HGG Community Forums

1) it really depends on the horse. What special genes does he have? How highly does he Paper compared to other horses of his generation? How desirable are his genetics? How rare are his genetics? There is no hard and fast rule here. Spending some time in the Horse Search or browsing other stallion ads can help you.

2) a guaranteed straw means you will keep on sending “free” (1hb each since you can’t sell a straw for less) straws until the purchaser gets a foal that passes testing. If they get a foal that fails, they Private Message you with a link to the foal and you send them another straw. Eggs are never guaranteed. Usually people don’t guarantee for color, just passing the tests. Some people will request that any foals that paper below a certain level be snipped even if they do pass (for instance, you might require that any gen 2 foals Paper at least B/Red to stay intact). You keep sending straws (at a 500hb cost to yourself) until they get an intact one. Some people will sell a foal from their own stock if a person is really struggling to get an intact foal. Also some people will only honor the guarantee if you are breeding to a mare with an equivalent paper level. It gets complicated and I don’t think I’ve done a good job answering...

3). I personally only pull straws from my boys in 3 situations. A—I want to use some of their straws myself, for instance, in the embryo lab with eggs I have. B—I’ve sold straws to someone and need to send them out. C—a favorite stallion of mine is getting old enough that he might pass out of the game, so I might stockpile some straws so I can keep on using them. I don’t usually keep straws on hand from my boys as I greatly prefer pasture breeding.

4). Remember the lab is super super super expensive to use. Breeding foals in the lab is much more expensive than pasture breeding or even hand breeding your mares in house or to outside stallions. It is a wonderful option to have, but it’s very easy to spend hundreds of thousands of hbs producing lab foals. As a newer player without a huge cash flow, I’d recommend that you use it sparingly.