Breeding

Breeding is a vital and important aspect of RSHR gameplay. There are 4 main reasons you might be breeding your horses.

1. A Chapter Goal requirement
2. To achieve a higher Grade
3. Trying for higher Stats
4. Wanting Different Colors (Appearance)

Each of those starts with the same basic fundamentals: A mare & a stallion. You must own a mare in order to be able to breed. You do not have to own a stallion (there is a stud farm that offers a random set of 5 stallions every hour). However if you do own a stallion, the silver breeding cost is reduced by 10-20% or more.

Special Note: There are no "relatives" in this game. In most cases breeding horses with same pedigrees is beneficial (vital) if a player is breeding for stats or rare color. What this does is reduce the options for the algorithm to pick from. Of course, if one's horses have low stats or extremely common colors, it would not be wise to continue breeding those together.

#### Chapter Goal Requirement

This is pretty straight forward, the goal will specify what requirement needs to be met (whether it's grade, gender, track preference or stat level)

#### Achieving Higher Grade

This is also pretty straight forward, you simply need to upgrade your foaling stall to allow the "next" grade above what you are currently breeding. You can breed 2 of the same grade together for a small chance of the next grade up.

Special Note: A foal can only be one of two possible grades, the same or one higher than the LOWEST Grade parent, so it's not beneficial to breed more than a few Grades apart in most instances (there are very specific exceptions, you'll know if they apply to you) ;)

#### Trying for Higher Stats

The Official Breeding Guide explains that a foal's stats are directly affected by the parent's stats, but also have a small random chance of being something completely different.

When breeding for stats, never cross more than 2 Grades (in other words, the grades you are breeding should produce or be produced by the intermediate grade (example; Grade 2 x Grade 4 = Grade 3).

Strategy Tip: Most long-term players prefer to breed in a "capped" foaling stall, which forces the random-breeding-algorithm to only allow a certain maximum Grade (usually the one they are trying to improve on). Stats can rise or fall between breedings, you should replace the mare or stallion if a filly or colt is produced that improves on that parent's stats. Tip: If a colt is produced that has same stats as the stallion, you can breed him back to the mare before selling, this gives you an extra "generation" of stat increase!

#### Breeding for Rare Colors

(Updated Feb 2021)
This is now the least random aspect in the game. A foal can only be one of the colors that either parent carriers.

Only a few things are set:

1. **Patterns:** There are 3 "levels" of patterns;
	1. "**Basic**" - these can be attained by anyone playing the game, through breeding or directly by gold market purchase;
	2. "**Star Club**" - These are exclusive to Star Club members (using Star Club stud farm stallions) and occasionally available on Live Event Prize Horses;
	3. "**Premium**" - These are only available on horses bought for real money (which can then be bred to try and pass on the pattern)
2. **Rarity**: The ***base colors*** have a 'rarity' hierarchy... (rarest) White -> Black -> Brown -> Chestnut -> Bay (most common)
3. You will have to breed horses with same pedigree together to increase your chances of the rare colors.
4. Special Tip: It's highly recommended to breed for colors with LOW grades (Grade 1 OR Grade 2), due to the short wait-time and ease of gathering resources. Since most foals will be sold, these foals sell for "profit" (i.e. more than the breeding cost)