We believe that good intention, trust, understanding and simplicity is the best combination to building a lasting, cooperative relationship with any horse. We know that any issue with a horse is a direct reflection of our failures. Be it a lack of communication, ignorance to stimuli or pain or any other reason, we are their caretakers, their leaders, and we are ultimately responsible for their health and safety.
Horses have survived for thousands of years without human intervention and get along just fine without us. But when we force them to conform to human rules, telling them how to behave and what they need to spend their time doing, we are asking for trouble. We at Dark Horse Stables are fighting against the 'norm' in today's horse world. The horses at Dark Horse Stables live a lifestyle not found in your typical stud or performance horse barn because they live in herds together, able to spend all day with their familiar companions, as close to free as we can give them. Our horses have never felt neglect, are never worked to the point of boredom or frustration, and eagerly welcome human company. At one time or another, every horse in our care will have been in a herd with each other to learn manners, build friendships, and just be a horse.
As night descends, they come inside the stables where they are given the night to themselves, to rest in peace and safety. They never fuss, never refuse, because after a day of playing and roughhousing, they are able to recuperate and get away from any horse that may be a bit clingy. We inspect each horse every day for clear & bright eyes, unusual mucus or discharge, bumps, hot spots, wounds, swelling, bruising or cracks on the hooves, abnormal urine or droppings, and general alertness to surroundings. They are on a strict schedule for vaccinations and see the veterinarian and farrier routinely. We take great pride in the health of our horses physically, but more importantly to us, mentally.
Horses have survived for thousands of years without human intervention and get along just fine without us. But when we force them to conform to human rules, telling them how to behave and what they need to spend their time doing, we are asking for trouble. We at Dark Horse Stables are fighting against the 'norm' in today's horse world. The horses at Dark Horse Stables live a lifestyle not found in your typical stud or performance horse barn because they live in herds together, able to spend all day with their familiar companions, as close to free as we can give them. Our horses have never felt neglect, are never worked to the point of boredom or frustration, and eagerly welcome human company. At one time or another, every horse in our care will have been in a herd with each other to learn manners, build friendships, and just be a horse.
As night descends, they come inside the stables where they are given the night to themselves, to rest in peace and safety. They never fuss, never refuse, because after a day of playing and roughhousing, they are able to recuperate and get away from any horse that may be a bit clingy. We inspect each horse every day for clear & bright eyes, unusual mucus or discharge, bumps, hot spots, wounds, swelling, bruising or cracks on the hooves, abnormal urine or droppings, and general alertness to surroundings. They are on a strict schedule for vaccinations and see the veterinarian and farrier routinely. We take great pride in the health of our horses physically, but more importantly to us, mentally.
One of the things that make DHS so unique is our young horse development. We allow and encourage newborns to imprint to their mothers, not people. This is because it is their dam is their best teacher, no matter how much we try to stop it, and because this is the way Nature intended. They are around people starting the first few hours after birth, but until then we try to keep things as natural as possible. Some mares give birth in the herd during the day, rarely, but it has happened, proving that horses feel safer together. Training begins immediately after with gentle and non-restrictive handling in the stall, setting up the foundation of a lifelong bond with humans. Foals are first haltered their first day for a few minutes at a time, and continue this training every day until they no longer notice it on them.
All foals are given a very special boost in life just hours after birth. Immunization-rich Plasma given by our one of a kind draft mares, saving the lives of foals born with dangerous diseases. These mares will later meet each and every foal, helping to socialize them and help them overcome fears, in some ways becoming their guardians until the foals are old and strong enough to leave with their mothers back to their homes. These mares are permanent residents at the Foaling Barn and live together in a herd environment year-round.
Dark Horse Stables is also renown for our track record in shows and most of all, our stallions. We act under the idea that no horse shall ever be placed in jeopardy over a ribbon or money. We will never place our horses into shows that we find unsafe or harmful. Dark Horse Stables competes in Dressage, Racing, Show Jumping, Cross Country, and In-Hand Halter Shows, and is aware of the dangers and benefits in each sport. You will never find one of our horses in a dressage competition in distress - being forced into hyperflexion, rollkur, or riding them Low Deep and Round. This is so painful and damaging to the horse, we will drop out of a competition before going along with the trend. However, this is such a wonderful sport when done correctly; strengthening the horse and rider, bonding them until their thoughts work in sync, loosening and lengthening muscles and improving flexibility, and giving a horse a challenge he wants to conquer.
Then there is racing. We are very careful about our racehorse schedule. They will never be at an under tack 2 year old show, as this can be too dangerous for them mentally and deadly to them physically. Horse racing is not a bad sport but we limit the amount of strain on all of our racehorses, even if it means giving up first place. This ancient sport is perhaps the most natural of them all, allowing a horse to run as he was built to do. Loving this sport as we do, we are careful to let them run at the speed they want to, and not the speed the crowd cries for. Jumping is another sport we love but monitor. Our horses are not forced to jump before they are ready, nor will they ever jump 7 foot tall walls. Many jumpers do well with even high jumps, but we do not feel comfortable placing that much strain on their tendons and ligaments.
All foals are given a very special boost in life just hours after birth. Immunization-rich Plasma given by our one of a kind draft mares, saving the lives of foals born with dangerous diseases. These mares will later meet each and every foal, helping to socialize them and help them overcome fears, in some ways becoming their guardians until the foals are old and strong enough to leave with their mothers back to their homes. These mares are permanent residents at the Foaling Barn and live together in a herd environment year-round.
Dark Horse Stables is also renown for our track record in shows and most of all, our stallions. We act under the idea that no horse shall ever be placed in jeopardy over a ribbon or money. We will never place our horses into shows that we find unsafe or harmful. Dark Horse Stables competes in Dressage, Racing, Show Jumping, Cross Country, and In-Hand Halter Shows, and is aware of the dangers and benefits in each sport. You will never find one of our horses in a dressage competition in distress - being forced into hyperflexion, rollkur, or riding them Low Deep and Round. This is so painful and damaging to the horse, we will drop out of a competition before going along with the trend. However, this is such a wonderful sport when done correctly; strengthening the horse and rider, bonding them until their thoughts work in sync, loosening and lengthening muscles and improving flexibility, and giving a horse a challenge he wants to conquer.
Then there is racing. We are very careful about our racehorse schedule. They will never be at an under tack 2 year old show, as this can be too dangerous for them mentally and deadly to them physically. Horse racing is not a bad sport but we limit the amount of strain on all of our racehorses, even if it means giving up first place. This ancient sport is perhaps the most natural of them all, allowing a horse to run as he was built to do. Loving this sport as we do, we are careful to let them run at the speed they want to, and not the speed the crowd cries for. Jumping is another sport we love but monitor. Our horses are not forced to jump before they are ready, nor will they ever jump 7 foot tall walls. Many jumpers do well with even high jumps, but we do not feel comfortable placing that much strain on their tendons and ligaments.
We pride ourselves in providing friendly and understanding stud services to small first time breeders as well as the most demanding world-class clients. Mares as just as important as the stallions chosen to sire their young, we know this, and we uphold the highest standard of broodmare care to all who enter our facility. Once you have decided you want to breed your mare, we welcome you to take a tour of our stud facilities. Explore the breeding options we have available; would you prefer Live Cover of your mare? Does she get a bit nervous around stallions, is she recovering from an injury preventing her from holding the weight of our stallion or is she very valuable? For this we offer Artificial Insemination to minimizes the risk of any injury. When you are ready, send us your Stud Request along with either a photograph of your mare or a link to her webpage. We only provide stud services to facilities who host a website.
We will review your application and send you a conformation email, to which then you may send us your mare's file in either a .sim3pack or .package file. You may send her alone and get only the foal back, since all of her stats will not have transferred over through this method, there is no point in returning her. Once the foal is confirmed and working in your game, we will delete her and the foal from ours. You may also send the mare as a household with a handler from your stable (without any CC). She will keep all of her stats that she had in your game this way. Be sure to write in the method you wish for the foal to be conceived, any discounts you are applying for, and the date or dates you wish for your mare to be bred. Your precious mare and foal will be returned the day after the breeding date unless otherwise arranged through a private email.
Mare & foal information and one photograph of the foal will be kept on public record on the sire's profile. You may change the foal's Mane & Tail style and size of the stomach within reason. We allow the mare's owner to come up with the foal's show name if they are destined for the ring, and ask only that our prefix, DHS, remain intact in the offspring's show name. If you decide to sell the offspring, let us know of the new owner's webpage so we may update our link. All of this information is found under each stud's Breeding page as well as more specific guidelines that we ask you take care in looking over carefully.
The General Rules:
STALLIONS AT STUD
None. Check back soon!
We will review your application and send you a conformation email, to which then you may send us your mare's file in either a .sim3pack or .package file. You may send her alone and get only the foal back, since all of her stats will not have transferred over through this method, there is no point in returning her. Once the foal is confirmed and working in your game, we will delete her and the foal from ours. You may also send the mare as a household with a handler from your stable (without any CC). She will keep all of her stats that she had in your game this way. Be sure to write in the method you wish for the foal to be conceived, any discounts you are applying for, and the date or dates you wish for your mare to be bred. Your precious mare and foal will be returned the day after the breeding date unless otherwise arranged through a private email.
Mare & foal information and one photograph of the foal will be kept on public record on the sire's profile. You may change the foal's Mane & Tail style and size of the stomach within reason. We allow the mare's owner to come up with the foal's show name if they are destined for the ring, and ask only that our prefix, DHS, remain intact in the offspring's show name. If you decide to sell the offspring, let us know of the new owner's webpage so we may update our link. All of this information is found under each stud's Breeding page as well as more specific guidelines that we ask you take care in looking over carefully.
The General Rules:
- All mares must be breed registered, between the ages of 4 and 25 years, and undergo a breeding soundness examination prior to applying.
- Clients will provide one photograph of their broodmare in the Stud Request or a link to her page.
- One broodmare may breed to one specific DHS stallion a maximum of 3 times in her lifetime.
- The DHS prefix must stay in the offspring's show name. Owner's additional prefix is encouraged.
- All DHS foals are Private Sale, clients may not clone or retain a copy of the foal if sold.
STALLIONS AT STUD
None. Check back soon!