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Receiving the achievement Hbs has me feeling better about this new account. I wish there was a way to scroll through the achievements, rather than only seeing three at a time.

I now have enough to get the basic upgrade. Considering I started this account on June 4th, and have only logged on a handful of days, Im further along than when I first started on mesa. Thats a plus.

Something I realized recently is that if you use the "sell back to game" function on the control panel, it deletes the horse from the game and the points go with it. You only make 1000 hbs off those, so it doesn't pay to do it often, but if you're between keeping a bunch of low-pointed horses taking up your stalls or putting them in the auction with the chance someone could bid on them and keep their points counting towards your total, I found it helpful to take the hit.

As of now I would toss at least 13 horses, between points and low pt. I sold one on the forum, so out of 21 horses half arent really worth the stall they take up. Some of the low pt horses have a little better the 500 points, i guess thats something.

I was able to collect on achievements the other day and I felt better about the game. However, Im back to where I was. I sold a horse and did some testing and ended up wishing i hadnt tested anything. Low PTs means a horse will level off sooner. 4 - 8 months and 1/3 of my current horses will have gone as far as they can. Not feeling much show potential there.

I currently hold 95k hbs and have 1,800 daily show bonus. I am a head of were i was when i very first started however im still not finding a way to truly be an active player. I find myself reading other peoples forum posts as i dont have anything to do. I even bought two tack packs and gave my horses back grounds. Now im a sitting duck again.

@FallenShadows714 I can agree with that.

So after a much need day off from work my brain is working a little better lol Ive created more foals and same thing happened, some are decently pointed and some Id rather toss. However tossing still causes loss. Though the achievements pay out more (which i think is great) im now going to throw it down the drain by tossing horses in *hopes* of better pointed creates. Its such a gamble and i dont like that. Maybe new creates could be 500 points minimum?

I find I really dont have anything to do. I can name horses, give them back grounds and enter horses in a show twice a week. I can have it done in 45 mins if i wait to enter second show for the week and take my time to find a background that "matches" the said horse (in my imaginary world).

There have been a couple forum posts ive enjoyed and that was something to kill time. Its a good thing i only log in to this account ever so often, otherwise Id REALLY be bored. Id say its like cement drying, or water boiling however I think both of those things actually go faster than this game. Im still trying to hang in and see just how long this is going to be. Im not sure ill make it though...

@ObsidianKitsune that would be something :)

Though i started my mesa account in Feb Im still feeling very new to hunt and jump, more so on forest because i haven't used any USD. I did on mesa so i could actually play and that account is thriving for now being 5 months old. Im glad i did it too, otherwise i would have turned my back on h&j and not looked back.

On mesa the message recently is massively to "get a show herd" and having it said theres no wrong way to play (if you have an established show herd *which is left out*) are contradictions. And though i want to breed im really put off of it for this account (for now anyway). I dont want to 'do it the wrong way' or start playing a certain way just to have it (the rules that is) change when im half way to achieving my given goal(s), which happened twice in 5 months with my mesa account. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

As im also still doing my best to keep with this account and see what happens, ive been scrolling through the forum. There is a post for show ponies for a story in the contests and give aways section. If thats still going ill write a story to help my show herd. That was a surprising and pleasant find for me. At the same time i dont want to acquire pointed horses until ive created what i can so i dont have to worry about the points. Double sided issues there/here.

Speaking of a show herd i went through my barn and did some quick math. With all horses ive created over half of them have under 500 points. That isnt really encouraging me to 'create a show herd'. If anything i feel like holding off until i find herd helpers that are horses i want, and thatll cause this process to go even slower. Another bummer.

Reading through some other player 'new account experience' it seems some players have spent USD and it helped their barn massively. Buying the $2 basic for 3 months is a fantastic deal if you can spend the money. It also allows for a player to use the hbs more efficiently to start up. I didnt buy the upgrade and used achievement payouts to get it.

Im currently at 2,520 daily show bonus and others are over 3k or even 5k. So whatever the difference is im experiencing slower progression. As im still a bit new all around Im still learning a lot about selling horses. And this points thing has really messed with me because before the cap i had no problem selling horses and what not to achieve this or that with my mesa account. Now, here on forest, im finding i very much feel like selling is a lot less of an option. The only way i see around the selling issue is if im trading etc for a better horse than what i have.

I think part of what makes H&J such a great game is that you're focused more on the long game rather than instant gratification. All those horses with ~500 points have that many points now, but if you've been using Exceptionally Perfect herd helpers to create them, and then altering them, that 10.4 pt will build up to a bunch of points within a few months. Investing in IVs when you have the spare cash instead of buying every pretty lined horse you find will let you eventually get some GMTs and create your dream foundation. I think the community does a great job at expressing this, but I think it might be helpful if the game had little reminders about that stuff. I've seen other posts where people have discussed adding more achievements, and I think "buy an IV," "buy a GMT," "use a GMT," etc would be really beneficial.

Ok so ive been seeing stuff about the new accounts and im so confused. If this barn can do well, id like to keep it. I guess time will tell if the rules are changing, again...

When it comes to selling RS horses, I like to check if any other horses of that rank are for sale, and what their asking price is, to give me some idea as to what to price mine at. For instance, I sold my Rootbeer Float for 80k. I would not have known to price it that high, if it wasn't for others having listed theirs that high.

As im creating the new herd helper im wishing there was a little more interaction with the horses. Not like everyday grooming etc but maybe a feature that allows a player to see a horse (maybe max 3 horses) grazing in pasture? Something like a small 1 min sims clip? A player can choose their favorite horse and see them come to life, in a way. Of course i have no idea of what this would consist of to make or all the variables. Maybe it could be a feature for players to purchase? I dont want to spend RL money for this account, however i would buy this feature!

That's actually the one thing for me that sets HaJ apart from all the other horse games out there I've tried: it has an academic feel, instead of a "video game" feel. Not that the immediate reward of video games isn't fun, but the long-term reward for persistence has an entirely different feel, almost like I'm conducting science experiments and getting to see the outcome over time. I adore it. It's definitely not for everyone, though, and part of why it has a steeper learning curve. I guess that's part of the trade-off.

I was able to get a few horses from auction. That was fun.

Along some lines i havent commented on;
I think the new points alert when breeding is very helpful. At the same time i feel like horses who have been sold maybe shouldnt count against our total points. I dont think thatll change, just my thoughts.

When i was completing achievements i noticed some would show up and were already completed. Maybe achievements can have their own section/page? Itd be much easier knowing i completed an achievement and could collect from it rather than waiting for it to show up.

I feel the forum doesnt get enough attention. When i first started (on mesa) i didnt use the forum other than to complete an achievement and didnt do anything beyond that for some time. It also took a while before i was comfortable visiting the forum. Established players get a far better experience with the forum. Here on forest its kind of the same. I know its there however i just read posts in a couple sections. I really cant afford much so i feel like the forum isnt for me.

Its a little hard to look at the game as if i were completely new. I remember a lot of "whats this for" and "bummer i cant do/use that" thoughts when i first started. After playing for 5 months its a bit automatic for me to know where to go to find x y z as well as whatnot to bother with since i dont have premium.

I will say that sometimes going through selecting "Must not have" on sooo many genes can take some time in the horse search lol. Especially for the phantom and ice genes, a button at the top to do it all would be great. However there is a "Hide fantasy horses" button on the first tab with the genders. It makes scrolling through the search a lot quicker.

Thanks. I sent you 2 Brand New Day straws and 75k.

Thank goodness I have some experience from playing on mesa. This is very much a side barn and I'm doing my best not to get ahead of myself here. I have a show Barn started and I'm breeding show horses/auction foals. I'm not creating much. I really want to build my show herd.

The pan chats are a really neat feature!

I stopped playing hunt and jump for a few months and I didn't think I'd come back because how busy life was. However I've come back and shortly after life hit hard with my mom being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Everything is a rollercoaster. Horses have been a huge part of my life and for the last five yrs I've not had equines in my life and hunt and jump has allowed me to have horses, in a sense.

Reading the newsletter today I know I'm not alone. And I'm not the only one who uses hunt and jump as a comfort. No matter my feelings before I left the game, I'm grateful this game is a reprieve.

The other day I reread what I posted when I started this account and so much I didn't remember and then there are a few things the same still.

I've noticed that it is intimidating for me on this server. I don't know why. I seem to really stick to myself and read the forum for something to do.

I bred my horses with my Bootstrap stud and auctioned the boys (if I remember correctly) with keeping the ones with 12pt or higher and I'm letting the girls grow up.

I posted on the forum to try to learn about bootstrapping however established bootstrapers haven't shared their wisdom, as of yet.

I come check in here when I just want to take a min and see if anything exciting is going on. I think I still have until next months roll over haha.

I'm taking notes of other players progress and little tid bits about how to play.

Ammit is up to behind the scenes magic! Im excited to see these changes.

I have about half of 1000 stall barn filled with altered horses for my show herd. It has definitely helped my daily payout. I was able to utilize the foundation rescue for show herd horses as well as a player opening a barn up for me to buy horses at create price. Such an amazing help for a new barn building a show herd! I hope to someday pay that kindness forward! Big thanks @ObsidianKitsune!

I was able to finish all achievement tasks, and my main barn is up to 130 stalls.

I have been able to buy a few bootstrap stud colts to breed high PT show horses. And I'm looking into getting high PT mares for the same reason.

I'm beginning to find different genes I like for this account and maybe next month or March I'll be able to start my own line?

I've been having a lot of fun buying show horses! Now I get to go through and tack them up all differently, as it'll be something to do while I let my daily accumulate.

I had players comment on my bootstrapping post, and I'm learning so much. I'm also diving more into the genetics. Doing my own research outside of the game.

I'm eagerly awaiting the new breading season. I'm excited to use straws!

I've been busy building my show herd and had some amazing help from @FollysFantasies and @Obsidiankitune! As well as the Foundation Rescue. Shopping for horses for my show herd was a lot of fun!

I'm cutting my hbs funds low and I'm rather worried about being broke. However to help with this I'm saving for another show barn. My daily payout is currently at 40k.

I have also created era12 mares to use in the new futurity lb. I don't have many studs, and I'm thinking maybe I could take the other approach and use other players studs and breed good show horses.

@Fireflake (another player I'm grateful for and helped me smile) is the only player I've traded straws with and I'm excited for my mushroom babies this season!

I'm also trying to decide on a breed name and all that jazz.

I'm not worried about BA and even breeding for this account anymore. I do have a pretzel twist foundation stud that I hope to create a line for, otherwise I think I'm going to focus on color. There are quite a few real life genes I really like and, with a mix of white genes in the bunch, I should be able to have some amazingly marked horses.

I'm still a bit shy here on forest however I'm improving with time.

Man its hard to believe my mom passed the day after the above post.

So many things have been added recently to the game and it makes it cool to see what other players are doing.

I was trying for the backwards breeders however I am needing a new barn so I can only spend so much in trying and I keep getting 9+ pt horses. It's definitely work to try to get the 0.0 create. Good luck to the players who are able to keep going with it!

I have a bunch of futurity foals that I'm looking forward to breeding.

Life's rough right now and I'm trying to adjust to my new normal. I haven't been doing as much here as I'm saving for a barn. I'm excited to see my foals as two yrs olds.

My mushroom foals have not disappointed me. I really am excited to breed for hom mushroom with white markings and other fanciness.

I have enough horses I'm now going through and altering anything I'm not breeding for (or at least that I think I'm not wanting to breed for).

I am enjoying the updates, mostly on my Mesa account, however I think this account will benefit greatly too. As this account is still very small and I'm not yet to where I can create my own line, I'm glad all these updates will be in place and make things a bit easier for me when I'm ready for all of that.

I like that the tattoos are displayed by the horses name in search and that founded breeds can be passed down. Both are really cool updates.

It's bitter sweet not being able to show my mom the grow ups. Sad because it isn't possible and happy to have the memory of looking at them in the past.

I've come up with my breed name of Neverland. Seems fitting because of family memories and I'm able to own as many horses as I have stables for etc without the cost. I don't dare think about the amount of money I'd have to spend to have thousands of horses.

OK Relatively new to this game and trying to figure out how to get ahead. I have a bunch of Special Mares from the Herd Helpers and some Gold mares that I have acquired or foaled out. I also have some spayed and gelded horses I have bought at auction. I also have kept some blue rated mares. I am trying ot figure out if I am best to spay the blue mares and keep them as show mares or to try to sell them at auction? Recommendations?
Also I really like the chimeras and note they say they have a 50% chance of passing it on but I have bred several of them and the chance of getting a foal with the same trait seems much lower that that. I have bred chimeras to non and to other chimeras with no seeming results.

Thanks for any advice.

@OldCat If you have questions it’s much better to create your own post than to resurrect old threads :)

The best way to “get ahead” in this game is to build your show herd. The more total points you hold, the more money per day you’ll get. That allows you to do everything else. Making money off selling is the occasional boost but the real money comes from a show herd. Some established barns will be taking in 100k-500k+ per day because they have thousands of snipped (spayed/gelded) show ponies.

As for the chimeras, they have a 50/50 chance of passing on either one of their gene sets. The actual chance of getting a chimera offspring is much lower.

Hi Solandis, just wanted to take a moment to thank you for documenting your experience getting started on your Forest account. I'm a new user, and found some of the things you mentioned in your early posts on this thread to be super helpful in creating my own strategy for growing my account!