Howrse - Genetics



	The genetics and the BLUP can only be seen by players that have successfully passed their fourth Riding Level.

Genetic potential

This relates to skills that the horse can acquire during its life through training, riding and competitions. They are calculated depending on the genetic potential of the horse's parents and depending on the latter's BLUP.

If the horse or pony finished trainining, rides and competition in a skill, then this skill is in bold characters (BC). This means that this is a strength of this horse.

The genetic potential of a foal can change in one way only once it is born - by playing with it between 8 months and 1 and half years of age.

The inborn skills and the gain in skills during lessons are not included in the genetic potential. So, a horse's skills may exceed the values indicated in its genetic potential.

Inborn skills

These are skills that the horse already has from birth. Not all foals necessarily have them. They depend on the foal's parents, their genetic potential and the average BLUP of its parents. So, a foal may be born with 10% stamina for example.

A foal cannot be born with negative skills. If the parents's average BLUP is less than 0 then the foal will not have any inborn skills.

These inborn skills are fixed at birth. They are added to the genetic potential.

Note that the inborn skills are built into the skills, so a skill may exceed the value indicated in the genetic potential. It is this actual value that will count for the minimum level in competitions.

The BLUP

The BLUP is a genetic index. It plays a role in the reproduction since the parents's BLUP influences the potential of a foal at its birth.It is calculated depending on

the training level reached by the horse in its best three skills,
the number of competitions won by the horse, the ideal being 20 victories
and its age. The BLUP can only reach 100 after 10 years' old.

It is therefore interesting to select trained horses as reproducers and those that have excelled in competitions. Depending on these parameters, the BLUP will always be between - 100 and 100, - with -100 being the minimum BLUP and 100 the maximum BLUP that a horse can achieve.

If the parents's average BLUP is 0, i.e. neutral, it will not have an impact on calculating the foal's genetic potential. If it is less than 0, the foal will have more chance of seeing its potential lower than its parents's potential and vice versa if the average BLUP is more than 0.

To have the best reproducers and have every chance of having the best foals possible, it is preferable to select horse with a high, or at least a positive, BLUP, i.e. mainly well trained individuals.