HGG Community Forums

BlackWyld · Jan 16, 2020 8:57 PM

*Update* Welcome back guys and greetings to anyone new to bootstrapping!
I can’t believe it has been 8 seasons since I originally started this thread. I absolutely love all the input and enthusiasm from everyone so far and would love for us to continue to add and to update this thread and keep it living resource as we grow and as new people delve into the wonderful world of bootstrapping. :x

So please! Check in and let me know how your herds have been doing. *

Hey guys! This is a “gush” thread.

I am really loving how my Bootstrap herd is slowly evolving into something that I think is great. I am super excited about some new up and coming studs, the rising quality of my fillies, and the fun genes I am slowly getting mixed in at higher paper and PT. I am also super thankful for the amazing people here who have been integral in me getting where I am today.
I feel the need to gush and I want you to as well!

I want to hear all about your bootstrap herd/s!
If you don't have one that is okay! Read along and tell me about your favourite breeding lines that you do have.

Tell me where your lines came from!
Shamelessly brag about the amazing players who helped you get your herd started or helped it evolve! Tag them! Let them feel the love! :x

How many studs and mares do you currently have actively breeding? How do you organize them? Tell me about your favourite studs and mares (past and present), the ones you have bred yourself and the ones from other players that have influenced your herd. Show me your up and comers! Let me see them!

Tell me about your breeding goals and strategies! Are you trying for strict quality, only breeding the best of the best, culling anything that is not superior? Are you a PT chaser? What is the highest PT foal you have bred so far? Are you looking to crush the competition on the breeder’s clubs? Show me your club contenders.

How many/what size pastures do you use? Or do you not use pastures at all?

Do you breed for a specific look? Do you have specific gene/colour goals? Are you trying for super flashy show ponies? Or does anything go as long as they surpass their parents? Are you trying for the biggest? Heaviest? Smallest? Lightest?
Do you use boosts?
How do you cull? Do you BA? SBA? Comparison test? AFPT? Do you test/compare the colts differently from the fillies? Do you have a current PT or Paper “cut off” for culling? Do you have a few guilty pleasures that are below your current standard but you can’t bear to cull them? Why?

You don’t have to answer all of these questions. I just want you to gush so I can be as excited about your bootstraps as you are. Share as little as you want or go into depth about your bootstraps and see if you can max out that character cap. Make two posts if you want! Spam me! :D

I love seeing everyone’s different breeding strategies and goals and know I could learn something from each of you. :)

BlackWyld · Jan 16, 2020 8:57 PM

On this account I am currently running two 100 acre pastures for my bootstraps. I have them organized with my “best of the best” in the one pasture and reserve the other for playing with, and introducing, fun and fancy gene combos with the goal of getting some flashier horses that are high enough quality to fit into my “best of the best” pasture.
I used to have it set up with Star/Gold in the one pasture and Star or A/Blue in the other but am now at the point where I am breeding only Star/Gold in both with one or two veeeery special Blue exceptions in the “play” pasture.
Since this account breeds all its even lines for the tallest and heaviest “black” horses, I first intended my BS herd to be a place for me to use as an outlet to play with all bone sizes and colours. It didn’t last long and my breeding goal has evolved to fit my account’s black aesthetic, the taller and heavier the better. I still allow other coloured horses, mainly ones from outside lines, but all my studs are “black” and I will cull any non-black horses if they are not high enough in quality.
I don’t cull too much by height and weight yet, as much of my best stock comes from individuals who breed shorter and lighter than myself so, as much as I would like a thundering herd of gargantuan behemoths, it is a slow and steady process for now.

I am trying to breed for a balance in breeding ability and PT with a slightly higher preference to breeding ability over PT. I SBA all colts. All geldings go straight into the show barn. Colts that pass need to be Star papered, test STS and at least AGA my benchmarks to be considered keepers. Even so, I am very sentimental in my colt selection (as you will see) and will give preference to a colt if it comes from a beloved parent or lineage over another. This has led me to foray into the expensive world of boosting these past seasons. I also recently learned of the joys of “perfect consistency” and now always GMT my keeper colts to be perfectly consistent. Some of the PT jumps that I have seen have been impressive thanks to this little trick. I also try to GMT my keeper colts to their max height and weight to help me reach my size goals. I also will “tweak” my keeper colts to get the best combo of genetics for my current breeding goals from both parents, if I can afford it.
I am still too scared to BA or SBA my fillies so currently only cull by PT and Paper. This is mostly because I am pretty much reverse bootstrapping in my main pasture thanks to the influx of some amazing, high quality mares from other players herds.
I am hoping to eventually get stricter and start comparison testing my fillies against their dams but don’t have the fund base for it yet and I know that most of my fillies won’t compare higher than AGA their dams simply because their dams are higher quality than my studs. This also causes some gorgeous STS colts to pass BA but fail SBA thanks to their mamas.
I will be culling my older mares by AFPT but have not gotten too serious about it yet since I have had such varying quality studs in the past.

I try not to keep any blues although I have a few exceptions in my play pasture that are from some special pairings or that are carrying specific genes that I am trying to introduce. My current PT cut off is around 12.60 with my main pasture almost completely filled with mares that are 13pt or higher.
I have not yet broken that elusive 14pt barrier but do have a 13.90 and a couple 13.80 fillies.
I don’t currently speld any of my culled intact colts or fillies. Instead of throwing them into my show barn I prefer to try to sell them and then throw the rest in auction.
My line carries a ton of Pearl, I did not intend for that to happen really, just so many introduced horses carry it that it seems to be here to stay. The same goes for Sabino 2 and Splash but I will no longer be keeping any studs with Splash once the ones I have age out or are replaced. Most of my horses are at least het for Satin and I would like my entire herd to be hom for it eventually. I love my white spotting, I have tons of W8, a smattering of W3, two of my new studs carry KitM, and even though W10 is my favourite I am having a hard time bringing it into my herd. I have a fair amount of Ice 1 horses, I have some nice Ice 8 mares and am trying to breed more at higher quality. I have also introduced a bit of Ices 9 and 14 to play with and would like to eventually incorporate all the Ices I own licenses for. I love nexus, my het nexus stud recently passed and was not super high quality but I lucked out with a hom nexus boy who, after a boost an a few tweaks, is AGA my current benchmarks and I am champing at the bit to put him to my mares. Thanks to so much DarkStar and Kintara lineage in my stock there is a bunch of KP popping up. I have also started incorporating Splash M and got my license for Watercolour for Christmas so am super excited to see more of both in my herd. I love appy but severely dislike varnish and don’t mind tobiano but am letting only my mares carry both these genes at the moment.

BlackWyld · Jan 16, 2020 8:58 PM

My current boys:

BS BW Valinor StS BiP
I simply adore Valinor! He is the STS son of one of my all-time favourite BS studs, Into the West, who was bred by the amazing @Wildland Acres. I had a couple of fillies of his and, a year ago, gushed to Wildland Acres about how much I adored him and they were kind enough to let me buy him. For a “young” bootstrapper getting a stud like Into the West was game changing. He was the first big boost my BS herd got and I was over the moon when he finally gave me Valinor. His lineage will live on in my herd for many seasons to come.

BS BW Rogue Bold Spice
This boy was a gift from the fantastic @JustaSaddletramp who’s love for her Rouge and Bird lines is very catching and I wanted in! She found me one of her colts that could be GMTed to draft weight and it was love at first site. He was my first stud over 13pt and has been integral in boosting the quality of my herd thanks to the amazing quality of his ancestors.

BS BW Enlightened Pride
Last but certainly not least is this stunning hunka hunka burning love! The fantabulous @Cheers needs no introduction and she was kind enough to lend me Pride’s sire, Split Favor for a season which had very special meaning to me. Now, I can go on about Cheers’ lines all day. I am sure many of us can. I absolutely love her horses but there is one specific stud of hers that I have been working very hard at attaining #1 Fangirl status for and that is the iconic Enlightened Mind . *swoon*
Thanks to the boundless generosity of Cheers Enlightened Mind plays a prominent part on most of my BBA (Black Brindle Army) lines. When I got the chance to incorporate his legacy into my BS herd, through Split Favor, I was fangirl screaming. And when Pride popped up in pasture I almost cried. He became my first boost project, to get him on par with my other two boys, and he has been doing me so proud. I love him so very, very much.

In my secondary or “Play” pasture:

BS BW Cold Heart
I snagged this beauty out of one of the buddy chat sales from @SESstables. Even though he doesn’t have that high of a PT he has been integral in injecting more Ice 8 into my herd.

BS BW Sexy Tourist
I got this stunner off of @HunterUnderSaddleGirl (HUSG! I love you!). I nabbed him to play with injecting more Splash M and some Ice 14 into my herd.

BS BW Lunar Blitz SUP
This gorgeous boy was a lucky pop up in my BS pasture on my WyldWood account. Because he is black he would have been an immediate cull over there but he passed SBA and I could not turn down his hom nexus smexiness so he came over here and is my second big boost project. I only just finished him this past week. He now tests AGA my main pasture boys and I can’t wait to see all the sparkly babies his debut season gives me.

Up and comers:
*Cue Drumroll*

BS BW Aman BiP
This boy! My new benchmark! He is the superior son to my boy, Valinor and will be replacing his sire in the main pasture next season. He is the first big natural jump forward in my herd and I am so excited to see what he brings. Such a culmination of amazing lines!! This guy carries Wildland Acres from his sire, and @DinaChill from both his parents. Almost all of my best mares come from DinaChill stock and their outstanding horses are the reason I am pretty much “reverse bootstrapping”. DC, I adore your horses and all the kindness you have shown me. Thank you!!! On his dam’s side he carries more amazing DC blood from his multi champion granddam and Kintara blood (I have been secretly worshiping @Kintara’s horses for many moons.) from an amazing stud, A4B 11G 2786105 who HUSG was kind enough to lease to me for a couple of seasons. That boy topped the fantasy breeder’s charts while I had him and gave me many amazing fillies. I was sad to not get a keeper colt directly from him but his grandson Aman more than makes up for it. He is what dreams are made of! :x

BS BW Rouge Aurora Sorbet
Isn’t he just scrumptious?! Another glorious mix of champion JustaSaddletramp, DinaChill, and HUSG/Kintara stock. My first WC bootstrap stud! Pardon while I wipe up the drool!

Fillies of note:

BS BW 3610011
This DinaChill girl has been probably the biggest influence in my BS herd. Nobody tops her for me. She has been leaderboard champion multiple times. She is the most amazing, highest quality BS mare I have ever owned! DC, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the honour of owning her. :x

BS BW DC BS3610001
Another DinaChill mare and multi-champion. She is a very close second to the lady above.

My highest PT homebred daughters of BS BW 3610011:

BS BW 4865426 AGA
Was a colt and tested superior to all studs in the barn. I couldn’t GMT him tall or heavy enough so I changed to mare and she tested AGA her dam. The best homebred filly I currently own.

FLUSH BS BW 4343740

FLUSHBS BW 4865300

I want to also give a nod to a couple of people with bootstrap herds that deserve to be mentioned but I did not have space for above.
@LallyHop, I know you are not as active as you used to be but I have always adored your horses. I am so glad to have some of their influence smattered throughout my herd.
@pfrsue, I fall more and more in love with your herd every day! You breed beautiful horses of surpassing quality, I love carrying the legacy of some of your amazing studs in my fillies and I can’t wait to see what my horses from you bring into my herd.
@DarkStar, although my barn is too young to have known you when you were able to be more active, I only know you from your influence that lives on in the pedigrees of so many of my horses. I thank you for breeding the forefathers and mothers of so many amazing horses.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 17, 2020 5:03 AM

I just loved reading about your bootstraps!

In fact, I just love bootstraps in general. So much so that they're the only project I have for now. I only discovered this great game a few months ago, and after looking around for a bit, I figured I could have a lot of fun doing bootstrap breeding while at the same time using the offspring to slowly build up an effective show herd.

I love the look and temperament of cobs in real life, so I have decided to make them my aim for this game. I prefer to use all cob studs, the shorter and heavier the better, as I am incorporating many warmblood, draft and pony mares who fall within a certain height/weight range. I will eventually cull my fillies on this once the numbers are up, but so far this has been an amazing help getting quality as top cobs seem hard to find compared to some other shapes.

So far I've BAd only the colts, I'm not particularly strict on the fillies yet and I'm still thinking on how I would eventually cull them. I've been culling older mares on production but eventually I'll get to the point where my pastures won't have room to keep all the fillies.

I like most sorts of interesting 'shiny' colors (apart from fantasy) and while I don't want all my horses to look the same, I am slowly trying to incorporate this so that eventually everyone will have their bit of shine and all sorts of interesting matches may result. I won't cull solely for color but it can be the tie-breaker, and I imagine myself becoming more selective as I continue. Some of my favorites which are established in my herd are tobiano and KP, then have a smattering of white m and I love me some white 8 (which I'd love to have more of!). I also enjoy sooty+ and appaloosa. Thanks to @BlackWyld letting me use the gorgeous Rogue Bold Spice above, I have some gorgeous appy fillies to look forward to. A lot of players were very helpful when it came to this gene, as I could hardly find any of it before but was overwhelmed when speaking up in the bootstrap chat.

I'm hesitant to name any specific players as so many of you have helped me get this herd off the ground. This is a great community and I'm so thankful to all of you who got me going.

But I guess a shout-out has to go to @Kintara for setting me up with my first stud, Roverandom:

BS137 Roverandom He started his first month giving me some gold fillies from red and yellow foundations, but he's since moved up in the world and nowadays sees a much higher level of mare. While I'm sure he'd do even better for someone with an established mare herd, he has exceed all my expectations as the foundation of mine! He still has many years of breeding ahead and with a lot of offspring already producing, I'm sure he'll keep appearing in my lines years from now.

Roverandom has already produced a potential heir in Stradivarius:

BS138 Stradivarius
My very first colt to pass BA and got his first breeding season under the belt, he has been placing slightly higher than his sire on the club leaderboards, although he admittedly has seen a better average of mare. He featured briefly on the Era 0 board before being overtaken later in the month and has whetted my appetite for breeding for leaderboard goals as my herd hopefully progresses. He gave me my highest PT foal so far (13.9) and also produced a colt that tested 'as good as' him and his sire:

BS136 Thunderello This colt is also an example of how using non-cob mares have worked for me.

These 3 boys will be my 'main men' for the immediate future, along with this lovely gift from @pfrsue

BS135 Browns Pond Although like I said above I'm hesitant to name specific people as y'all have been so great, Sue has been especially special. She has passed a lot of cob and almost-cob mares and fillies my way, and I can't wait to see what they will produce. One of the early ones is already the dam of Stradivarius.

I wouldn't really know which of my ladies to single out at this stage. Most of the higher PT ones are very young still and I'm hoping some of them will have high breeding ability too. I can't really afford to extensively comparison test yet, and I doubt my herd is at the stage where it's justified besides, but I am very excited to see how this young crop of fillies will eventually produce before deciding on my further mare strategy. It is thus always interesting to read how the more established players run their outfits. I have 2 x 100 acre pastures for them which seems very small to me considering I don't have any other projects!

Ellesmere022 · Jan 17, 2020 1:21 PM

My bootstrap line is very small. I keep a 100 mare pasture. Almost anything goes in regard to genes apart from the few that are a big nono in my main herd and they must all be heavies. Ive kick started it by using others i found in auctions etc and am just stating to be able to cull a bit stronger. At the moment anything below blue paper is cut and anything below 10.00PT is cut. As the foals age up, I'll be able to cull out any mares that havent been BA'd then ill switch to PT. I don't focus to heavily on that herd, hence its not advanced that much. It would not look like it does without the influence of several mares from Cheers' Ausmerican herd.
However, the most influential horse within my herd is this fella. He was a gift I was given over a year ago. I originally used him within my main even line, but soon realised I didn't want nexus in there so may of his young were used to build the basis of my bootstrap herd and he will be found in the blood lines of most of my herd. I am forever greatful of him as he was the first influx of a fantasy gene and the making of this account.

NextToUs3219700

darkpixe · Jan 17, 2020 6:04 PM

I got into bootstrapping 100% on accident - I entered a contest that @TheBlueMoors hosted, and was surprised (and excited!) to win - the prize included a whole, gorgeous, bootstrap herd, and some fantastic show horses.

My favorite thing about bootstrapping is... the variety! Since the bootstrap group I was given came from a bunch of different people's herds, they are all shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns, I get all sorts of nifty combinations.

I'm just getting to where the first filly-babies I got from that collection are on their second season or so and starting to think about culling mares... I've been BAing colts all along, and then narrowing down the passed colts by "do I like how you look?" and then comp testing the ones I like and keeping the AGA. I will probably geld those AGA boys now unless I extra-like their looks, as I got my first STS boy last month, from one of the 2nd-gen-to-me girls, so that's exciting!

Recently, @DreamyMeadows hooked me up with a pair of gorgeous studs (both silver black with sb2 - thank you!) that I'm super excited about - my stud I got originally is hom cream, and as lovely as he is, I'm looking forward to getting some darker progeny in the mix!

I was also thrilled to get a trio of mares from @pfrsue this month, putting me one step closer to all Gold mares in my bootstrap group, and one of them gave me this shiny filly (with a straw from the contest that started it all for me!):

Zen Surprise

I haven't gotten to the point of shelling out for more pastures yet, so I have my one big pasture and the small pasture from the "hey I'm new" purchase deal, and I'm trying to balance the bootstrap group with my even-bred line, so allll my even mares are in pasture now, to be bred ASAP next month & promptly kicked out so the bootstrap mares can go in and get as much bonus as possible, then they'll get bred on the 27th and stay in for the following month, get bred ASAP, and get kicked out for the even mares. It's a lot of juggling, but it seems to work. :D

I hope to start culling mares, first by paper, then by consistency, then probably by AFPT (I should have enough seasons for that to be fair when I get to that point). There will always be some bias, though. Genes I don't have as many sources of will probably garner leniency for their carriers, if they're a little behind cut-offs, because I really want to keep the wide variety!

In summary: I'm barely started in bootstrapping, and have been floored by the helpfulness and generosity of the established folks, and can't wait to see what gene combos show up next in my eclectic group!

DreamyMeadows · Jan 17, 2020 6:36 PM

@darkpixe
I just put up a filly for you in the Bootstrap Breeding & Sales chat if you want her. I bought her today after glancing at the PT and pedigree but missed that her bone is below my requirements for eventually creating cobs, and so I've been wondering what use she could be. Since you're still okay with all shapes and sizes, I figured you might be the one to employ her!

pfrsue · Jan 18, 2020 2:41 AM

This is an awesome thread!

I became interested in bootstrapping not too long after joining. When you're scraping by on a minimalist daily bonus, the concept of barns full of super deluxe show ponies in your future is pretty enticing. And I’m thrilled that I’ve reached the point where I have the opportunity to help others get a running start on their bootstrap herds! For me, that's the best part of the entire process!

When I started seriously bootstrapping, I was lucky enough to snag two exceptionally nice DarkStar bred colts during an auction. Those colts, Aldabaran and Remus, set the stage for my bootstrap program. They’re both gone now, but all of my best bootstraps have them in their pedigrees:

PFR Aldebaran

PFR Remus

At first, the only goal was breeding for the highest PT I could. Appearance didn’t matter at all. But with my lines more established, I’ve done a little experimenting. My gray bootstrap line has really taken off. Two of my best stallions are brown, which is probably my favorite color in the game. I’ve had less luck with my appaloosa and draft aspirations, and I’d love to get some DP into the mix… but the main goal remains PT.

Over time, my show bonus grew enough that I could also start boosting stallions, and I’m on generation three of the boosted boys, and I love them and what they’re producing.

I have a lot of senior and junior stallions in use, but here are my best (all of whom go back to Aldebaran and Remus):

Not many people breed for grays, but I think they're pretty. My gray sire:

PFR Winterfell BA G

And my main sires:

PFR Smooth Jazz

Smooth Jazz is a son of Aldebaran, and the sire of:

PFR Jazz Brown Ale BA AGA

Jazz Brown Ale is the sire of my top stallion:

PFR Browns Eclipse STS

Eclipse is exceeding my wildest dreams. He has a PT of 14.00, and when crossed with a representative of my favorite mare line, produced a 14.10 filly.

And, not to leave out the mares, I haven't counted them lately, but for the record, I keep all the breeding mares in my pastures and try to only breed them when they have a full pasture bonus.

Here are two who have really outproduced themselves and earned elite status in my pastures:

PFR DW Eclipse Topper

PFR ARE Trout

Out of all of the girls, Trout is my all time favorite. :)

I also try to import fresh lines into my herd now and again, and am very lucky to have a few really great bootstrap mares and stallions from the breeding programs of: @JustaSaddleTramp, @WildlandAcres, and @DinaChill, among others.

I do love my bootstraps, and I'm just ecstatic that there are so many other players who share my interest. :)

I'll just end here, with a few of the next generation:

5521465 pt 14 1 AGA

PFR Eclipse The Music S

PFR Browns Sure Shot BA

5521321 Browns Bestie

Justa · Jan 18, 2020 10:32 AM

I love this thread! It makes me so happy when I see that people like my bootstraps, but I have to give all credit for their quality to the people who bred the stock I began with, especially @DarkStar. Most of the lines in my boot herd began in DarkStar's barns, which have been the source of so many amazing horses.

I started out with boots pretty much be accident. I was still a newbie when I bought a spayed mare in the auction because she looked like a real mare I once knew and loved. When I bought her, her name was Bird, and I changed it a bit to be a song title because I was naming every horse for a song then.

DS10 Surfer Bird

Bird gave me a goal for my herd, something I hadn't had until then. While other people were building up their even lines, I was tinkering with my boots, trying to breed some awesome sabino pearl duns like Bird. I bought or bred to every Dark Star horse I could that was even distantly related to her, and they were the foundation of my herd. I could go on for hours about the different lines behind the horses l call my Birds, but I'll spare y'all. ;;)

I've brought in other lines too over the last year though, widening my gene pool and adding splashes of color I wasn't getting from my Birds. I got kit w8 into my herd from RuffNReady bred by @High Five Acres, a lot of appy and more kit M from Sensai Wolf bred by @Cheers, and some DP and brown with heavier bone from a few awesome foals of Weekends Nonsense @Bourbon let me buy.
I've also got dozens of random horses from other herds that I've pulled into my lines like the mare Solemn Dragon from @WildlandAcres whose daughters helped me boost my PT scores a bit higher, my Brilliant Spirit daughters from @Lallyhop's herd who brought in heavier bone, or even my boy Random Orbit from @HunterUnderSaddleGirl's herd. By far the most widespread color influence in my boot herd right now comes from @Xceptional's Heimdall line, through this beautiful boy.

IIX Gossiping Heimdall Lp

Gossiping has added so much color to my Birds, bringing rich browns with rabicano and DP to make all those appy, sabino, kit M, and tobiano (who are almost all descendants of @PFRSue's Remus) foals I get look even more flashy. I love a nice brown dun sabino appaloosa, and because of Gossiping I have a bunch of them in my boot herd now, all with high PT and quality.

Next I'm planning on adding in a little more color with a really nice watercolor star colt I have by @Kintara's gorgeous Wolf Pack, and some more nexus sparkle from Season Of The Wolf (no relation. lol) who was bred by @Cheers and generously given to me by @HTRanch just recently to use for his last season(s). He's thrown me some gorgeous foals this season, like this little lady.

BSx SeasonsOfRogueGossip

Once I get nexus and watercolor more firmly in my boot herd, there's no telling what will catch my eye next. I'm still always on the lookout for nice star colts and gold fillies to add to my herd and compare to my current lines. Who knows, next week I may stumble across a line that finally gives me a colt superior to my top boys without being boosted. Anything is possible! :D

DreamyMeadows · Jan 18, 2020 11:10 AM

@JustaSaddletramp
My little bird had a chick recently...

BG131 Browns Lifeline
Surfer Bird above is her great-granddam in the direct female line!

DinaChill · Jan 18, 2020 1:37 PM

I loved bootstrapping so much I created this account especially for bootstrapping.
My main shout goes to @Darkstar as I managed to get hold of this lad who my herd is based on.

DC1 DS Why Not Me
Hence a lot of pearl, silver and sabino :)
I also want to thank her (although I know she hasn't been on for a very long time) as she was the one who got me interested in it in the first place.
But also I managed to get hold of another stud I love from @Kintara (thanks so much:) )

DC1 BS KT W Summit
Which meant I could play with open ice and some white spotting (which with bootstrapping you have to be careful with :) )
I had exceptional perfect mares to start with and have built the herd up from scratch.
I now have so many mares now I BA any mare who is 5th gen or above and am finally getting some superior mares. Everything is tested against everything else.
I only have 2 pastures, my main 60 one with my best girls in and a smaller pasture to breed everyone else in by putting in and bringing out (takes a while when you have nearly 1k of mares and a 10 pasture :D )
I am also trying to breed smaller and because I have some decent money now (because of all those high PT snips going into the show barns!) I can finally spend some money on a boost.
I have decided to boost this guy who will have to wait as he is still a foal:-

DC1 TinyPerfection
who actually does look like his Big Grandad ;)
I am looking forward to using him.

I am going to use this guy a little next season and put more kitM (which I love) into my herd:-

DC1 PlatinumSpot
I have had a few 14 PTs but have yet to hit 14.1, hopefully soon.

I love to help others out - so if you need anything let me know.

I often put lots of high PT spelds in auction as I can't keep them all. And I often have taller mares and studs that I don't really want to speld as they are good quality but don't really fit my small goals :)

Happy Bootstrapping Everyone!

DreamyMeadows · Jan 18, 2020 2:33 PM

@DinaChill is definitely very helpful as claimed - I have a nice little collection of Dina mares. Not to mention a bunch from Dinascar too.

BG132 Intermission

BG134 Sight Unseen
This is my probably my best fillies from those lines so far. I do regret the heavy white factor in the top one but breeding that out a bit is a long term goal.

Justa · Jan 18, 2020 2:39 PM

@DreamyMeadows, that gorgeous filly actually goes back to Surfer Bird five times through her dam. ;;) I hope she does really well for you!

pfrsue · Jan 18, 2020 3:28 PM

I am loving these stories!

@JustaSaddleTramp - I still have a few Bird lines woven into mine, particularly through Ruff Birds Heart.

BS Ruff Birds Heart AGA (Love me some W8!)

I should also mention that I designated a barn for my bootstrap mares (and a few stallions) I've taken out of production and are available for adoption. Most don't have a lot of show bonus (because they were all pasture potatoes) but all have at least a few useful years left for the breeding shed. The roster will continue to change in that barn, so feel free to window shop and send me a PM if anything tickles your fancy.

https://hj2.huntandjump.com/member.php?uid=42860&b_id=33085

DreamyMeadows · Jan 18, 2020 4:55 PM

@JustaSaddletramp
I noticed she had quite a few Bird lines, but the 'purist' in me just loves tracing back direct female lines so that one was extra special in my eyes :x
I think the filly was a nice start to production, I wouldn't count the previous foal against the mare as she didn't have pasture bonus and the stud wasn't strong either (my single good one at that point was bred out when you gave her to me).

I can't wait to see which of my current horses will one day saturate my pedigrees and be cornerstones of the herd like the ones all of you have posted.

Haltanny · Jan 19, 2020 5:11 AM

I'm in the process of moving my entire bootstrap herd to a separate premium account so I can focus on it without a bunch of others in the way, but my main goals currently are increasing the snowflakes and increasing the proportion of light bone. I've been infusing some of my surplus even bred snowflakes into the bootstraps the last few seasons, which kinda stalled the progress in quality a bit, but I'm not concerned. I still produce high 12 pts predominantly, so I'm confident once I get the numbers of SF up and start culling on quality again, that I can break into the 13s more consistently.

I do have all 3 body types in both pony and horse heights, although not as many light types as I would like, so I've also been focusing more on that side. I use 20-30 days in pasture for the lighter side, to try to get a higher proportion of fillies to choose from but typically use little bonus on the heavier built. Once everyone is moved to the new account, I'll probably acquire a couple 60 acre pastures to use for various reasons.

My bootstrap studs have come from Cheers, Kintara, RoseFlute and Windigo, along with some of my own and I started with all foundation mares. I'm at a level now where I've been getting SBA/BA passing rates almost as good as my even lines and I'm keeping only Star/Gold papered goals. I usually have between 5 and 15 extra bootstrap colts each season, some het or hom SF, so feel free to message me if looking for something.

Chillax · Jan 19, 2020 11:26 AM

A different view on Bootstrapping

I do a tiny bit of bootstrapping on this account so as I can just play with watercolor and nexus with as many mares as I can find :D
I normally breed watercolor/onyx even cobs (as high a quality as I can) but with bootstrapping they are no rules and so I can play with open fantasy genes and watercolor.
I have been using this guy:-

MeteoricNanoDreamer
Thanks @Windigo for letting me buy him
And next season I have this gorgeous guy to play with:-

PurpleNexus 5383502
I really like watercolor and nexus together and hope to have loads of beautiful foals next year.
I am not so bothered about the PTs or papering (although high PTs are a bonus and the purist in me hates to go backwards) just about pretty...
Like this girl

U WNx5545913
:)

Wildland Acres · Jan 19, 2020 4:33 PM

Bootstrapping is fun! Sorry, I haven't been spending as much time on the forums as I should, but bootstrapping has been my favorite breeding method for a year. I have been doing bootstrapping for about two years, and it all started with this guy,

The Solemn Singularity
He was an auction colt from dark star I snagged last minute for minimum bid when I was still rather new to the game because he was star and I thought using the highest quality stud was a good idea for a breeding program. Before he became old enough for breeding, even breeding and generations was explained to me because even generations was a very strictly sought after thing back then, any uneven pedigree horses were usually considered only for auction fodder or show ponies. One day I realized this gold boy I had was 14 with no offspring, and the highest I had gotten with my even gens was 3rd gen blues, so I started breeding everything I had to him (I had a far smaller stable back then) and keeping the blue and gold papered fillies from him to breed back because I didn't want him to die without doing anything, and wallah, my bootstrap herd was born.
@Darkstar was instrumental in all of this, being the main breeder I was searching for in sales and auctions, and then campaigning bootstrapping herself eventually which really helped turn the tides on how acceptable bootstrapping was. The bootstrap community how it is today is because of her. @Riata was also amazing, for actually getting me horses who became the leaders of my current bootstrap herd as a Secret Santa present last year, one of these being the colt Faulkar the Betrayer, who has been everything amazing. She was the best Santa ever. @Cheers was so nice and let me get several horses from her for all my lines, therefore when I started breeding everything bootstrap for a few years quite a bit of Ausmerican blood in there. All of the DP and GP in my bootstrap herd design from the 3rd gen girl she sold me, Blue Design. @PumaSeal provided the stud I used to introduce ND1 into my herd.

I have had quite a few studs, either homebred or DarkStar bred over the years, Solenm Singularity, Solemn Glory, Into the West, What Was I Thinking, Requiem, Lessons from Konick, and Falkaur the Betrayer, and it makes me so happy to see their lineage in other bootstrap horses around the server world. Currently I use Requiem, Faulkar and Konick switching out in a 60 mare pasture. All three are 5% boosted.

Falkaur the Betrayer

Requiem

Lessons From Konick JDP

I used to have Faulkar with lower quality mares whoes genes I was trying to breed up quality on, but I am now condensing all of them into one breeding group. I am favoring Requiem right now because he is 16, but then the other two will be aging not long after.
Once These boys age out I have two home bred boys who are 5% boosted and AGA to Falkaur to take over. I'm excited to see what they will do, and I love the genes they had at their quality.

Sounds of Betrayal

Tough in the WIldlands

I have used many different curing strategies over the years. First it was keeping all fillies blue and gold, then it was keeping only gold mares, then it was running breeding advice on everything, then it was doing that and calculating AFPT on mares. Now with studs like Faulkar where no tested foals have passed advice with him I now run comparison on all the fillies to my highest mare to decide whether they stay intact, and then periodically go through and cull all mares 6 and over who are not on the breeder board. Right now guilty pleasures include a mare I maned and dressed up after my LARP character, and several mares that have genes I am trying to breed up in quality, Ice 1 and 5, Nexus and splash M.

Lennora KK

DreamyMeadows · Jan 19, 2020 6:03 PM

@Wildland_Acres
How did you choose a benchmark mare to compare your fillies to?
I'm quite curious how you run your operation if you care to share!

I picked up a few older mares on the public sales list from you last month and so far they've done really well for my fledgling operation.

Wildland Acres · Jan 19, 2020 6:54 PM

Since I got a head start before the fad I have several mares on the leader board, so I breed my mares, check the breeder board to see who is up there and who to cull, and then comparison test the fillies against my highest ranking mare on the leader board right then. I can't remember if I did culling yet this month because I moved on the 6th and things kinda went chaotic, but I often cull a whole bunch of mares, in fact I cull younger mares as well if you are wanting younger ones. XD But I often have stock available, and there are usually about 5 other barns who snap them up. XD I also have a whole bunch of colts that have just been hanging out if people ever want to ask about one. Which mares did you buy? I could try to remember the rankings of them and advise to you which ones would be better for being a comparison one. How aggressive you want to cull really depends on your stock and stuff though.

WyldWood · Jan 20, 2020 12:28 AM

On WyldWood I breed for hom DP and S+ in liver, bay, brown, and buckskin horses of any bone weight but aiming for the taller the better. I enjoy playing with most of the fun Kit genes but try to avoid most of the dilution genes except for a smattering of cream.
My bootstrap herd follows my colour and size breeding goals but I give myself a bit more leeway involving the occasional dilute or open gene fantasy horse with open ice or nexus.

This account is still young and does not receive as much of my attention as it deserves so my bootstrap herd has yet to really hit its stride but I am extremely happy with the studs I have and where it is heading.
I run my bootstraps in one 100 acre pasture.
I currently SBA all colts and cull fillies by paper and PT. Now that my stud quality is starting to even out I will soon be culling my older mares by AFPT.
I cull any horse that is not liver, bay, brown, or buckskin. They must be at least hom sty and/or S+ and preferably carry at least one copy of DP.

My main BS stud is actually what inspired the creation of this account. He was a gift from the amazing @Bourbon to my main BlackWyld account, an evenly bred 6th generation hom DP, het S+ liver.

WW G6 Weekends Shadow
I fell head-over-heels in love with him but that S+ just didn’t fit with BlackWyld’s “black” aesthetic. I couldn’t bear to sell or geld the guy though and thus, WyldWood was born.
The plan was to breed up to 6th gen mares for him but that never happened so he has been the king of this account’s bootstrap herd. I can’t believe he is 18!

My other current main boy is this smexy beast:

BS WW Move the Moon DebX
He comes from Cheers’ wonderful nexus stud Kinesiophobia and was my first 13pt stud. He has been giving me lots of pretty high pointed, sparkly DP babies and I love him. He is also the sire of Lunar Blitz from BlackWyld’s post.

This new boy I am super excited about:

BS WW Weekends Glory
I finally got the heavier boned STS sire that I wanted from Shadow who also was Best in Pasture and out tested his brothers. His dam comes from Wildland Acres and Dinascar stock and I can’t wait to see where he brings my herd. His only downfall is that he is missing that second copy of DP but I can live with that.

I am also considering keeping this lovely boy:

BS WW 5066863 SUP
On this account I have developed a great love for a couple of studs, Daintree Oolong and StateOfOrigin. Once again, thanks to the wonderful generosity of Cheers I was able to borrow a great grandson of theirs, Original Star who ran with my BS girls and gave me two superior colts including the boy above who tested AGA my main boys.
Now, I didn’t intend to have an ice carrying stud in my bootstrap herd but how can I turn this pretty boy down?

Retired and Past Studs:

BS WW Star Performer
This boy used to share a pasture with Shadow. He was a gift from the wonderful kind and generous @DuelingHawks. He was one of my first ever bootstrap studs on BlackWyld but fit better here. He came from @High Five Acres and @Wildland Acres stock and I loved him so much. Most of the appys still in my line trace back to him.

BS WW Dancing Flyer
This boy was kindly given to me by @RLazyBRanch. He was integral in injecting W8 and Kit M into my lines and his influence will continue to live on.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 20, 2020 5:58 AM

@Wildland_Acres
These were the ladies a managed to grab, last month:

BG131 Tense Thinking

BG133 Life Lesson

BG132 Think of Me
One of them is the dam my best colt this season (Thunderello in my post above).

I'd always be interested in similar ones who make my height/weight requirements, so I can eventually breed down to cobs.

I don't do a lot of comparison testing yet. I'm still too poor and my herd is still too new. But from what I've heard from all the experienced bootstrappers, that will eventually be the way to go when selecting fillies.

@WyldWood Those livers are gorgeous!

Wildland Acres · Jan 20, 2020 3:55 PM

@DreamyMeadows I would say Tense Thinking is the lowest of the three, with either Life Lesson or Think of Me being the best. Once you got yourself to a point where culling by other means is hard I would comp to either of the second 2, right now if you comp tested to any of them I would try seeing how they did compared to Tense thinking first. I would just be looking for AGA, when doing bootstraps you need to be mindful about running into the breeding quality cap where you can't get anything superior.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 20, 2020 4:24 PM

Thank you for you thoughts @Wildland_Acres

These older mares might no longer be around when and if I seriously start comparison testing. I have no idea when I'll reach the point where it becomes absolutely necessary. I do have a few odd younger ones I curiously tested (and I'll probably do a few each month at least) that compared AGA so I'll at least still have a starting point.

pfrsue · Jan 20, 2020 4:35 PM

@Wildland_Acres I snagged a few mares from you last month, and could not be happier with what they've produced for me! (Including Browns Bestie, above, who was my best in pasture.) If you ever have any mares go unexpectedly missing... uhm... I'm sure you don't need to look in my fields. ;)

PFR Eclipse In The Storm

PFR Browns Athens

@WyldWood, I don't usually use straws, but if you have any (or better yet any available fillies or GMT'able colts) from any of those boys, we need to talk!

Dinascar · Jan 21, 2020 5:56 PM

Although I don't do much bootstrapping now - I leave it to DinaChill (who's herd is better than mine now anyway), I do still do a bit.
@darkstar gave me this stud when I started bootstrapping

DSW Desperado G11
He deserves a mention as he has not only helped my show herd but also many others :X
His son has only just finished his breeding career:-

BS11 DesparadosSon
I also used this guy a bit - thanks @WildlandAcres

npBS Solemn Spiderweb G10
Then he went on his way to another barn and I used his grandson (who I do still use) who combined both Desparado and Spiderweb:-

BS11 DesperateSpider
All my studs are pretty much as good as each other, not super high but good enough to make some high PT show ponies. I didn't get any studs myself superior to Desparado (but DinaChill has regularly - obviously better than me!).
My mares used to top the leader board though.
eg. this girl

BS 4369250 P
She is descended from Desparado stock :X
But I suspect as others get going my mares will be further down the boards. That's good though - my bootstrap mares don't go in pasture and I only keep the odd mare that passes BA so they go in the show barns and make me lots of money :X
I passed the baton to DinaChill, while I concentrate on my lined breeding for a bit.

Stefliz · Jan 21, 2020 5:58 PM

Im quite "new" to the bs world and just now really gotten serious with them so I will just share what I done this last 2 breeding seasons and my future goals :)

I breed for high PT and some specific genes as Satin, S+, White M, White 8, Ice, Nexus. But really as many different genes as possible Lol

Because my stock is so new I don't have so much second and third gens to show off but I will tell you about the ones I like most at the moment anyway.

I BA all colts even though I almost never get intact results but I have a thinking with that ;) I Don't need to use any offspring colts at the moment because I use them again on the mare offsprings. But I have gotten some intact colts anyway and those boys I comp test to their sire if they dont get to be sup sire I geld.
I don't test any fillies yet.

This is my boys I use most :

Boot King Sa 1P M
I got him from @NowandForever and he has White M that I love and want to have in most of my horses. But he also have S+ and Satin which is a bonus! He is also one of my highest PT stallions with a PT score of 13.10!

Boot My Life prl SP Sb2 This boy I have used a lot but he is to small for my new goals so he will not be used as much any more. I got him from @DinaChill when I first started bootstrapping and he has the nice genes like Pearl, S+, satin and sb2 so he have gotten me some nice fillies. He can move to someone who is looking for a small wb like a trade or something :)

Boot Price 1prlSasb1sb2KP This guy I just started to use and that's just because I started to breed for KP :P He also got some nice genes like Pearl, Satin, Sb1 and 2. And he is TALL! I am breeding for tall horses is general so i'm really happy that he is over 17h. I got him from @NowandForever and is very thankful for that :D I really look forward to the upcomeing breeding seasons with him!

SZ Life Bound B PrlSaSb2 I didn't have a good Bs draft stud so I decided to make my own X) I used my small boy Boot my life and a draft mare and got this handsome chunk! Pearl, Satin, Sb2 and rabicano is not so bad but he will retire when this next boy come of age next season!

Boot Goliath XL Sp Sa
He got S+ and satin and is tall! A good steppingstone to take my draft bs towards my goals. He is stunningly at a PT score of 13.30! I got him from @BlackWyld and I have high hopes for him :D

Boost Iceman RH prl Sa M I don't have so many riding horse bootstrap mares yet but I got this guy from @AnOldFriend (I think the stable is deleted) and love the look of him!

i have at the moment 180 bootstrap mares and im working towards gold* papers only but because I just started seriously a lot of the fillies paper blue still but I get some nice gold* ones like these girls:

SZ Cara B Prlnd2DSpSaM PT score 13.10

SZ Mona B SpSa PT score 13.10

SZ Katie B SpSaMNx PT score 13

When I breed the mares I take them to the primary pasture from their barns and breed the 3 different bone sizes a part from each other and always start with the lightest ones (Riding horses) and then WB and last drafts. I then choose 1-3 studs and breed.
At the moment I breed this way because I don't have enough pastures to let them be in. I think I will get some in the future though, not only because of the bonus but to remove the time consuming hustle of moving horses back and forth..

The fundamental goals is tall horses with as high PT score as possible with my fave genes like DP, KP. Satin, Sooty+, White M

Dinascar · Jan 21, 2020 6:17 PM

I'd be interested to know if most of our era 0 bootstrap stock can trace there line back to this guy:-

DS Dark Sun Rising
;)

Dinascar · Jan 21, 2020 6:26 PM

Actually Cheers and Kintara may have their own completely homebred stock from that long ago :)

Stefliz · Jan 21, 2020 6:35 PM

I know that my stud Boot Prince is from his line :) Will look if i got others that comes from him :P

Stefliz · Jan 21, 2020 6:40 PM

Ok, all my boys comes from that guy lol

Wildland Acres · Jan 21, 2020 7:35 PM

All of my studs decend from Dark sun. Once Faulkar ages out I will be using purely suds that I have bred, but there is no denying it, Dark Star did all of the legwork with starting the line that I used to base mine on.

Wildland Acres · Jan 21, 2020 7:41 PM

It was so interesting looking and seeing he only had 44 recorded offspring. True, he is old enough that the records of only the intact ones are probably kept, but that few offspring and yet he probably has the largest amount of descendants in the game.

pfrsue · Jan 22, 2020 2:28 PM

I found mostly Dark Sun Rising, but also this guy:

DS Invested

He only had 36 recorded offspring.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 22, 2020 2:53 PM

How many generations back are you guys looking to get to these founder studs?

Also, how on earth does everyone manage the wait for foals each month?

pfrsue · Jan 22, 2020 6:03 PM

Considering DS Dark Sun Rising and DS Invested were created in 2013, a LOT of generations. lol

Wildland Acres · Jan 23, 2020 12:55 AM

I used to have a hard time waiting for foals. Now it is more of a struggle to find time and mental energy to breed pastures and then get things sorted enough that I can get all of the foals out of pasture by the 28th. After may though... then I might have more time, and then the foals I am getting right now will be ready to be my next stars.

Seaswell · Jan 23, 2020 3:20 AM

I have too many mares and too many studs. I run about 300 foals a month through my pastures, and still do a stupid amount of straw and hand breeding. If you ask me I have 3 lines and bootstrap is only one of them, but I graduate mares from my even lines into bootstrap all the time for testing well and missing genes. This month's cull was larger than I thought it would be when I set the goal. Best part is in 3 months I will have a whole small pasture of BS golds.

This fellow...

DC2T W Mountain
By @DinaChill has been my star player for a couple of seasons. I wish he was heavier, but with the beautiful girls he gives me it's fun being just as surprised by body type as coloring when I open them.

Before I go much further I need to give a shout out to this fellow...

KTF E5 Kingfisher Kp WC
By @Kintara he's got descendents all over my barns and in 2 months Mountain will be spending a season with his granddaughters.

I'm not even going to add horses for my undying love of @Lallyhop and @Blackwyld. Their stock is amazing and both have surprised me with exactly what I was looking for on more than one occasion.

While I'm always working on and revising a short list of goals I love reaching while I play, let's be totally honest... I'm addicted to opening foals. The amount of happenstancial genetic knowledge I've picked up in the last 2 years is nothing compared to how much I love the art.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 23, 2020 5:27 AM

The game is my sole escape from real life's worries, so I could probably never have enough foals to breed and sort. The way this is game is designed - like auto show entry and testing whole barns at a time - means that if I run out of time to kill, I simply do things the faster way!

I'm sure you'll always have a new bunch of stars coming up @Wildland_Acres

@Seaswell looks like you might have a lot of w8. That's such a gorgeous gene. I didn't even know about its existence until I found HJ, but now I'm completely in love, especially when in combo with Tobiano.

Kismet · Jan 23, 2020 6:40 PM

About 8 months ago, I banked up a bunch of game cash by purchasing closed genes for people. Then I threw all of that money at building my initial herd of Satin Bootstrap horses. Fast-forward to now, and my herd is better than ever.
The crown jewel of my operation of my stallion KS Pearl Harbor:

KS Pearl Harbor While he is the product of an egg/straw purchased from a different breeding operation, he has allowed the quality of my mares to grow by leaps and bounds; I am so excited to see what his daughters produce. He has been heavily awarded and currently sits at the top of multiple Breeder's Club leaderboards.

The best mare in my barn is this girl:

133 sasa Boot10 BEST She holds multiple awards for Top Mare in various Breeder's Clubs. My favorite thing about her is the fact that she is sired by a horse that I bred: KS Captain Jack S.

One of her fillies this season is a personal best PT score for me, and is one of only 2 living horses on the server with that high of a PT.

144 sasa Boot

I have people to thank for my success...
@BlackWyld let me buy eggs from her amazing mare, and one of the results was this epic girl:

132 sasa Boot4 AGA dam, and gorgeous KP! Thank you @Kintara for the Voldemort straws!

I have about 35 other AMAZING mares and fillies, but I don't have it in me to post more #PregnancyBrain
If you're curious about my breeding operation, feel free to search horses owned by 38280 that are sasa.

Haltanny · Jan 23, 2020 7:21 PM

@Wyldwood I'm cutting my herd from 5G and up, so if you'd like some evenly bred 6G mares to throw at Shadow for his last couple seasons, shoot me a PM. They're just going to my bootstrap herd if not.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 24, 2020 5:40 AM

I'm quite impressed by how well you've done using straws and eggs - and thus no pasture bonus - @Kismet

ChrystalBlues · Jan 25, 2020 12:00 AM

Mine isn't very big yet, as I don't play Forest server very much. Most of my mares and studs are advancing in age., so it was nice that I did get my new herd Sire today while going through my hand-breeding.

BS Solemn Mouse

Windigo · Jan 25, 2020 1:33 AM

I started off doing nothing but bootstrap. I started out just wanting dp, nearly 2 years ago. Over time it's morphed and changed into various different things cause I had a very hard time at first finding a star dp stud so I had to use an A stallion. I decided for more bling at some point and picked up a kp, s+, pearl stallion, WRS KeeperOfTheFlame. He pretty much made my bootstrap herd. I finally got a aga son of his on his last breeding season so the legacy lives on with KeeperOfTheFrost. I eventually got around to finding a dp stud to use, WRS MisterMeaner, he's not as good as flame or frost, but his line is getting there quickly. I'm so happy for all the livers from him, cause mine had gone stagnant for a while. I have no future goals with this bunch other than to keep going up with PT and quality. I'm to the point where everything gets tested and only the best stick around.
I also play around with Watercolor/open fantasy genes. (Thanks for the shout-out, @Chillax and @Haltanny, I'm trying lol) This has been so much fun just to play around with. The goal for that bunch is to create a bunch of horses that are homozygous for watercolor, open ice genes 1, 5, or8, and Nexus. Later i know I'll be throwing in Phantom genes as well. This bunch isn't bred in pasture cause well, I ran outta pasture lol. Everyone is ran thru BA and tested to stick around, and im getting to the point where mares have to catch at least 3 of the 6 genes to stick around.

NowandForever · Jan 25, 2020 2:42 AM

I've been breeding BS pretty much since I started playing 2 years ago. I started with some high A boys and a low Star and then managed to get 2 Dark Star boys from auction that became the backbone of my herd. I breed slightly bootstrap in my closed gene lines but the vast majority of my herd is open genes with lost of Satin and Sb2 thanks to the DS boys. I prefer heavier bone and taller but 1 of the original boys was a short Sport Pony some I working on making them bigger and heavier with my current and future studs.

My original Dark Star boys:

NaF Why Not
I purchased Why from the public auction in March '18, two months to the day after joining.

NaF Shoot For Stars
I purchased Shoot from @CWScowgirl87 the end of May'18 after she bought him from the same auction I got Why. I think I was bidding against her but ran out of time or money.

These boys were my foundation and each has over 500 foals with many more grand, great-grand, and more foals.

I continued to use other lower Stars along with them but I don't think I have any of their lines anymore. I also looked and both of my boys trace back to DS Dark Sun Rising.

I almost forgot I also had a younger DS stud gifted to me in the '18 Secret Santa from @DinaChill

NaF Faults on Purpose

My newer boys are descended from either or both Why and Shoot and thanks to them I have broken the 14.0 barrier.

NaF Stars of Mystery
Myster was my first try at boosting after testing AGA Shoot.

NaF Snappy Stars kp
Snapper was another boosted boy

NaF Heck Yes Sugar kp
Another boosted boy this one finally adding some bone weight to my herd.

NaF Stars in the Desert
Not boosted but passed BA on his own and has all 3 DS boys in his pedigree.

NaF Outlaw Shine
Bought him from @Dinascar to add some bone weight.

NaF Outlaw from Pandora

NaF Got Your Outlaw
Both sons of the above stud and passed BA.

Main new boys:

NaF Stars of Glory STS
Boosted to be STS. The only boy to ever get to be superior to my original boys and now he has an AGA colt

NaF Royale Glory BoP AGA
If only we could boost by more than 5%.

Awesome 14.0 PT+:
NaF Royale Glory (above colt)

NaF Stars and Dreams
My first 14 a total shock!

NaF Glory in the Stars ag
My highest PT ever!

Honorable Mention

NaF Dixie Snap KP w
13.9 mare born in June '19

I have a bunch more 13.7 and 13.8s including some new colts that are looking for new homes.

DreamyMeadows · Jan 25, 2020 6:43 AM

Those Glory boys really are glorious @NowAndForever!

BlackWyld · Feb 1, 2020 3:06 AM

Guys, I just have to tell you that, although I have not been active on this thread (January has been abysmal for me), hearing about your bootstrap herds has made me so happy and brightened my day multiple times this month.

Thank you!

I love being able to hear about your goals and inspirations and the history of some of these lines. I love hearing from some of the older established players about how the bootstrapping concept and community has evolved and the people who helped get it where it is today. I especially love the kudos given to people who have helped our herds grow to be what they are today.
Seeing the level of quality that some of you are at is mind blowing and gives me the shivers. Seeing your horses gets me drooling! So many amazing horses! So many amazing lines!
I can’t wait until I get there!

DreamyMeadows, thank you so much for keeping the conversation alive. That is something I am not good at.

To further express my thanks to everyone who has taken part in this thread I am happy to share some bootstrap lovin’.
If any of you think any of my boys (BlackWyld or WyldWood) could help your bootstrap lines let me know which studs you like and I will send you some straws.
You can choose from multiple studs.
If not, that is okay too. :x

And/Or, if you prefer eggs, I have these girls that I can spare some eggs from.
I am only able to gift one egg to each person for now.
I am also happy to create an embryo if that makes it easier for anyone.

Just let me know which girl you would like your egg from:

FLUSHBS BW 4865300
13.90pt

FLUSH BS BW 4343740
13.80pt

BS BW 3610011
13.60pt

@DreamyMeadows @NowandForever @Windigo @ChrystalBlues @Haltanny @Kismet @Seaswell @Wildland Acres @pfrsue @Stefliz @Dinascar @Chillax @JustaSaddletramp @DinaChill @darkpixe @Ellesmere022

DreamyMeadows · Feb 1, 2020 4:39 AM

@Blackwyld
I hope things look up this month for you. May your pixel ponies help you out when real life gets tough - it's my escape route.

I doubt I'm really any good at keeping conversation going. I'm just thoroughly enchanted with this game in general and bootstraps in particular.

I'd love to try my luck with an egg from the draft mare please, and thank you so much.

Seaswell · Feb 1, 2020 5:05 AM

@blackwyld can I get like 3 from this fellow?

BS BW Lunar Blitz SUP

I culled everything below blue from my bootstrap herd last month and still managed to almost fill a small barn with keeper fillies. Next month my oldest golds will be ready.

Honestly I culled reds from everything G4 and higher. I have more room for better babies, but I ended up auctioning almost 200 ponies.

Here's hoping February is a better month for all of us.

darkpixe · Feb 1, 2020 3:52 PM

Oooh, rummaging through your barns was a lot of fun!
Difficult decision, with all the shinies, but if I could get a straw or two from this guy, I'd be much obliged!

BS BW Aman BiP

I don't think I've ever been as excited to get through a month as this past one, lol. Fingers crossed that February is nicer to you! <3

BlackWyld · Feb 1, 2020 7:32 PM

You guys are all awesome!
I hope February is good to all of us and at the very least we get lots of shiny ponies!

Straws are sent!

@DreamyMeadows
I hope you get a nice baby! Let me know how it turns out!
It is your interest that keeps the conversation going, you ask great questions and help all of us, including myself, learn.

I ended up not getting a stitch of breeding done other than a few lab babies.
I should have sent Bold Spice to chill with your girls last season. I definitely plan to have him visit again once he has spent time with some of my ladies.

@Seaswell
Lunar Blitz should be hom DP as well! I just tested him in the GMT lab and I could not edit the DP on either allele. :D
I did that the other month, finally sorted through my colts and fillies and tried to cull anything not gold with a PT below 12.5. I culled enough to make a cool million in auction.
It is such a good feeling to finally reach that point where you have only gold running in the pasture.

@darkpixe
Great choice! You are the first person to receive straws from him.
I am so unbelievably excited to see his babies!
Let me know if you get any nice ones!

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