My Horse Ranch/Breeding Program

[MaryMarsh]

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.

Ralinth ... thank you so very much!!! Welcome to the forum and good luck with your ranch.

I used to play with aging on, but I become quite invested in my Sims and it depresses me terribly when they die. My last Sim, with whom I'd worked all the way through Private Investigator, DNA Forensic Analysis, Leader of the Free World professions, and with whom I'd achieved all the Martial Arts components, died when she was struck by a comet. I had deathflower seeds, but I'd never planted them  Her house was a totally gorgeous George W. Marston House-inspired Craftsman 2-story bungalow. I was so torn over her death that I quit playing for over a month.

[Metropolis Man]

I was so torn over her death that I quit playing for over a month.

Wow. That's heavy. Did it occur to you to just exit the game without saving?

[MaryMarsh]

Wow. That's heavy. Did it occur to you to just exit the game without saving?

Yup, and I do save often. But dead is dead. There're no do overs in real life and I don't play the game that way either.

If you hadn't noticed, I try to play as realistic a game as possible. That's one reason my current farmhouse is located as is -- front and rear entrances far away from active areas to minimize dust infiltration into the house. There's even a mud room just off the rear entrance. My actual game play is the same--I don't use cheats (except for the initial capitalization of the farm) and I don't pursue unrealistic opportunities/challenges (I actually have opportunities turned off at present). It's another reason I eschew things like unicorns and don't invite rodents and other critters onto the farm. But that's just me.

[Lesleyxxx]

Well I think it's amazing how much you're achieving with your ranch and how much you're inspiring everyone else. I think you're an amazing person for sharing all this with us. I'm really looking forward to having a better go at ranch myself once I get my sim-handling skills up a bit better. I'm finding I'm bored with the normal jobs now though. So I'm off to find out if it's possible to get a job on a horse ranch or in the equestrian centre. I want my sim to spend time with horses on a daily basis while developing a bit and finding a mate, then starting a family. Then once i can handle that well enough I'm hoping I can move them into the ranch and play that out properly. Well that's my dream anyway. Small steps to get there.  No more trying to run and jump before I can walk.

One question: if you play with aging off, what cheat is it that ages them the next step when you do want it to happen? [if you'd rather not clutter this thread with it can you please message me?]  Ta

[AnnDruvez]

Here's a question for you.... If you have gotten both the male and female horse to reach the Racing Champion and Jumping Star statuses, is the foal worth more than if just one parent has reached that point? Or, does each bonus only apply once?

[AriaGirl77]

Hey Mary!  Thanks so much for bringing such inspiration to the forum in regards to horse ranching!

I've started my own little ranch and I've got some pretty mixed horses.  My problem is that I can't seem to part with them as foals, so I wait until they grow up, and then train them, and THEN sometimes I sell them.  Of course, that takes quite a bit of time so I haven't had that many of them!  Have you done much of this?  And if you have, what's the difference in price between a foal and a trained horse?  When I wait until they're grown and trained they sell for between 10,000-18,000 per horse.  I guess I"m trying to find out if it's worth waiting or if it's better to just sell the foals?

[Joria]

I'm lost! Hopelessly lost!  Head over heels in love and now am wondering what I can do next.  First of all my first thoughts were, "hmm, this is cool I'll get a horse or two, or three, or......".  Decided it would be a wild horse first for the challenge of actually making friends with one in hopes of getting a unicorn.  Got my horse.  Here she is, my darling Caro, (I'm going to re-name her Desdemona):





I have no idea what "breed" she is but she is absolutely beautiful and my bff.  I will never sell her.  I turned aging off because I cannot face the possibility of her dying.

Ok, that worked so my next thought was, "that was fun wonder if I can get the other really pretty horse?"  So I did.  Here is Pintura:  (name suggestions would be appreciated)





I noticed Pintura is very close to elder so decided ok, one nice ride off to the horse place and she gets sold.  Pintura thinks she can run like the wind.  She is also my best friend.  We got there and that's where I got lost.  I could NOT sell her!  I tried, honestly I tried.  But at the last minute I cancelled it and went home riding on my beautiful painted pony, crying my eyes out.

This does NOT bode well for business!  So, no horse ranch for me.  Instead, I am going to build a wildlife rescue facility with horses as my main focus but other breeds, as found, as well.  Our family is large enough and rich enough they can care for them all.  Here in Oregon we've had quite a few problems with people having too many animals they can't care for.  The picture of a horse with hooves so long they are growing up into her legs and she is unable to walk is heartbreaking.  (She's ok now.)  I am not rich, and I AM handicapped and too old, so in real life I can't take in mustangs, Chincoteague ponies or anything other than our small pets.  But in Sims I can!  So I'll probably call on you for help in organizing and remodeling my ranch to suite the needs of a large facility that will take in, love and care for, and hopefully be able to sell the wild horses roaming around AP.

Pintura and Caro are both very small.  Pintura seems a bit sturdier/stockier than Caro and has a much different shape to her beautiful face.  I have not changed them in CAS at all except I did make Caro's coat a shade blacker.  What is your closest guess as to their lineage?  Caro is fast and Pintura likes to jump.

By the way,  your spread is amazing.  You are quite a fabulous builder as well as a great breeder.

[MaryMarsh]

One question: if you play with aging off, what cheat is it that ages them the next step when you do want it to happen? [if you'd rather not clutter this thread with it can you please message me?]  Ta

Lesley ... 

1. Type SHIFT-CONTROL-C. this will get you into the console (screen darker, and a dark blue bar at the top)
2. Type testingcheatsenabled true, then ENTER
3. SHIFT-Left Click on the Sim you want to age up
4. Select Trigger Age Up

[MaryMarsh]

Here's a question for you.... If you have gotten both the male and female horse to reach the Racing Champion and Jumping Star statuses, is the foal worth more than if just one parent has reached that point? Or, does each bonus only apply once?

I think so, but I'm not entirely sure. My foal who's parents are double champions won't be sold and I've you to breed the two horses back to one another. That said, I presume there will be a bonus.

[MaryMarsh]

Joria ... Your horses are terrific. Even though I've never owned one, I do have a fondness for Painted Horses -- especially ones I've seen that have been bred back to Thoroughbreds and Arabians. They can be quite striking.

I'm also an animal lover. I've rescued any number of dogs. My favorite was an old Sheltie-Lab mix I snatched from a busy intersection. She lived only a few more years, but she was a terrific companion and terribly loyal.

There's no way really determining 'breed' in Sim 3 Pets. The designation of Breed in CAS is for making limited conformation and coloring changes. That said, I've tried to develop a line of horses that closely resembled the Arabian breed standard -- small muzzle, dished face, long arching neck, flat rump, and large intelligent eyes. Also, Arabians should not have spots or excessively high white stockings or too much white on the face. Occasionally the game will give me a foal that doesn't  fit the standard and I adopt them out rather than selling. This isn't necessary, but in my pretend Sim world it's the appropriate thing to do. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I'm silly, but I'm doing my best to play my ranch like the real deal.

Ranching is most definitely the best thing EA ever came up with. I'm having a blast.

[simlishlol]

One question: if you play with aging off, what cheat is it that ages them the next step when you do want it to happen? [if you'd rather not clutter this thread with it can you please message me?]  Ta

Another way (for sims at least) is to give them birthday cake, which can be found in the build/outdoors section, or can be bought at the grocery store.

[MaryMarsh]

I've started my own little ranch and I've got some pretty mixed horses.  My problem is that I can't seem to part with them as foals, so I wait until they grow up, and then train them, and THEN sometimes I sell them.  Of course, that takes quite a bit of time so I haven't had that many of them!  Have you done much of this?  And if you have, what's the difference in price between a foal and a trained horse?  When I wait until they're grown and trained they sell for between 10,000-18,000 per horse.  I guess I"m trying to find out if it's worth waiting or if it's better to just sell the foals?

Aria ... normally, I train my foals so they're level-10 in both jumping and racing before selling. This also gets them the FAST and AGILE traits (though most of my foals are born with these owing to their parents). I also work with the babies to get BFF status, which usually nets me the OBEDIENT trait. Horses with more positive traits sell for more.

Before my Sim was married, it was not cost effective to train both skills up to 10, but now I can have either Abbie or Clint running the jumps or race course while the other is tending to chores or at the Equestrian Center doing competitions.

[MaryMarsh]

Saracen Arabian Farm has expanded yet again. Our newest facility is a dedicated breeding center. The three-stall barn is setup with corales adjacent to each stall. With the stallion in the middle corale, it's an easy task to put him with one of the mares on either side of him. With gates locked and human sims out of the way, the breeding process is much simpler.

The residence/barn is a modern take on a Cape Code-inspired Victorian, with Turret, bay window, and gables. The bottom floor is split-leveled, with three horse stalls, office, parlor, bathroom, laundry room, dining room, central staircase, and island kitchen. The 2nd floor has two bedrooms, two baths, and an exercise area. The first-floor office is in the turret; thus, while working on farm breeding records my Sim will still have a very good view of the horses.

The photo, below, shows the overall lot.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

The photo, below, shows the residence/barn from the front.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

The last photo shows a clearer view of the stall arrangement and how the breeding corales are configured.


By marylcmarsh at 2011-10-26

Saracen Arabian Farm currently owns the community lot as a horse ranch; however, when Abbie and Clint's daughter is old enough, she will move onto the lot and will manage all breeding operations. It is our intent to eventually move three of Scenic's female offspring to the facility as broodmares. We are in the process of acquiring a second Arabian stallion that will be trained and who will compete in racing and jumping. At the appropriate time, he will be moved to the breeding facility with the mares. This facility will provide the capability to carry on Scenic's bloodline.

[AriaGirl77]

Ok, I think I'm still missing something.  You train your foals before they age up to adult??  How do you do that without being able to ride them?  Mine are all born with the untrained trait, and with no way to ride them I can't get rid of that until they age up?  Or is there some other way?  I do the reinforce option each time it comes up. 

Again, I am probably totally missing something.

And as far as skills go, the tab for skills doesn't show anything until they age up to adult, right?  But once they age up the skills appear, usually starting out pretty high if they're the "children" of highly skilled horses.

[MaryMarsh]

You are correct. I have three broodmares that are perpetually pregnant. With room for only two foals at a time I'm compelled to trigger aging manually. I usually do this about the time one or the other of my Sims achieves BFF status with the foal. I understand this is something of a cheat, but the limitation of having only six horses per lot is unrealistic for any player interested in simulating a serious breeding operation.