Post by Sapphire VenderMarwe on Feb 5, 2015 20:35:51 GMT 2
Abilities, Stats, Training and Traits.
What are Abilities?
Abilities are developed through training, they are what the horse has to give them either improvement or lower their chances in either a race or show.
What are Stats?
Stats are what your horses levels are in certain things e.g. Jumping 5/10 , left lead 2/10. These are improved via training. They can also be improved by entering either training or schooling shows.
What is Training?
Training is the way you improve your horse to enter in races or competitions. These go towards your Stats.
What are Traits?
Traits add up to your horses personality and what they are as a horse, they give your horse character. They also get passed on to thier offspring.
How do abilities work?
Abilities work in a very simple way, they are determined depending on the discipline/s your horse/s is/are.
Every horse will start of with all their abilities at nothing. To earn abilities you need to improve your stats through training, this grants you with an ability e.g loves jumping, hates jumping in the center, hates long tracks, bears, strong left lead etc..... It can continue on and on.
So once you have improved a stat you can earn several abilities. Please do note there is a maximum of 4 abilities. e.g Jump training level 10 = Loves to jump, Left leg level 10 = Strong L. Lead OR Left lead.
There are many abilities however, if your horse has all their stats to 10 then the abilities will be random generated.
Abilities for Racers:
- Frontrunner
- grit (spirit at 10): head-to-head in the stretch
- hates climbing: jump horses, mount platform
- hates descending: jump horses, descend from platform
- hates dust (front - 0): be right behind another horse (getting dirt kicked at you)
- hates jump centers: jump horses
- hates jump edges: jump horses
- hates the rear (rear-red): have another horse at your tail
- home turn leader (last corner leader): be in 1st coming off the last turn
- instant response: whip or windmill without driving
- last to first: be in last and whip to take the lead
- Likes Left turns (left lead-10)/hates left (left lead-0): stay on Right lead entering a left turn
- likes right turns (right lead-10)/hates right (right lead-0): stay on left lead entering a right turn
- likes pack/hates pack (boxed-0): horses on all 4 sides
- likes fast pace (fast-10)/ hates fast pace (fast-0): auto-trigger
- likes slow pace (slow-10)/hates slow (slow-0): auto-trigger
- likes close races (spirit-10)/hates close (spirit-0): similar to Grit
- likes rough (soft-10)/hates rough (soft-0): auto. Likes: horse does not lose speed on "off" tracks, hates: horse greatly loses speed on "off" tracks
- likes jumping/hates jumping : jump horses, auto trigger
- likes landing/hates landing: jump horses, auto trigger on jumps big enough to need controlled landing
- Loses Will Easily (Focus-0): auto, loses motivation if horse moves to the lead too soon
- pack split: come from between horses driving or whip
- Persistency
- Second Wind (fade-10):
- Solo Runner: 10+ lengths in lead, alone
- spurt (spurt-10): suddenly come from behind
- Start Dash (start-10)/Slow Start (start-0): Perfect Start
- stretch burst: be behind, but near the front, and driving/whipping in the stretch
- Stubborn (excitable-0): auto, horse tends to not obey jockey
- Sturdy (Tough-10)/Delicate (tough-0): impact another horse
- well balanced: Auto
- Whip: Whip at the break
Stats For Racers:
- Obedience
- Spurt
- Power
- Soft
- Fast Pace
- Spirit
- Fade
- Tough
- Start
- Slow Pace
- Focus
- Drift Left
- Drift Right
- Left Lead
- Right Lead
- Front
- Rear
- Excitable
- Boxed
Equine Traits
Left-brained horse behaviors:
- dominant
- brave
- confident
- calm
- tolerant
Right-brained horse behaviors:
- submissive
- fearful
- not confident
- nervous
- reactive
Introverted horse behaviors:
- low energy
- more “whoa” (a lack of forward momentum)
- slow reactions
- stops often
Extroverted horse behaviors:
- high energy
- more “go” (lots of forward momentum)
- quick reactions
- runs often
Traits in horses must be either from their dam and sire or for foundation horses must be even, e.g you cant have all good traits and no bad ones. However if your horse has all good traits they must contain one vice. You may pick and choose whichever traits you desire, but remember the rules on on picking all the good traits for one horse. To determine what traits the foal will have you must do it to realism as in the mare will be the dominant one for coat, traits and conformation. You must randomly generate up to 4 from the mare and 2 from the sire.
There are a maximum of 6 traits per horse.
Vices
Wood chewing
Wood chewing is a common behavior in horses. Chewing the wood on stalls or fence posts can be frustrating for the horse owner and may cause further problems if the horse swallows splinters or wears their teeth down in the process. Horses who spend abnormal amounts of time chewing wood may be suffering from an unbalanced diet, specifically inadequate forage intake. Increasing the amount of long-stemmed forage (hay or pasture) available, reducing the amount of grain in the diet, offering multiple types of forage (such as adding hay cubes), and feeding more, small meals per day are possible solutions for a horse that chews wood. If a horse will not stop chewing wood, try covering the surface with a material that will not splinter or wear the teeth down (i.e. rubber).
Head shaking
Headshaking is when the horse repetitively shakes its head for no obvious reason. There are many potential causes for headshaking, such as nerve pain, ear mites, dental problems, allergies, or disease. One change that may reduce headshaking is to keep the horse away from flies and out of the sun (another common trigger). There are commercially available nose nets for reducing headshaking while riding. These are thought to be helpful in alleviating nerve pain, and have been proven to reduce the incidence of headshaking.
Rearing
Rearing is a normal play behavior in a herd, but can be quite dangerous when done in the presence of a human. Rearing is often triggered by something specific, such as rein pressure or not wanting to go near a frightening object. If a horse rears, identify the trigger and find a way to work around it safely. A calm and quiet approach is ideal because rearing is generally caused by fear or pain. Responding with negative reinforcement could make the behavior worse. Training the horse to go forward on cue is important in reducing the re occurrence of rearing.
Bucking
Bucking is a normal behavior for horses in a herd. It is used to establish a pecking order. When being ridden, horses may buck because of discomfort in their back from poor saddle fit, an unbalanced rider, or frustration from not being able to move where they want to go. If you have a horse that bucks, make sure that it is not from physical discomfort before assuming it is a behavioral issue. Work with a reputable saddle fitter to help rule out poor saddle fit and a veterinarian to rule out injury.
Separation anxiety
Separation anxiety is when a horse gets stressed (nervous) when separated from other horses. e horse might neigh or scream, and be difficult to handle. When dealing with a horse with separation anxiety, try separating the horse gradually. For example, lead the horse around the pasture before leading them out of the pasture, or take the horse away and bring it back to the pasture repetitively. If you notice a loss of weight in the horse, call your veterinarian.
Weaving
Weaving is a side to side movement of the horse's head and neck which is sometimes accompanied by a lifting and lowering of the feet. Weaving is often caused by the stress of being separated from the herd or being confined to a stall. To reduce the amount of time that a horse spends weaving, increase the time spent out of the stall (i.e. in a paddock or pasture) and allow the horse to see neighboring horses when in the stall. If the horse must be confined to the stall, research has shown that installing a mirror (the mirror must be nonbreakable) will reduce the time spent weaving.
Cribbing and windsucking
Cribbing is a repetitive behavior where the horse places its upper incisors against a horizontal surface, arches its neck, and pulls backwards with its body while making a grunting sound. Windsucking is similar to cribbing, but is done without the horse grasping an object with its teeth. Cribbing horses sometimes have lower gastric pH than normal horses, produce less saliva, have slower pro-cecal transit times and have a greater incidence of stomach ulcers than non-cribbing horses. There is a strong correlation between diet and cribbing (and windsucking). Increasing the amount of long-stemmed forage (hay or pasture) available, reducing the amount of grain in the diet, offering multiple types of forage (such as adding hay cubes), and increasing the number of meals per day are possible solutions for a horse that cribs.
Commercially available crib collars may reduce the frequency of cribbing, but are not intended to solve the cause of cribbing. e use of crib collars may cause an elevation in stress hormones when compared to the stress hormones in a horse that is allowed to crib.
Tail Rubbing
Rhythmically swaying the rear against a fence or stall wall.
Pawing
Digs holes; tips over feeders & waterers; gets leg caught in fence; wears hooves away, loses shoes; most often young horses.
Nodding
A repetitive up and down nodding movement of the head
Box walking,
Circular route tracing within the stable
Vices are not so nice behaviors horses have, although not all horses have vices. Vices although can be good to some, it has been known that cribbing changes behaviors in horses that makes them better in the show ring.