Horse Mechanics

**Horses** are the players' constant companions and the primary form of transportation in the infinite wilds.

## Wild Horses

For many players, a wild horse is their first horse. Wild horses can be found in every Biome. Each biome has unique parameters for how wild horses that spawn may look. In most cases, wild horses will be Grades and not a specific breed, however there are rare occurrences of a horse being a specific breed.

When caught, a horse's breed will be *Unidentified*. In order to see what breed their horse is, a player must have their horse identified at a Horse Expert.

### Capturing

There are two ways to capture wild horses, either with a lasso or with treats.

To lasso a wild horse, equip the lasso, either by pressing the hotkey "L" or by opening the *Equipment* tab and selecting "Use" on the lasso. Approach the wild horse while still keeping some distance and hold the left mouse button. Allow the lasso to circle three or four times before releasing when the lasso is aimed at the horse. A horse will be caught if the lasso hits their neck, head, or chest. A player can use the lasso while mounted or unmounted.

To treat tame a wild horse, open your inventory and select the *Horse Treats* tab. Select a treat and hold the left mouse button to hold the treat out. While holding the left mouse button you will be able to approach a wild horse without scaring it away. If the horse likes the flavor of the treat, it will immediately become yours. If the wild horse doesn't like the treat, it will run away. Keep in mind that even if the wild horse doesn't like the treat, the treat will still be consumed. The player must be unmounted to use a treat.

### Lucky Finds

Rarely, a player may find a horse called a Lucky Find. Lucky finds are wild horses that are a specific breed. When caught, there will be a unique popup informing the player that the horse they just caught is a lucky find. Just like any other wild, Lucky Finds will be unidentified until identified as a horse expert. Lucky finds commonly look nothing like the other wild horses of a biome, making them easy to spot if you know what a wild horse in a specific biome commonly looks like. A lucky find will always have perfect, or near perfect, conformation.

## Breeds

*See Horse Breeds for a complete list of available breeds.*
There are many different breeds of horse, pony, zebra, donkey, and hybrids. The appearance of each breed follows real world requirements for a horse to be considered part of that breed.

## Breeding

Players can breed their horses, either with their own or other players'. The resulting foal will have a combination of the parents' genetics, traits, and stats.

### Genetics

*See Genetics for a list of available genetics.*
The genetics of Horse Isle 3 are as true to life as current knowledge and game limitations allow, as well as realistic modes of inheritance.

### Traits

Traits, while similar to genetics, are inherited and expressed differently. A trait controls conformation, the expressiveness of markings, etc..

## Stats

Stats are a combination of base stats, performance metrics, and personality.

### Base Stats

Base stats give an overall assessment of a horse's capabilities. A horse's base stats are Agility (AGI), Endurance (END), Intelligence (INT), Speed (SPD), and Strength (STR). Base stats effect performance metrics to some degree. The average amount a horse can have in any stat is 250, with 500 being the maximum a horse can be born with in a single stat.

* Agility effects how quickly a horse accelerates and decelerates as well as how tightly it can turn.
* Endurance determines how much stamina a horse has.
* Intelligence determines how easily a horse can become injured, as well as being able to do certain things on its own.
* Speed determines how fast a horse is.
* Strength determines how high a horse can jump, as well as how much weight a horse can pull.

### Performance Metrics

Performance metrics are a detailed overview of a horse's capabilities. Performance metrics are largely based on a horse's conformation, but are also affected by training, imbued tack, and plushies. Stats with a blue bar, more is better. Stats with a red bar, less is better.

* **Mass** is a measure of how heavy your horse is. Mass effects many of the metrics below, both positively and negatively.

Mass is calculated based on the height, width, and size of the horse.
* **Stride Length** is a measure of how much ground a horse's leg can cover in a single stride. The longer a horse's stride length, the farther, and usually faster, it can go with minimal effort.

Stride length is determined by the length of the horse's legs.
Stride length effects speed and jump power metrics.
* **Speed** is a measure of how fast a horse is at a full, but not forced, gallop. A horse's speed shows how fast it will be when not tired and on even, neutral ground.

Other metrics that improve speed are stride length and mass. Heavier horses will be slower than lighter horses.
Conformation that improves speed is musculature.
Base stats that improve speed is, as the name would imply, speed.
* **Sprint Boost** is a measure of how much faster a horse can go while sprinting. A horse's sprint boost shows how fast it will be when not tired and on even, neutral ground.

Other metrics that can improve sprint boost is stride length. However, horses with too long of legs will have a negative impact on sprint boost. Horses with heavy mass will also have a negative impact on sprint boost.
Conformation that improves sprint boost is musculature and powerful hind muscles.
Base stats that improve sprint boost are speed, strength, and agility.
* **Acceleration Rate** is a measure of how quickly a horse can accelerate from standing to full speed.
* **Deceleration Rate** is a measure of how quickly a horse can decelerate from full speed to a stop.
* **Turning Speed** is a measure of how quickly a horse can turn in degrees per second.
* **Reverse Speed** is a measure of how quickly your horse can back up in meters per second.
* **Jump Power** is a measure of how high and quickly a horse can jump, in meters per second.

Jump power is influenced by longer stride length, musculature, and prominent withers, as well as higher agility, intelligence, and strength. However, a horse with higher mass will have a harder time jumping.
* **Fear Tolerance** is a measure of how brave a horse is. Horses with higher fear tolerance will be able to
* **Pull Strength** is a measure of how heavy a load a horse can pull.
* **Stamina Drop** is a measure of how quickly a horse loses stamina per second.
* **Reaction Time** is a measure of how quickly a horse will respond to commands.
* **SLED** is a measure of how well a horse can pull sleds of the same weight.