Training

''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.''

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What is BLUP? Why is it important?
To understand the basics of BLUP, I refer you to the game's breeder manual > 4. Develop the genetic potential of your horse > 4.2 Genetics > BLUP. You can find the manual at the top right of any Howrse page, under Help.
 * B.L.U.P. = Best Linear Unbias Prediction. The higher your howrse's BLUP is, the more GP and inborn skills get passed onto their foal. If a pair of howrses have negative BLUP, then no skills will be passed to the foal.



What does it mean to "bold" a howrse?

 * "Bolding" or "to bold a howrse" means to max all the howrse's skills. When you max a skill, that skill's name turns bold faced.



Are some breeds easier to BLUP than others?

 * Yes...

▪ Some Easy BLUPers: Hanoverians, Connies, Paints, ▪ Some Challenging BLUPers at this time: Marwari, Paso, Fjord (generally, the newer the breed, the more challenging to BLUP.) ● A2. "The popularity of a breed is both a curse and a blessing. A curse in such that if the breed is unpopular the races have a hard time jump starting if breed specific and if popular there are more big baddies about. A blessing in that if unpopular fewer big baddies are around and if popular the races run more. It's all a balancing act. I can understand QPs being an issue because they are very unpopular and are few in NIB numbers because they can't be chosen as a starter horse. " (Answered by Forest Queen, a retired NIBer)
 * ● A1. Some breeds' skills make it easier for them to win competitions and allows for more breed specific comps. In general, howrses from the World Tour and other new howrses will have a harder time BLUPing than older/original howrse breeds. Open competitions make it easier for other bigger, badder horses to hit that race, which means it is more likely for your low GP or foundation to get targeted as an "easy win".



I am struggling to get 20 wins for my NIB howrse. Is there an easier way to do this?

 * Some of us have decided to join together on YIM (Yahoo Instant Messenger) or Chatzy for "BLUP parties" where we use fillers to help get a howrse their wins. A BLUP party has specific etiquette, so please pay attention to that or else you'll find it harder to join them.



How do I get in contact with these people?

 * Ask in the NIB thread if someone can 'fill' for you. People will still help.


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How do I get the 1.2 increase in genetic potential in my foundation foals?

 * Before July 16, 2012, it was possible to game your foal to increase it's genetic potential by a maximum of 1.2 points. After the date, when Companions were removed from the game, all foals with the exeption of foundation foals automatically receive the 1.2 gain in genetic potential. Unfortunately, this means that there is no way to get a 1.2 increase in GP for foundation foals anymore. At this point, foal games in general are no longer the means to obtain the 1.2 increase. In fact, their only purpose at present is to increase skills.