Horse

Horse

The Horse is the player's constant companion and primary mode of transportation in Jorvik.

Horses represent the core mechanic of the game, being used for travel, racing, competitions, and more.

The player's first horse, the Jorvik Warmblood, is chosen and customized by the player when first signing up for SSO. When beginning the game, the player is only renting this horse from its previous owners. After finishing a select number of quests, the Jorvik Warmblood can be bought for 300 Jorvik Shillings. Other horses can be purchased from multiple locations and can only be bought with Star Coins.

Name
Horses names, like the player character's name, cannot be typed out but must instead be chosen from a list of names from two scroll bars. Horse names must be made up of two words chosen from each scroll bar. This is to allow for more customization of the name and to keep players from choosing names which would be considered inappropriate. When buying horses, a player must create a name for their horse before the purchase is completed. Horse names, unlike the player's name, can be changed at select notaries around Jorvik.

Horse Character Sheet
Horses have a number of variables that affect how they perform in the game. These can all be found on the horse's character sheet, which depicts the horse's level, mood, skills, and gear. The sheet can be opened by pressing C.

Level
Horse are leveled up through races and certain quests. Currently, Horses are capped at level 15.

Mood
5 of 5Add photoKeeping a horse happy will increase it's performance level as it carries an invisible happiness stat. A horse's mood will be depicted by the face icon below its name. These stats are as follows: The Horse's mood can only be increased and kept up by doing it's daily chores (feeding, watering, grooming, and picking hooves), going to the Vet, or paying for Stable Care Help. Failing to do one of these options will cause the horse's mood to drop.
 * Inspired :D
 * Sad: 1
 * Grumpy: 2
 * Content: 3-4
 * Happy: 5-6
 * Inspired: 7

Skills
The horses of Jorvik have specific statistics (called skills in-game) that affect how they will perform while ridden: Strength: How high and far your horse can jump

Discipline: How quickly your horse changes gaits

Swiftness: How fast your horse is

Endurance: How much damage the horse can take

Agility: How fast and sharp your horse can turn

The Horse's skills are split up into four rows, on the horses' character sheet that adds up to create a total score for each stat.

Row 1: Depicts a Horse's Breed Bonus, these are initial stats a horse starts out with when purchased and cannot be enhanced.

Row 2: Depicts a Horse's Skill Development, these stats increase as the player levels up their horse, at level 15 this stat should reach ten across all skills.

Row 3: Depicts a Horse's Level Bonus, these stats increase as the player levels up their horse, at level 15 this stat should reach 7 across all skills.

Row 4: Depicts a Horse's Equipment Bonus, these stats are the only stat a player can actively affect. Depending on what gear a player equips their horse with, these stats will increase or decrease. This is also the only stat in which a player can affect a horse's speed skill.

Gear
The type of gear a player equips to their horse will affect 1-4 of the horse's base stats. Depending on the combination of gear, a player can drastically increase or decrease a horse's performance.

So far the only items that can be equipped with horses to affect their stats are:
 * Saddles
 * Saddle pads or blankets
 * Bridles
 * Horseshoes

Special Abilities
Some horses have special abilities, that can range from cosmetic, to helpful, or hindering.

The Snowflake Icon depicted on a horse's character sheet Cold Resistance: A few select breeds are able to withstand the cold temperatures of the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. This means they will be able to run at their normal speeds rather than be slowed down by the cold. These breeds are marked with a special snowflake icon to the left of their breed name.

Color Changing: Jorvik Wild Horses can change colors depending on their location in-game. This does not affect any of their stats, it's purely a cosmetic change.

Slower Speed: Some horses have a negative speed stat applied to them. Jorvik Wild Horses cannot run as fast as other horse breeds in-game. This makes them undesirable for those competing in championships.

Special Moves: Some breeds have special animations if pressing the space-bar while a horse is standing still. These are purely cosmetic and don't add anything to gameplay.

Special Gaits: So far only one horse has been released with a special gait. The Icelandic horse has been released with the ability to Tölt, a gait it's specifically bred to do. A special race has even been released for Icelandic horses.

Customization
The only horse that is fully customizable by the player is the Jorvik Warmblood. But, there are other ways a player can make their horse stand out from the crowd.

Horse Color: Most horses come in multiple colors meaning not every player has to have the same colored horse.

Equipment: While gear also makes for a better riding performance, choosing specific colors and styles will help horses stand out.

Horse Stylists: There are Horse Stylists in spots all over Jorvik. You can pay them to change your horse's mane and tail styles.

Accessories: Head and Tail ornaments, Leg Wraps, and Saddle bags can be purchased at select vendors in Jorvik to add a little extra to your overall appearance.

Owning Multiple Horses
When Star Stable Online was first released, it was only possible to own one horse, the Jorvik Warmblood. However, on April 10, 2013, they released more breeds allowing players to purchase more than one horse. This can be done by simply walking up to the horse you wish to purchase and clicking on it which will bring up the purchase menu.

Currently, players can purchase as many horses as they want, but not every horse can remain in the player's barn. The number of stalls in a player's barn is 12 but the player can purchase up to 6 more boxes with Star Coins making the max number of stalls 18. If a player has more than 18 horses, the others must be sent off to the player's pasture.

Players can get rid of a horse, rather than sending it to their pasture, by selling it. Horses are sold for 2500 Jorvik shillings. Players cannot sell their horses for Star Coins. Once a horse is sold, it is gone from the game for good and players can never get that horse back.

Horse breeds
The following breeds make appearances in Star Stable Online:

Regular Breeds

 * Akhal-Teke
 * American Paint Horse
 * American Quarter Horse
 * Andalusian
 * Appaloosa
 * Arabian Thoroughbred
 * Clydesdale
 * Danish Warmblood
 * Dutch Warmblood
 * English Thoroughbred
 * Fjord
 * Friesian Horse
 * Friesian Sport Horse
 * Haflinger
 * Hanoverian
 * Icelandic Horse
 * Lipizzaner
 * Lusitano
 * Morab
 * Morgan
 * Mustang
 * North Swedish Horse
 * Oldenburg
 * Pintabian
 * Selle Francais
 * Shire
 * Tinker Horse
 * Trakehner
 * Westphalian

Ponies Edit

 * Connemara
 * Chincoteague Pony
 * Welsh Pony

Fictional Breeds Edit

 * Jorvik Pony
 * Jorvik Warmblood
 * Jorvik Wild Horse
 * SuperShire
 * Star Horse
 * Zony