The Sims 3: Pets expansion pack introduced a wealth of content for virtual pet enthusiasts, with horses standing out as a particularly deep and engaging addition. This guide delves into the essential aspects of horse ownership, from basic care and skill development to career progression and competitive events within the game. Whether you’re a seasoned Simmer or new to the franchise, this comprehensive overview will equip you with the knowledge to become a successful virtual equestrian.
Acquiring Your First Horse
There are several avenues for bringing a horse into your Sim’s life. For those starting a new game, the most straightforward method is to create a horse directly within the Create-a-Pet interface alongside your Sims. This allows you to select traits that can enhance gameplay, such as “Agile” for jumping, “Fast” for racing, and “Genius” for quicker skill acquisition. The game also provides a small monetary bonus for each created horse to help cover initial care expenses.
Alternatively, horses can be obtained through various in-game actions:
- Adoption: Utilize the phone, computer, or newspaper to adopt a horse for free.
- Befriending Wild Horses: This method requires significant patience, as you’ll need to build a relationship with wild horses before they can be brought home.
- Purchase at the Equestrian Center: Directly buy a horse from the Equestrian Center.
Essential Horse Care
Horses have six primary needs, four of which mirror those of Sims: Hunger, Bladder, Energy, and Social. The two unique needs are Exercise and Thirst. Maintaining a horse’s Exercise need is crucial and can be fulfilled through various activities, including riding and allowing them free time to gallop. Thirst is managed by ensuring a trough of water is always available, alongside a salt lick. Horses are provided with hay in their stables for sustenance.
Regular grooming is also vital for a horse’s well-being and mood. Clicking on a horse reveals a “Care” button, which allows Sims to clean hooves and brush the horse daily. These actions provide positive moodlets for the horse and contribute to building a stronger relationship. Engaging in “Friendly” and “Affectionate” social interactions further strengthens this bond. Additionally, “Reinforcement” socials play a key role in unlocking additional traits that Sims desire in their equine companions.
While some players may prefer to keep their horses on their Sim’s home lot, stabling horses at the Equestrian Center is a viable and sometimes necessary option, particularly for Simmers playing with apartment dwellers.
Preventing and Experiencing Horse Demise
While horses can pass away from old age, other potential hazards exist within the game. Reports indicate that horses can play a role in saving Sims from death, an event that appears to be independent of the “Lucky” trait. Though rare, extreme events like fires and meteor showers can also result in a horse’s demise. The game even features a ghost foal, Glint Singleton 2.0, suggesting that such tragic ends can occur.
Expanding Your Equine Family
Horse breeding is a feature that allows for the continuation of your stable. When a male and female adult horse have a sufficient relationship level, the “Try For Foal” romantic social becomes available. After a gestation period of a few days, the mare will give birth to a foal. Foals mature into adult horses in approximately five days on the Normal lifespan setting. It is essential to keep mares and foals in close proximity to prevent negative moodlets for both.
Alternatively, Sims can take a mare to the Equestrian Center to breed with a stallion for a fee. Conversely, owning a stallion allows Sims to offer stud services to other players for a fee.
Developing the Riding Skill
Mounting an adult horse and selecting “Go For a Ride” initiates the development of the Riding skill. As with other Sims skills, reaching higher levels in Riding unlocks new interactions and abilities, such as “Gallop.” Furthermore, specific Riding skill levels are prerequisites for entering various competition brackets and for taming wild horses.
A strategic tip for maximizing profits when selling horses involves developing their skills before sale. There is a significant correlation between a horse’s skill points in Jumping and Racing and its market value. To optimize efficiency, Sims can prioritize skilling in Jumping first, as the “Runs the Jumping Course” activity also contributes to the Racing skill. This allows for simultaneous skill progression, much like the Inventing and Martial Arts skills.
Learn more about the Riding, Jumping, and Racing skills here.
Optimal Traits for Sims and Horses
For Sims, several traits significantly enhance the equestrian experience:
- Ambitious: A solid all-around trait that benefits most Sims.
- Friendly: Facilitates easier relationship building with all Sims and pets.
- Equestrian: The most crucial trait for horse enthusiasts, greatly speeding up relationship development with horses.
- Loves the Outdoors: Essential for Sims who will spend considerable time outside with their horses.
- Lucky: While its direct impact on racing success is uncertain, it can’t hurt.
Horses and Unicorns share the same trait system. You can explore Pet Traits in detail here.
Related Lifetime Wishes
The “Jockey” is the primary horse-related Lifetime Wish in The Sims 3: Pets. To achieve this, Sims must max out their Riding skill and earn $40,000 Simoleons from their horses through various activities like racing, sales, and stud services.
Horses, much like Sims, can receive wishes. Fulfilling these wishes and maintaining a high mood meter for horses is essential for accumulating happiness points. These points can then be used to purchase rewards from a special in-game store, enhancing the horse’s life and experience.
Horse Breeds and Customization
While The Sims 3: Pets features various horse breeds, their in-game impact is minimal. Breeds do not affect sale prices, and once a horse is in the game, its breed is not explicitly indicated. However, players have extensive customization options. Within the “Edit Saddle” mode, Sims can alter a horse’s colors, body features, and accessories. The genetics of the parent horses will influence the appearance of foals, but ultimately, players can mold their horses to their exact aesthetic preferences. This level of customization extends to cats and dogs as well.
Wild Horses and Unicorns
Befriending wild horses requires a Riding skill level of 8 to mount and transport them. Building a relationship is key to their adoption. Unicorns are a unique case, requiring no riding skill to invite. To befriend them, Sims need to have three best friends and display a fondness for large animals and other Sims. You can learn more about Unicorns here.
The Horseman Career and Equestrian Center Competitions
The “Horseman” career becomes available once a Sim reaches level 1 in the Riding skill. Sims can then register for this self-employment career at City Hall. The sole metric for advancement in this career is money earned. Success hinges on participating in competitions and leveraging horse-related income streams like sales and stud services.
Competitions are a dynamic and enjoyable aspect of horse gameplay, conducted within the Equestrian Center’s “rabbit-hole” environment. Sims with sufficient Riding skill can enter the Beginner brackets for racing, jumping, and cross-country events. Higher Racing skill levels unlock access to Advanced and International brackets. Competitions typically commence in the afternoon on weekdays and at noon on weekends. Upon entering the Equestrian Center mounted on their horse, Sims engage in races, with their progress visualized on a popup screen. Winnings are awarded based on the finishing position.
The depth and breadth of the horse-related content in The Sims 3: Pets have been widely praised, offering a significant and rewarding gameplay experience for players.
