Breeding and Inheritance
When a mare gives birth, the foal's traits are built from both parents in different ways. Some are picked at random from each parent, others are an average with a small random nudge.
Heat cycle#
A mare comes into heat on a repeating cycle of 21 days. She is in heat for the first 7 days of each cycle.
What the foal inherits#
| Trait | How it is decided |
|---|---|
| Genes | One allele from each parent for every gene, picked at random |
| Gender | An even chance of mare or stallion |
| Breed | Half from each parent. A foal from a Quarter Horse and a Mustang is a 50/50 cross. Breeds under 1% are dropped |
| Stats | The average of both parents, plus a small random change |
| Speed and jump | The average of both parents, plus a small random change |
| Height | The average of both parents' heights, plus a small random change |
| Temperament | The average of both parents, then up or down by one point, kept between 1 and 10 |
| Fertility | Random for each foal |
| Personality traits | Picked at random from the traits that fit together |
Stats#
The inherited stats are agility, strength, acceleration, recovery and courage. Each one is the average of the parents plus or minus a small random amount, so a strong pairing tends to produce a strong foal but never a guaranteed copy.
Foals start green#
A newborn foal starts as a green horse with no training. It needs to be raised and trained like any other young horse.
Breeding for genes#
Because each parent passes on one random allele per gene, you can plan around the odds. Here is what two Ee parents can produce:
| E | e | |
|---|---|---|
| E | EE | Ee |
| e | Ee | ee |
- EE1 in 4
- Ee1 in 2
- ee1 in 4
A horse with two identical alleles (such as EE) always passes that allele on.