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What does a foal get from its parents?

Photo Finish™ LIVE is extremely true to life when it comes to breeding. Foals in Photo Finish™ LIVE get from their parents the same thing that foals in real life get from their parents: Genes!

Every horse in Photo Finish™ LIVE is composed of two sets of genes, one they got from their father (stud) and one they got from their mother (mare). When combined, the genes from each side pair up and produce traits in the foal.

These traits define everything about the new horse. Some gene pairs determine how fast it is, others determine how well it turns, still others determine if it’s spotted or not.

When you breed your new foal, the stud and the mare each pass on half of their genes to the foal. But, here’s where it gets complicated. Remember how the stud and the mare are also composed of two sets of genes that combine to make their traits? When they pass their genes on, they only pass on one gene from each combination.

Imagine that the stud is incredibly quick out of the gate (He has a great Start attribute). A bunch of genes paired together to create that great Start attribute. When he passes on his genes, he can’t pass on those pairs. He only passes on half of each combination; the other half comes from the mother. Together, each half pairs together to make the foal’s Start attribute.

If the mother also has great Start, odds are that the foal will too. It could even come out quite a bit better if the parents pass on the best of their genes. However, no one can directly control the breeding. The best you can do is pick a partner with good traits to pass on.

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