Pedigrees and Lineage

''IMPORTANT! This information is no longer up to date, but is kept here as an archive for NIBers who may find it useful. Instead, please direct your questions to the NIB thread on Howrse, International server for more up to date answers.''

How do you verify a pedigree?
a. One way is to keep live horses and handle manual verification by go through each horse in the line. It's painstaking but the only true way to do it. Most quality NIB breeders will adhere to keeping live horses for their entire lines so it remains undisuptable.
 * There are a few ways to show verification of a pedigree.


 * b. Some NIBers show verification by taking screenshots of the lineage so that if a howrse disappears, they have proof. However, given how screenshots are easily doctored, this is not an acceptable method of verification among many NIBers.


 * c. Some NIBers verify by compiling a list of horse identification numbers, thinking this is satisfactory and they can then sell or send their horses to Safe Haven or Heaven. Unfortunately, this can also be doctored and there is a great room for human error when documenting the information.

If I take a screenshot of the geneology, before a horse disappears, will it be considered NIB because I have "proof"?

 * No. A screenshot can be graphically edited, so it is not a reliable method, or a widely acceptable way, to prove your howrse's lineage. The only indisputable method is to keep live horses.

What are the various ways of keeping track of pedigrees and genealogies?

 * There are many ways to do this. Some suggestions are:


 * Your website - but you run the risk of losing it if it gets hacked or if the site host closes down and haven't backed up the info.


 * Free pedigree form to be posted on a website - You can find this on the internet. It is a table format. The downside is you have to re-enter all the information whenever you have a new foal, and if its hosted by someone else, they could one day revoke public access to this form.


 * On your desktop - you can use a program like Wordpad or a spreadsheet program and keep it on your PC, but if you don't back it up, you could lose it all.


 * A real life notebook - manual labor, and no one else can see the list but you, unless you scan it in. Still easy enough to erase info with a pencil if you ever need to make adjustments.
 * NIB Coalition forum - we host your pedigree and guarantee it's quality or it will be unlisted. (coming soon)

Which is the best way to keep track of pedigrees?

 * Everyone has different preferences, but some experienced breeders recommend that you use multiple methods. A popular combination involves a digital method and using a real life notebook.

Why are deceased NIB howrses not accepted when the howrses' in Heaven still have the mother and father names under their info?
"Yes, deceased NIBs have the mother / father info, but if the mother or father were to disappear, it couldn't be validated that the horse was NIB in the first place. That's why most NIB breeders are really picky when it comes to deceased horses in a NIB's lineage."
 * This one is anwered by blackforest0 (a NIB breeder) in the official NIB thread:

Can howrses in Safe Haven or Heaven disappear?

 * Yes. Heaven and Safe Haven are not a safe place to put your NIB horses if you place any value in proving your lines. Some NIBers, including some NIBC staff, have mentioned that a few of the horses they put in Safe Haven or Heaven have disappeared; those that were NIB broke their line. So they've had to rebreed that section of their project. Howrse does purge Safe Haven and Heaven periodically to make room for the many new horses that appear in game. Anyone who tells you different has never experienced losing a horse in these (un)safe areas.


 * Keep in mind that even if YOU know they were NIB howrses prior to their disappearance, there is no longer a way to prove that, so your line would be considered broken.