Linking horse jumps

[Twinmum]

I must be missing something because I can't for the life of me link two jumps together. I've bought and placed one down in the direction I want and according to the in-game lesson, all I then need to do is grab a second jump and the first one will highlight where I can place the next one to join them yet even if I place the first jump in the middle of the block, nothing highlights when I pick up the second one.

[MaryMarsh]

They're fussy rascals to be sure.

Are you trying to line up the beginner jumps or the advanced jumps?

If you're attempting to line of the advanced jumps, and presuming you're going to use two rows of jumps, try placing them parallel rather then sequentially. In other words, place the first two jumps in each row, then place the second two jumps, and finally the third pair of jumps. Also, make dead sure there's nothing in the way, like a vegetable and ensure your horse is not engaged with any of the jumps. If any Sim is in the process of making a jump you won't be able to position subsequent jumps.

Beyond that the best advice I can give is to be patient and stay with it. There's much about the Pets expansion that's not ready for prime time, placing the jumps is one of them. I think it would have been better to plot the entire course off a cornerstone jump. Once that cornerstone is placed the course is laid out and we simply drop the others onto the designated spots.

[Twinmum]

Beginner jumps and advanced jumps? That's where I was going wrong. I didn't realize there was a difference, I just assumed you could link them all and the horse will either jump and clear it, jump and hit it or outright refuse, depending on it's jumping skill. At the training center, I thought all the jumps were linked in one course.
I bought another beginner jump and now they will link.
Thanks Mary

[MaryMarsh]

Yup, there's a huge distinction between beginner and advanced jumps beyond height alone. Horses will only trot over the beginner jumps while they will gallop over the advanced jumps.

It's easy to train a horses jumping skill to level-10 on the beginner jumps, but they will not improve their racing skill. Normally, I start my horses on the advanced jumps at level-8. They can begin at lower levels, but they'll knock the barriers down and I'm too lazy to dismount to pick them up, so level-8 works best for me.

Also, the fact that the game tracks poor jumps and perfect jumps is probably an important point. I've a sense that poor jumps count against a horses agility, while perfect jumps count toward it. Therefore, trying to force a horse over the advanced jumps too soon is likely counterproductive.