Older Horses

[Eckles]

Do horses die when they reach a certain age?

Do mares reach an age when they can't be bred anymore?

I've seen some horses in retirement pastures. How does that work?

[BlackOak2]

Do horses die when they reach a certain age?

Do mares reach an age when they can't be bred anymore?

I've seen some horses in retirement pastures. How does that work?

Horses receive the chance to die on their 17th birthday. With each turn, the chance percentage climbs a little bit. Most horses seem to pass on between 22 and 23 years. But there is NOT an age that is the maximum limit that all remaining horses will die at. That percentage chance just keeps getting smaller, infinitely (99.96234897323189% etc).
There have been cases where stallions and mares (not pregnant mares) that have lived into their late 20's and even early 30's... but this is rather rare.
Mares can continue to be bred no matter their age, from their 4th birthday onward and until they pass on (they can pass on, on the day they give birth). They canNOT pass on during pregnancy (not yet anyway). We've had cases of mare's, kept consecutively pregnant, reaching into their 50's.
Retirement pastures and retirement barns is just a way for us (the player) to define what the horse IS to us, in the current project, or otherwise. Usually, such horses are in there to 'age out' (pass on), but sometimes such horses can also be available for purchase. So, with horses that have currently, or have had foals that 'still exist' in the game, such horses cannot be rehomed. The only way for such horses to 'leave us' is to age them out. So retirement pastures and players that are willing to purchase such horses to age-out, are an important part of our community at this time.

Anything else?

[Eckles]

Thanks, that's very helpful.