Valle Verde Ranch- Western Riding Appaloosas
I've always loved Appaloosa horses, so when I got into HWO there was never a serious question which breed I was going to work with. Fortunately, just as I was getting into business AM's Appaloosas was getting rid of a fair number of horses, so I was able to take the lazy route, buy some in-game currency, and start off with Appy breeders. Here's the original crew.
Mares
AM's Yolandi
Far and away the star of the ranch right now, Yolandi's reached Champion status in Western Trail and is a good prospect for Working Ranch and Western Pleasure. My only concern is that I may have overbred her- too many of my second-generation horses are related to her!
Mountain of Chips
Chippy will always have a special place in my heart- I got her as a two-year-old and trained as well as raised her. She's done well in a number of disciplines, but unfortunately it seems to be a case of hard work making up for indifferent genes. She's had three foals, only one of which I haven't sold or rehomed- they either come out not meeting Appaloosa standards or just aren't interesting enough to keep around. I've decided I'm done breeding her, which means she's up for sale despite the fact that I could probably make more racing her.
AM's Zoe
This was one of my mistakes- Zoe's first couple foals didn't turn out great (rehomed) and I was short of money, so I sold her. The one mare I kept, Chamois Blanket, has shaped up nicely though. And when I look at my pedigrees and see AM's Yolandi all over the place, well, it makes me wish I'd let Zoe have a few more foals to bring in some fresh blood. Oops.
Melodic Wildcard
Wild often gets overlooked since by the time I got her she was really too old to train for competition. Her first two foals were unspectacular and quickly rehomed, and I was on the verge of selling her when I realized just how many of my second generation were going to be out of AM's Yolandi. A couple emergency matings later Wild's given me some great foals, including the beautiful Wild Strawberry. She's a good outcross for the stallions I have out of AM's Yolandi's line, which means she's probably got a couple more foals in her future. So glad I came to my senses with this horse before it was too late!
Stallions
AM's Boy
Yet another AM Appaloosas alumnus, AM's Boy was the only stud I owned for the first crop of foals. If I didn't use him, I used an outside Appaloosa stud, which are usually available for a reasonable fee. AM's Boy was a great sire for my first set of foals, though- he left a lot of them a bit shorter than I'd like, but also passed on the high Intelligence that's made them such great training prospects. His time with me is coming to an end since his son Baby Blanket has taken over stud duties, but he could still do a great job for somebody else.
Free Pirate
Free Pirate is actually a more recent acquisition, but gets an honorable mention here since he still contributed to the first generation of foals I raised. I got him for a very low price considering his high GP, good stats, and beautiful colors- then had him single-handedly sire my second crop of foals, getting busy with every mare on the ranch before I realized I'd better open up the bloodlines a little.
Mares
AM's Yolandi
Far and away the star of the ranch right now, Yolandi's reached Champion status in Western Trail and is a good prospect for Working Ranch and Western Pleasure. My only concern is that I may have overbred her- too many of my second-generation horses are related to her!
Mountain of Chips
Chippy will always have a special place in my heart- I got her as a two-year-old and trained as well as raised her. She's done well in a number of disciplines, but unfortunately it seems to be a case of hard work making up for indifferent genes. She's had three foals, only one of which I haven't sold or rehomed- they either come out not meeting Appaloosa standards or just aren't interesting enough to keep around. I've decided I'm done breeding her, which means she's up for sale despite the fact that I could probably make more racing her.
AM's Zoe
This was one of my mistakes- Zoe's first couple foals didn't turn out great (rehomed) and I was short of money, so I sold her. The one mare I kept, Chamois Blanket, has shaped up nicely though. And when I look at my pedigrees and see AM's Yolandi all over the place, well, it makes me wish I'd let Zoe have a few more foals to bring in some fresh blood. Oops.
Melodic Wildcard
Wild often gets overlooked since by the time I got her she was really too old to train for competition. Her first two foals were unspectacular and quickly rehomed, and I was on the verge of selling her when I realized just how many of my second generation were going to be out of AM's Yolandi. A couple emergency matings later Wild's given me some great foals, including the beautiful Wild Strawberry. She's a good outcross for the stallions I have out of AM's Yolandi's line, which means she's probably got a couple more foals in her future. So glad I came to my senses with this horse before it was too late!
Stallions
AM's Boy
Yet another AM Appaloosas alumnus, AM's Boy was the only stud I owned for the first crop of foals. If I didn't use him, I used an outside Appaloosa stud, which are usually available for a reasonable fee. AM's Boy was a great sire for my first set of foals, though- he left a lot of them a bit shorter than I'd like, but also passed on the high Intelligence that's made them such great training prospects. His time with me is coming to an end since his son Baby Blanket has taken over stud duties, but he could still do a great job for somebody else.
Free Pirate
Free Pirate is actually a more recent acquisition, but gets an honorable mention here since he still contributed to the first generation of foals I raised. I got him for a very low price considering his high GP, good stats, and beautiful colors- then had him single-handedly sire my second crop of foals, getting busy with every mare on the ranch before I realized I'd better open up the bloodlines a little.
F1 Generation
Like a good horse breeder, in the process of creating my first generation I had pretty much all my stallions and mares get busy with each other at one time or another. The foals of this generation came in several distinct waves- one at the start, one after I got my hands on Free Pirate, and one as I tried to diversify my bloodlines a bit. Unfortunately, several promising breeding pairs turned out to be duds. In particular, Mountain of Chips turned out to be a great show horse but a lousy breeder- only one of three foals was worth keeping, and as you'll see he's a bit of a borderline case.
Regardless, here are the F1 foals I ended up hanging onto:
Mares
Chamois Blanket
Special guest breeder Hampshire out of AM's Zoe. Named for her colors, Chamois ended up a little short but with great GP and gold intelligence. She's showing promise as a show horse, and is currently pregnant with a foal by Free Pirate for the "F1.5" generation.
Free Snowflake
Free Pirate out of AM's Yolandi. This one breaks my heart. 4/5 Appaloosa, high GP, green agility, gold intelligence, and at least a half-sister to every stallion in my breeding program. She's up for sale since I don't think I can get enough foals by outside studs to justify keeping her, but if she's still around when she hits maturity I probably won't be able to resist rolling the dice.
Wild Strawberry
Free Pirate out of Melodic Wildcard. Originally "Free and Wild" per my combination naming scheme, but with her color scheme a renaming wasn't far behind. With high GP, pretty coat colors, and good stats she looks set to continue Melodic Wildcard's mare line into the next generation.
Stallions
Baby Blanket
AM's Boy out of AM's Yolandi. He'll always be special to me, since he was the first foal born out of my breeding program, but that's not why I kept him. 44+K GP, gold intelligence, and a budding career in Western disciplines- that's why I kept him. Poised to replace his sire in the next generation of the program, though I have to be careful- he's short and pony-like in build, so I have to choose mares carefully to stay within breed standards.
Free Mountain
Free Pirate out of Mountain of Chips, the only one of her foals I kept. I almost sold him since he's only a 2/5 on breed standard, but in most cases he only missed by a few points- and he's tall, which could help with the lack of height that's been plaguing my program so far. I'm going to try breeding him back to some of my more pony-like mares to see if he can produce acceptable foals. If so, his green agility and gold int definitely make him a stallion I want to hang onto.
White Gold
Espiga out of AM's Yolandi. This freak of nature stood over 10hh at birth, and hasn't stopped growing since. Now he's over 15 hh at just over a year of age, and I'm excited to see how he does in training. Only problem is that he's borderline on several breed characteristics, so I'm going to have to be careful about which mares I breed him to.
Regardless, here are the F1 foals I ended up hanging onto:
Mares
Chamois Blanket
Special guest breeder Hampshire out of AM's Zoe. Named for her colors, Chamois ended up a little short but with great GP and gold intelligence. She's showing promise as a show horse, and is currently pregnant with a foal by Free Pirate for the "F1.5" generation.
Free Snowflake
Free Pirate out of AM's Yolandi. This one breaks my heart. 4/5 Appaloosa, high GP, green agility, gold intelligence, and at least a half-sister to every stallion in my breeding program. She's up for sale since I don't think I can get enough foals by outside studs to justify keeping her, but if she's still around when she hits maturity I probably won't be able to resist rolling the dice.
Wild Strawberry
Free Pirate out of Melodic Wildcard. Originally "Free and Wild" per my combination naming scheme, but with her color scheme a renaming wasn't far behind. With high GP, pretty coat colors, and good stats she looks set to continue Melodic Wildcard's mare line into the next generation.
Stallions
Baby Blanket
AM's Boy out of AM's Yolandi. He'll always be special to me, since he was the first foal born out of my breeding program, but that's not why I kept him. 44+K GP, gold intelligence, and a budding career in Western disciplines- that's why I kept him. Poised to replace his sire in the next generation of the program, though I have to be careful- he's short and pony-like in build, so I have to choose mares carefully to stay within breed standards.
Free Mountain
Free Pirate out of Mountain of Chips, the only one of her foals I kept. I almost sold him since he's only a 2/5 on breed standard, but in most cases he only missed by a few points- and he's tall, which could help with the lack of height that's been plaguing my program so far. I'm going to try breeding him back to some of my more pony-like mares to see if he can produce acceptable foals. If so, his green agility and gold int definitely make him a stallion I want to hang onto.
White Gold
Espiga out of AM's Yolandi. This freak of nature stood over 10hh at birth, and hasn't stopped growing since. Now he's over 15 hh at just over a year of age, and I'm excited to see how he does in training. Only problem is that he's borderline on several breed characteristics, so I'm going to have to be careful about which mares I breed him to.
Re: Valle Verde Ranch- Western Riding Appaloosas
Widening the Bloodlines and the F1.5 Generation
All in all I ended up with a good bunch of F1 foals, but there was a problem: when I tallied up numbers, 2 of the 3 stallions and 1 of 3 mares had AM's Yolandi as a mother, while 1 of 3 stallions and 2 of 3 mares had Free Pirate as a father. Granted, those two horses were far and away the stars of my original set, but the implications for breeding the next generation of the program were not good, to say the least. The poster child for this is poor Free Snow, a great filly who may end up being unbreedable simply because I don't have any stallions that aren't at least her half-brothers.
I took a look at the books and decided the best solution was opening up more mare lines. Another breeding mare would give me more choices when it came to maintaining breed standards and make the fact that 2 of my 3 stallions came from the same mother less important. So I went out shopping for a mare with good characteristics and a reasonable price to add to the program. Came back with two. You know how it goes.
AM's Jenny
Not a spectacular mare, but she's tall and has strong horse-like characteristics, which will help my small, pony-like studs stay within breed standards. And yet again, I end up with an AM's Appaloosa's horse...
Queen's Wildcard
As the name suggests, she's a half-sister to Melodic Wildcard, but has good GP, the right standards, and a nice coat color. She's a bit short, but if she's anything like her sister I should get some very good foals out of her.
Update: After some consideration I realized I don't have room for two more mare bloodlines, and Queenie's up for sale.
I also conducted a last-minute breeding from AM's Boy before he went up on the sale block, breeding him to Melodic Wildcard. The last time I tried this pairing the foal was unspectacular and ended up being rehomed, but it's worth another shot. Ideally I'd like a good stallion from this pairing that I can use to mix up my studs, but another mare I could safely breed to Baby Blanket or White Gold would be just fine as well.
All in all I ended up with a good bunch of F1 foals, but there was a problem: when I tallied up numbers, 2 of the 3 stallions and 1 of 3 mares had AM's Yolandi as a mother, while 1 of 3 stallions and 2 of 3 mares had Free Pirate as a father. Granted, those two horses were far and away the stars of my original set, but the implications for breeding the next generation of the program were not good, to say the least. The poster child for this is poor Free Snow, a great filly who may end up being unbreedable simply because I don't have any stallions that aren't at least her half-brothers.
I took a look at the books and decided the best solution was opening up more mare lines. Another breeding mare would give me more choices when it came to maintaining breed standards and make the fact that 2 of my 3 stallions came from the same mother less important. So I went out shopping for a mare with good characteristics and a reasonable price to add to the program. Came back with two. You know how it goes.
AM's Jenny
Not a spectacular mare, but she's tall and has strong horse-like characteristics, which will help my small, pony-like studs stay within breed standards. And yet again, I end up with an AM's Appaloosa's horse...
Queen's Wildcard
As the name suggests, she's a half-sister to Melodic Wildcard, but has good GP, the right standards, and a nice coat color. She's a bit short, but if she's anything like her sister I should get some very good foals out of her.
Update: After some consideration I realized I don't have room for two more mare bloodlines, and Queenie's up for sale.
I also conducted a last-minute breeding from AM's Boy before he went up on the sale block, breeding him to Melodic Wildcard. The last time I tried this pairing the foal was unspectacular and ended up being rehomed, but it's worth another shot. Ideally I'd like a good stallion from this pairing that I can use to mix up my studs, but another mare I could safely breed to Baby Blanket or White Gold would be just fine as well.
Re: Valle Verde Ranch- Western Riding Appaloosas
Currently, I'm breeding an "F1.5" generation, by breeding my F1 horses back to unrelated founding-line horses as they mature to see what I can find out about their genetics. I have a few test crosses planned, mostly to see what quality foals I get, but also to see if Free Mountains can produce foals anywhere close to breed standard. So far I've gotten this promising boy:
Baby Wildcard
Baby Blanket x Melodic Wildcard, 43K GP. Promising, not sure if he's worth displacing another stallion for though.
and this girl:
Red Blanket
Free Pirate x Chamois Blanket. Red's kind of tearing me up, yet again, because of her gorgeous colors, but I don't know if they're unique enough to keep her in the program.
I have one more F1.5 cross planned:
Baby Wildcard
Baby Blanket x Melodic Wildcard, 43K GP. Promising, not sure if he's worth displacing another stallion for though.
and this girl:
Red Blanket
Free Pirate x Chamois Blanket. Red's kind of tearing me up, yet again, because of her gorgeous colors, but I don't know if they're unique enough to keep her in the program.
I have one more F1.5 cross planned:
- Free Mountains x AM's Yolandi to see if I can bring his offspring closer to breed standard