upper level will include a laboratory and lounge for hospital personnel. This lot will be designated as a hospital. The hospital will serve all of Appaloosa County and outlying areas. We expect it to double our current revenue.

At present we are concentrating on taking Havivi (one of our broodmares) to the Jumping Star level. This is being done exclusively by Abbie's husband, Clint, who's working toward his Horseman's Profession mastery and completion of his Jockey LTW.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-25

mrphotochalupas

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #130 on: October 25, 2011, 09:34:56 PM »
For some reason my horse won't gain any more racing skill. It's pretty much all the way on level 4 so almost to level 5.  The jumping skill is maxed out and even though I have racing poles and click train for racing with the horse, it won't go up. I also tried it with the rider which had riding skill level of 10 but it won't go up. you said you maxed both your skills out. Do I have to compete in a certain amount of races at the equestrian center? Please help. Thanks in advance!

MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #131 on: October 25, 2011, 11:17:59 PM »
There's another thread that answers this problem. If you have the Fountain of Youth or Spellbook on your lot, get rid of them.

I hope I got that right. I don't use custom or premium content; so, I wasn't paying that much attention to the thread.

Offline simfulicious

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #132 on: October 26, 2011, 06:44:42 AM »
The Fountain of Youth and magic book don't need to be on the lot to cause problems, they actually have to be removed from the game in the launcher if you are having this problem.  Also apparently the Uber toilet and the wind chimes.  I had the problem a few days ago and this fixed it, along with clearing out all of the caches.

MaryMarsh

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #133 on: October 26, 2011, 10:19:01 AM »
Meet Caliope


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

Caliope is Saracen Arabian Farm's landmark foal. She is the 30th foal born on the farm and she is Havivi's first foal since Havivi attained Jumping Star status. Caliope is also the daughter of Scenic, who is a Racing Champion and Jumping Star. Since both of Caliope's parents have achieved Champion status she is our most valuable foal to date.

Caliope will not be sold; instead, she will become the foundation mare on our next expansion lot.

In preparation for another kind of expansion, we have enlarged the main farmhouse by adding a second floor. The house now features four bedrooms, five baths, and a large multipurpose room where family members can pursue other interests. On the rear of the house there's also a huge second-story balcony where outdoor-loving family members can oversee farm happenings while relaxing.

The photo, below, shows a good depiction of the farm's current expanse, with the new International training area in the middle lower right. To the left is our promenade-style barn (a part of our first expansion), and in the upper left is our newly renovated farm house and the original barn. Fore and aft chimneys are for fireplaces in the main family room and upstairs master bedroom.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

The next photo, below, shows the rear of the farmhouse, where the second-floor balcony is clearly visible. A portion of the original barn can be seen in the lower right. Scenic and Havivi can be seen grazing in the breeding pen.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

Our next expansion will be the lot to the immediate left of the International training facility. It will include an all-in-one residence and barn, where living quarters are located upstairs.

Ralinth

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Re: My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program
« Reply #134 on: October 26, 2011, 11:48:48 AM »
I just have to say Mary, this thread is amazing. The thought you have put into all this made me start my own horse ranch. I left the aging on tho so it will take a little while longer to achieve what you have but, goals to shoot for. Keep up the amazing work and keep us updated.