1. How do I create a horse, anyways?

Firstly, think about the horses you'd like to own & breed in the game. While we encourage and support owning the rarer breeds-think about what your chosen breed can show in and its opportunities. Example: You want Akhal Tekes. While there may not be an Akhal Teke association, Akhal Tekes are very capable of doing disciplines like eventing and dressage, which are commonly found in HF. Anyways, you'll need to make some choices about your horse-like name, age, breed, height, sire x dam, and disciplines. In HF, we do recommend having realistic horses-for instance, no horses sired by Cigar. He's sterile, and has never produced a foal. Once you've made up your mind on the kind of horse you'd like to have, you need to email Sacha at the Mandatory Registry (which can be found under Establishments on the site) with the form found on the page. Within a week, typically, she will email you back with your horse(s)' Registration Numbers. You are allowed to begin playing and showing your horses during this time. Don't forget to write down, or type, your horse's information into either a notepad file, a word document, or excel. Also remember that Sacha is busy and is very hardworking-also that she's located in a different timezone than most of our members (GMT, which is 7-10 hours ahead of most). So be patient

2. Why wasn't my establishment approved?

A couple of reasons are possible: 1. Our approver didn't receive your message. If they don't respond within a week or so, I would send another. 2. You lacked disclaimers on ALL pages. 3. The site was too hard to navigate, or had broken links. 4. Our approver will give you a reason for its not getting approved. Fix it as requested and you can almost guarantee it will be approved.

3. What's the deal with money in HF, anyways?

We require new, beginner, and intermediate members to keep track of their money. This shows you're dedicated and are going to stick with the game-plus gives you a taste of what the real world is like. We decided that many of us advanced members weren't keeping track of our money anyways, and thought that Advanced members deserved a bit of a reward for sticking it out through the member levels-so we removed money restrictions on them.

4. How do I move up member levels?

Simply complete the requirements for the level you're at. Then PM one of the officers, tell them what you've accomplished. Then you're promoted!

5. So, what's the deal with all-sim?

Points for allsim don't count here in HF. You MAY list them on your horse's pages, but they MUST clearly indicate they are not HF records. You're welcome to use stallions & mares outside of HF provided the gestation & aging follows HF's rules. We encourage and fully support involvement in all-sim, provided things are kept legal & separated where applicable.

6. What about pictures?

We encourage and allow people to use pictures of real-life horses. However, this comes with a few caveats...you should DEFINITELY try and ask permission to use the pictures you find. You also need to right click, and click on "Save As" to your OWN computer. Do NOT direct link, aka hotlink. This costs the original owner of the picture money and will get the game and yourself in trouble. SIMMers already have a poor reputation in the horse world-by asking permission and being courteous, you can improve others' opinions of us. Be gracious and ask permission with a mature, nice email whenever possible. We cannot stress both of these points enough. If you hotlink, there's a good chance of you getting suspended from the game. Sounds harsh, eh? Well, that's what it's come down to in SIM in recent years, unfortunately. You can use google or another image search engine to find your pictures. People may already be using the photos in the game, however-so be sure to ask if they mind sharing first! It's the most courteous thing to do. You're also welcome to use your own personal photos.

7. How does the vet, farrier, and feed store thing work?

It's simply a few of the many establishments you can own. You don't need to pass any tests, or be "qualified" to own these businesses. We do ask you educate yourself on whatever it is your business is about, if you don't know already. For instance, if you're going to be a farrier, know some information on shoeing, hooves, and pricing for that service. Feel free to research this on the 'net. You'll also notice that not everyone uses a farrier, feedstore, or a vet on a regular basis. Some of the members have a VERY large amount of horses (think 80+)-this makes it tedious, nearly impossible, and difficult to fill out forms and such for EVERY horse they own. In the case of someone in this situation, they may choose to be their own vet, farrier, or feed store, and calculate approximately how much those services cost in total each month, and subtract it from their balance.

8. How relaxed/realistic is HF?

We're a pretty laidback bunch, provided you follow the rules and use common sense. We're not strict on the level of HTML you have-only that your pages are easy to read and navigate. If you need some time off from the game, feel free, but make sure you let us know on the Away board. If you're redoing a layout, don't worry, you've got plenty of time. Just be reasonable and use common sense in HF and you'll be fine. As for realism, we don't appreciate someone showing their English Pleasure horse in a working hunter class (FYI, English Pleasure is a saddleseat class). Nor do we want to see a great grandson of Fusaichi Pegasus-he's not old enough. Grand Prix dressage horses shouldn't be cutting cattle. Race horses shouldn't show in anything else but halter. Again, common sense is your best friend-just be reasonable.

9. How does breeding work?

If you're breeding your own stallion and your own mare together, simply make a document (In word, excel, notepad, etc) that says something like:

On April 10th, bred Glitter (Arab Stallion) to Marshmallow (Paint Mare). Due to foal May 10th. May 10th, produced a filly, named Chocolate, bay tobiano.

Then you'd make up the information about the foal. Remember to have the foal's color to be possible from the parents. Then send the foal's registration into the mandatory registry.

You'd do the same by breeding to an outside stallion or mare-but first you must contact the stallion's owner and ask if you may breed your mare to their stallions. You'll pay a stud fee, set a breeding date, and the foal will be born a month from then, at which point you should register the foal.

Have other questions? Post in the Q & A forum, and someone will try and answer your question!

Finally, don't forget to introduce yourself! You might include your name, age, interests, what you'll own/breed in HF, your RL horses, SIM experience, and Instant Messenger information. Don't forget to register for the forum! Then you can update your profile so people can contact you. If proboards doesn't send you your password (which it does periodically, particularly with AOL emails) check your bulk or junk mail folder, if it's still not there, let one of the officers know and we will fix it for you