Question 1: How do I know what horse to get?
Answer: Okay, some people do just buy horses for their color, significance, or looks. But most buy them for the uses based on their stats. If you want a good jumper, train for speed and strength. For a good draft horse, train for strength and endurance. To get a good racer, train for speed and endurance. For a good dressage horse, train for conformation and keep it groomed! An example is below, the Racking Horse, which has high conformation, good for dressage. Check library for other breed information. (Sorry it's blurry!)
Question 2: How do I get that horse?
Answer: You can whisper a horse for $50,000 at the horse whisperer (more on that to come), you can pay in real money for a pawneer order, which customizes a horse for you, you can post ads and trade with a player for that horse, or you can check the auctions frequently. Be patient in looking!
Question 3: What's the limit on having horses?
Answer: If you're not a member, 5 is the maximum. When you're a member, you can buy a ranch, buy a barn for your ranch, and hold more horses.
Question 4: How do I look at other people's horses?
Answer: When you're on the same space as another player, click the ? next to their name. It will first show their profile, so scroll down, and their horses are at the bottom. Click a horse's name to see them. If they are marked TRADING, they are for sale. If you want to view their other horses, scroll down again and click another name. You can also by clicking PLAYERS in the middle of the page and looking alphabetically at their names, you can click another ?.
Question 5: What is a companion?
Answer: A companion is an animal that raises your horses' stats. You can one companion at a time. Cheaper companions help your horse less than expensive ones. Foals, the second best companion, never grow up and cost $165,000. They're found in pet stores on many isles. Some you can find on the ground. Geckos, butterflies, and rats can be found by walking.
Below is an example of a foal companion, the Piebald.
Question 6: Do I need to take care of my horse? If so, how?
Answer: You do need to take care of your horses, and it's not too hard once you get the hang of it. There are some blue bars if you scroll down a bit. These are the basic stats for your horse, including health, hunger, thirst, mood, energy, groom, and shoes.
If the health is down, visit a doctor. (It's the building with the red + on it).
If your horse is hungry, visit a red barn or go to the feed store to get hay, oats, apples, carrots, etc. You can also bale hay for free if you have a pitchfork. Then view your horse and click FEED, clicking what you want them to eat.
Thirst can be quenched at a pond, though your horse may get sick and its health will go down. You can also buy buckets of water at a feed store.
For mood, treats and apples will make it rise. So will petting, but then they lose energy.
Energy can only come back from a visit to the barn. Barn visits will also feed and water your horses.
Your horse can be groomed at the TRIM shop, will a scissors symbol on the front.
You can shod your horse at the farrier, a long building with a horse shoe on it. There are two types of shoes; take your pick! (psst... steel is better than iron!)
Question 7: Where do you find tack? How do you put it on?
Answer: Visit a tack shop to buy tack. It will be labeled GEAR. Visit the library to see fancy tack and which one is best, but as a new player, just buy the cheapest you can find. Put it on a horse by clicking TACK when viewing a horse and selecting the pieces.
Hope this answers some basic questions; we know, that's what we call basic? There's a lot to learn, but everyone gets it eventually.
