What features do you breed for in general?

[MoonRiver130]

I'm just curious to see what features people breed for without exact breed related goals in mind.

I wasn't sure what I would be breeding for (and I still only have a loose idea) but I've noticed that the line I continue to work on, regardless of breed, tends to have shorter backs and thicker legs. Not tremendously so, but less twiggy. Some of them mature a bit awkwardly but for the most part I'm happy with where it's going.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Pan Pipes- starter of the line





I'm working on developing the feathering and standing manes.

[Seraphinia]

The feature I'm mainly breeding for now is green eyes. I'm hoping to breed WABs with green eyes and eventually Sorraias.
As for the Mongolian part of my herd, this is my ideal: http://img.horseworldonline.net/gallery ... 7b3f1d.png

[Syn]

As soon as I actually get my breeds I'm going to be going for making them look fairly true to life. I'm going to have to outcross heavily to very light horses like Arabians and Turkmenes and similar because the standard in the game has both Dutch Harness Horses and Hackney Ponies will result in a heavier horse than either actually are.

I know I'm not going to be able to get them exactly because there isn't much variation in neck set, but this is a real life Dutch Harness Horse and roughly the conformation I'm looking to emulate. The Hackney Pony will be more or less the same, just in a smaller package. For the Hackney Ponies I want the natural short tail. For both I want the natural high tail carriage, very chiseled heads, long refined necks, flat croups.

[MoonRiver130]

The feature I'm mainly breeding for now is green eyes. I'm hoping to breed WABs with green eyes and eventually Sorraias.
As for the Mongolian part of my herd, this is my ideal: http://img.horseworldonline.net/gallery ... 7b3f1d.png

The green looks fantastic. I have yet to see anything but brown eyes in the market myself, but I love how they look every time I see them in other people's stock.

[MoonRiver130]

As soon as I actually get my breeds I'm going to be going for making them look fairly true to life. I'm going to have to outcross heavily to very light horses like Arabians and Turkmenes and similar because the standard in the game has both Dutch Harness Horses and Hackney Ponies will result in a heavier horse than either actually are.

I know I'm not going to be able to get them exactly because there isn't much variation in neck set, but this is a real life Dutch Harness Horse and roughly the conformation I'm looking to emulate. The Hackney Pony will be more or less the same, just in a smaller package. For the Hackney Ponies I want the natural short tail. For both I want the natural high tail carriage, very chiseled heads, long refined necks, flat croups.

The necks will definitely be tricky but I think with some luck and careful breeding you can get really close.

I agree that some of the game standards leave you with horses that don't really look true to life, so even when I'm sure of what breed I want to work with I'll probably do the same thing to get the body type I'm looking for.

[Virgo]

My main focus.. stats. I like to compete and need the right stats to be competitive! Other than that, conformation. Despite the fact that I was the first one to introduce color to the Belgian community, I don't really focus on color at all past breeding my stallion Aquarius who was the first black silver dapple. I just happen to have a lot of it though.. champagne, cream, metallic, everything basically. Now I'm slightly in the mood for a good old fashion sorrel lol.

[Argent]

You have to remember that most defining characteristics have been developed in breeds over time through selective breeding of foundation stock. The original Dutch Harness horse probably looked very little like the one in the image you shared. There certainly wasn't a uniform look across the breed, early on. But someone picked a look they like, and sourced horses from various breeds to fix that look, and now most DHs look that way. The same is possible here on HWO. The "body size" and "type" features are just general characteristics, and you'll have to fine tune the aesthetic features to get the look you desire.

And neck set will eventually be a feature.

[tussock]

I'm breeding for greying belgians so lately it has been a lot of size and color.

[Syn]

And neck set will eventually be a feature.

!!!!!

I may have just squealed in delight.