Height
Genetic Height is an inherited trait that determines how tall a horse will grow. Unlike coat colors and white markings, height is not controlled by a single dominant or recessive gene, but is instead influenced by the heights of both parents.
In our genetics system, each horse has a genetically determined height that can be passed down to its offspring. The resulting height depends on the heights of both parents, along with some natural variation.
How Genetic Height Works In-Game
In game, a foal's height is determined by averaging the heights of its dam and sire, with the possibility of producing offspring that are slightly taller or shorter than the expected average.
For example, breeding a 15hh mare with a 16hh stallion would typically produce a foal around 15.2hh, although the resulting height may vary.
This means that breeding two tall horses will generally produce taller offspring, while breeding two smaller horses will generally produce smaller offspring. However, there is always a possibility of outliers like in real life - breeding two horses does not always guarantee the same result. Just because a 15hh mare and a 16hh stallion produced a 15.2hh foal one time does not mean that they'll produce that height in another breeding.
Height Inheritance
Unlike other genetic traits, height does not follow a simple Punnett Square or dominant and recessive inheritance system.
Instead, the resulting height is influenced by the heights of both parents.
- Two Tall Parents - The foal is more likely to inherit a taller height, but not guaranteed.
- Two Short Parents - The foal is more likely to inherit a shorter height, but not guaranteed.
- One Tall & One Short Parent - The foal will typically inherit a height somewhere between the two parents, but not guaranteed.
Because of this, breeding horses with specific heights over multiple generations can help players work towards producing taller or shorter horses.
Breed Heights
Each breed in our genetics system has its own height range, based on the typical heights of that breed in real life.
These ranges help determine the heights of newly spawned horses, although selective breeding can result in offspring that differ from the typical breed height.
A horse's breed does not guarantee that it will always remain within its original height range, meaning players can selectively breed for taller or smaller horses over multiple generations, breeding “outliers” to “outliers” can then produce more outliers. These horses may not be within breed standard but can still exist.
A horses maximum and minimum possible height (regardless of breed) depends on it's respective model category. For example, our smallest Pony model height is 7hh, and the maximum is 15.2hh, this means that a Shetland (smallest height) can technically be bred up to 15.2hh by continuously crossing outlier out of standard horses.
Genetic Testing
Unlike coat colour genetics, height does not have a specific testable allele in our genetics system.
Players can view their horse's height and use the heights of both parents to estimate the possible heights of future offspring. However, the exact height of a foal cannot be guaranteed due to the natural variation, but you can use their heights as rough anchor points.