Revision 3

Overview

Horses are a livestock species in Starsand Island unlocked at the Senior Rancher tier. They are purchased from Pastelle at Green Pasture Ranch for 1,350 Coins each, making them one of the most expensive animals to purchase. Horses are housed in Stables and are the only livestock species that supports duo riding (two riders at once). Breeding a White Horse is a mandatory requirement for the Senior Rancher certification quest, making horses one of the most important breeding goals in the game.

Quick Reference

Variants

There are four horse variants in Starsand Island. The Common Horse is the only one available for purchase. The other three are obtained exclusively through breeding and cannot be found in the wild.

The White Horse and Black Horse can both appear as mutations when breeding two Common Horses. The Ink Horse is the super rare variant. According to community guides, breeding a White Horse with a Black Horse gives the best chance of producing an Ink Horse, though it is extremely rare.

Products

Unlike most other livestock, horses do not produce cooking ingredients like milk or eggs. Their value is primarily as mounts. However, they do produce some byproducts collected from the Stable.

The White Horse Quest

The White Horse is a mandatory requirement for the Senior Rancher certification quest. It cannot be purchased or found in the wild; it must be bred. This is widely considered one of the most time-consuming breeding goals in the entire game. Based on community reports, players typically need 15 to 25 breeding attempts to produce a White Horse, though luck plays a significant role.

Recommended Strategy

The following approach, compiled from multiple community guides and player reports, maximizes your chances of breeding a White Horse efficiently:

1. Buy 15 to 20 horses to establish a large gene pool. You will need at least 3 Stables to house them all (each Stable holds 4 horses).

2. Check every horse's DNA profile immediately. Sell any horse with negative traits, especially Pride (cannot be petted) and Bloom (decreases happiness boost). These traits hurt breeding efficiency.

3. Keep horses with Strong (reduced breeding cooldown) and Twins (30% chance for bonus offspring) traits as your primary breeders.

4. Fill all breeding slots continuously. Never leave a breeding slot empty. Running three active breeding pairs simultaneously is 66% more efficient than running one at a time.

5. Two brown Common horses can produce a White or Black Horse as a mutation. If an Ink Horse appears, keep it. Breeding an Ink Horse with a lighter-colored partner reportedly increases the odds of producing a White Horse.

6. Use Love Feed to reset breeding cooldowns faster if available.

7. Be patient. The White Horse is the single most time-consuming breeding goal in the game. Expect around 21 breeding cycles on average.

For a dedicated step-by-step walkthrough, see the White Horse Breeding Guide article.

Duo Riding

Horses are the only animal species that supports two riders simultaneously. All four horse variants have this ability. To ride a horse, you need to equip it with a Friendship Collar (crafted at the Worktable, blueprint available at Senior Rancher tier from Green Pasture Ranch). The horse must also be fully grown.

In single-player mode, duo riding allows an NPC companion to ride with you. In the planned multiplayer cooperative mode, duo riding will let two human players travel together on a single horse, making horses the only practical duo mount for co-op play.

Care and Feeding

Horse care follows the standard animal routine. While horses do not produce cooking ingredients, keeping them happy is still important for breeding success and product quality.

Breeding

Horse breeding requires one male and one female horse in the same Stable with at least one open space. Breeding occurs overnight, once per day. Use the Breeding House (3,500 Coins, Intermediate Rancher) to isolate specific pairs for controlled genetics.

Known breeding paths for horse variants:

• White Horse: Breed two Common Horses together. Rare mutation. Required for the Senior Rancher quest.

• Black Horse: Breed two Common Horses together. Rare mutation.

• Ink Horse: Breed a White Horse with a Black Horse for the highest chance. Super rare result.

DNA Traits

Horses inherit DNA traits from their parents. For the White Horse quest, Strong and Twins are the most valuable traits. Sell horses with negative traits immediately to keep your gene pool clean.

Negative traits to avoid: Pride (cannot be petted), Petiteness (permanently small), Bloom (decreased happiness boost by 1 point). Sell horses with any of these traits to prevent them from spreading through your gene pool.

Tips

• Start horse breeding as soon as you unlock Senior Rancher. The White Horse quest can take weeks of daily breeding attempts.

• Build multiple Stables (3 recommended) to run breeding pairs in parallel. More active breeding slots means faster results.

• Horses do not produce cooking ingredients. Their value is entirely in their mount ability and breeding outcomes.

• The Ink Horse has a stunning ink wash painting pattern. Keep it as a prestige mount even if you do not need it for quests.

• Check DNA profiles on every new horse immediately. Sell any with negative traits (Pride, Bloom, Petiteness) before they contaminate your breeding lines.

• Horse Feed is one of the more expensive feeds to craft. Budget your Coins accordingly when building a large horse stable.

• All horse variants support duo riding. You do not need a rare variant for multiplayer use.

Related Articles

• Animals

• Breeding and Genetics

• White Horse Breeding Guide

• Green Pasture Ranch

• Mounts

• Rancher Trial Walkthroughs

• Multiplayer

• Animal Feed