Horse social motive

[graceling]

Hello everyone,

I've recently been playing my brother's copy of the game (with Ambitions, Generations and Pets installed), and I've had terrible trouble keeping horses' social motive up - to the extent that all of my sim-family's three horses were taken away by the adoption agency because one bottomed out his social!  Even having my sims fussing over them didn't seem to keep the bar up very high for very long, and I wondered if I'm missing something obvious?

On a side note, after playing in Twinbrook I noticed the Esplanade on the riverbank can trap horses which, presumably, walk down the steps but not back up. Moving rocks and trees in Edit Town mode didn't seem to help, but eventually the horse drifts through the wall backwards and shuffles home in reverse. Has anyone either experienced this themselves (proving, hopefully, that I'm not an entirely neglectful sim-horse caretaker) or successfully blocked off the Esplanade to pets?

Many thanks,
graceling

[saltpastillen]

It's been a while since I played with a horse but if I remember correctly having horses interact with other horses is one of the best ways to keep their  social motive up. Also, other pets such as dogs and cats can also do social interactions with the horses to keep them happy.

I have no answer to the horses getting stuck thing. Sorry.

[Mahmeya]

Best way to keep pet social bar up is having 2 or more pets. In one of my families I had started with dog and horse. They quickly became friends and interact with each other frequently if left to free will. Since that time I have 2 more horses and at this point I don't worry at all - they constantly sniff, chase or otherwise interact. Friendly and Playful traits will also make sure your pets will be spending more time together.
If a sim or pet gets stuck, just use resetsim cheat unless you're playing a challenge or something where this may be prohibited. They'll be teleported home.

[graceling]

Thank you both, that was very helpful  After trying for several days to get the three horses back from the adoption agency, I eventually caved and let my horsewoman sim buy another from the Equestrian Centre, and the new horse's social motive seems not to drop as quickly. Maybe I'm just not cut out for more than one at a time!