You are welcome to ask questions on the Question & Answer board at any time.
1. How do I create a horse?
Firstly, think about the horses you would like to own & breed in the game. While we encourage and support owning the rarer breeds-think about what your chosen breed can show in and its opportunities. Example: You want Akhal Tekes. While there may not be an Akhal Teke association, Akhal Tekes are very capable of doing disciplines like eventing and dressage, which are commonly found in HF. You will need to make some choices about your horse, e.g. name, age, breed, height, sire x dam, and disciplines. In HF, we do recommend having realistic horses; for instance, no horses sired by Cigar. He’s sterile and has never produced a foal. Once you have made up your mind on the kind of horse you’d like to have, you need to submit a registration application post in the Mandatory Registry with the form found on the forum. You are allowed to begin playing and showing your horses once the post has been made. Don’t forget to write down, or type, your horse’s information into either a notepad file, a word document, or excel.
2. Why wasn’t my establishment approved?
HF no longer actively approves establishments as we expect members to maintain a personal standard. You will post your establishment here so it will be officially recognized.
Some hints:
1. Make sure you have disclaimers on ALL pages.
2. Make sure it’s not hard to navigate, and doesn’t have broken links.
3. What’s the deal with money in HF?
Members may keep track of their finances if they wish, though in HF as a whole, we have removed money requirements. Many members still award purses in races, etc. for individual horse earnings records.
4. How do I move up member levels?
Simply complete the requirements for the level you’re at. Then PM one of the officers, tell them what you’ve accomplished. Then you’re promoted!
5. So, what’s the deal with all-sim?
Points for allsim don’t count here in HF. You MAY list them on your horse’s pages, but they MUST clearly indicate they are not HF records. You’re welcome to use stallions & mares outside of HF provided the gestation & aging follows HF’s rules. We encourage and fully support involvement in all-sim, provided things are kept legal & separate where applicable.
6. What about pictures?
We encourage and allow people to use pictures of real-life horses. However, this comes with a few caveats. You should DEFINITELY try and ask permission to use the pictures you find. You also need to right click, and click on “Save As” to your OWN computer. Do NOT direct link, aka hotlink. This costs the original owner of the picture money and will get the game and yourself in trouble. Be gracious and ask permission with a mature, nice email whenever possible. We cannot stress both of these points enough. If you hotlink, there’s a good chance of you getting suspended from the game. You can use Google or another image search engine to find your pictures. You’re also welcome to use your own personal photos.
7. How do the vet, farrier, and feed stores work?
These are simply a few of the many establishments you can own. You don’t need to pass any tests, or be “qualified” to own these businesses. We do ask you educate yourself on whatever it is your business is about, if you don’t know already. For instance, if you’re going to be a farrier, know some information on shoeing, hooves, and pricing for that service. Feel free to research this on the ‘net. You’ll also notice that not everyone uses a farrier, feed store, or a vet on a regular basis. Some of the members have a VERY large amount of horses (think 80+)-this makes it tedious, nearly impossible, and difficult to fill out forms and such for EVERY horse they own. In the case of someone in this situation, they may choose to be their own vet, farrier, or feed store.
8. How relaxed/realistic is HF?
We’re a pretty laidback bunch, provided you follow the rules and use common sense. We’re not strict on the level of HTML you have-only that your pages are easy to read and navigate. If you need some time off from the game, feel free, but make sure you let us know on the Away board. If you’re redoing a layout, don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of time. Just be reasonable and use common sense in HF and you’ll be fine. As for realism, we don’t appreciate someone showing their English Pleasure horse in a working hunter class (FYI, English Pleasure is a saddleseat class). Nor do we want to see a son of War Admiral – he passed away a long time ago. Grand Prix dressage horses shouldn’t be cutting cattle. Race horses shouldn’t show in anything else but halter. Again, common sense is your best friend. Just be reasonable.
9. How does breeding work?
If you’re breeding your own stallion and your own mare together, you can simply make a document (In word, excel, notepad, etc) that says something like:
On April 10th, bred Glitter (Arab Stallion) to Marshmallow (Paint Mare). Due to foal May 10th. May 10th, produced a filly, named Chocolate, bay tobiano.
Then you’d make up the information about the foal. Remember to have the foal’s color to be possible from the parents (here is a great resource for color possibilities). Then post the foal’s registration into the mandatory registry.
You’d do the same by breeding to an outside stallion or mare – but first you must contact the stallion’s owner and ask if you may breed your mare to their stallions. You’ll pay a stud fee, set a breeding date, and the foal will be born a month from then, at which point you should register the foal.
10. You have a Sim Pedigree Database?
HF saw a need for a simple and easily searchable database that preserves horse’s information, that everyone will have access to. This is a sim member-driven database, and the more members who add horses the better it will be. HF’s Proboards forum has been in existence since 2003 (the game since 1997!), so our longevity is established and do not plan to go anywhere. Our longevity has made us appreciate access to information of our past, and realize the importance of securing the information of our future. Hopefully we can make this something enjoyable to everyone for years to come.
We simply wanted to provide an outlet for everyone by hosting a pedigree database, and hosting the database on the forum was a suitable solution instead of hiring a developer and maintaining a PHP website one. We do not claim to be an ASPD (All-Sim Pedigree Database) replacement, simply an option for researchers in the absence of the ASPD with no strings attached. Plus, maintenance and backup is Proboards responsibility, so no more crashes or disappearing! The ease of adding horses and participation flexibility is still there, with the additional bonus of the individual horse’s history being preserved as each post is made.
11. Will HF ever ask me for real life money?
Absolutely not – HF has never asked members for money, and never will. The administrator owns the domain privately and maintains the hosting and site by personal choice. If anyone claiming to be from HF is asking for money, you should contact the Officers immediately as this is not legitimate and you are being scammed.
Should members choose to exchange real money among themselves, such as with goods or services, this should be done privately and 100% NO AFFILIATION WITH HF. HF will have no responsibility for or obligation to any currency transactions done among members.
Disclaimer of liability: The material and information contained on this website is for a fictional game, and general information purposes only. You should not rely upon the material or information on the website as a basis for making any business, legal, or other decisions.
Horses Forever (HF) makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such material is therefore strictly at your own risk. Any real currency transactions made between persons is considered wholly separate from Horses Forever, who bears no responsibility for any such transactions.
Have other questions? Post in the Q & A forum, and someone will try and answer your question!
Finally, don’t forget to introduce yourself! You might include your name, age, interests, what you’ll own/breed in HF, your RL horses, SIM experience, and Instant Messenger information. Don’t forget to register for the forum! Then you can update your profile so people can contact you. If proboards doesn’t send you your registration confirmation, check your bulk or junk mail folder.