Life among the horses didn't slow down for celebration though. Sundance needed training, and Wolfe had to be assimilated with the others. Electrum, of course, was quite happy to welcome a new mare.
Sundance could practically fly - clearly she had inherited a great deal of talent.
But with a new pair of hands around the barn, there was time for some recreation. The Zenyattas now had a dozen snow men to race around, and someone was clearly up to something in the igloo at the winter festival!
Electrum was taking it easy for now; the snow was preventing many competitors from reaching the EC, so the races and jumping were cancelled. And there was always the new mare to court.
At last the young mare was fully trained, and Katie rode her down to the EC to sell. Interest in Sundance was very high, and after some spirited bidding she sold for $11,788. Katie was sad to see her go, but that was, after all part of the job. Sundance would certainly be well cared for.
Her mother's tale had an unusual ending: a few days after Bill and Wolfe arrived, Katie noticed a young woman leaning on the fence. She was watching Smokedance with unusual attention. She turned up again the next day, and Katie went over to speak to her. It developed that she had just returned home from college to discover that her mare - which her father had told her had died while she was in school - had actually been confiscated from him for neglect!
"I was raised by my grandmother," she explained. "My father hated his mother-in-law, and since she gave me the mare, he hated her too. When she died, we had to go live with him for a year, and I couldn't take Smokey to college the first year, because I couldn't afford to board her." She showed Katie some pictures that were clearly Smokedance - and clearly in excellent condition. "As soon as I could, I got a job at a stable near campus and made arrangements to work for board, but when I called home to tell Dad I was coming to get Smokey, he told me she was dead. I went straight home, but couldn't find any recent signs of her in the barn there. It turns out, he stashed her in an abandoned field, and didn't bother to provide hay or grain when the grass ran out. I only just learned a blue roan mare was confiscated by Animal Control and had been fostered out with you. So I came to see if it might be Smokey." She added wistfully, "She does look very happy here."
After some discussion with Animal Control, a deal was worked out where Clara Turner would be allowed to reclaim her mare, as long as she repaid a percentage of the costs accrued by Katie for Smokedance's care. Since Smokedance had been clearly delighted to see Clara, and Katie needed room for a new mare, she agreed to the terms. She actually charged the young woman only a few thousand dollars of the actual costs, but after several visits to the mare's new home, she was certain that she would not be neglected again.
Although Bill knew how to ride, he was used to riding the frankly lazy Wolfe around his property. The sort of competitive riding and occasionally exciting training of green horses that Katie was doing meant he needed to improve his skills fast. So she sent him out to practice with Electrum, who was friendly enough to trust but mischievous enough to pretend otherwise. Grooming was simple enough, as Electrum stood stock-still. But once Bill was up, the stallion was off in a flash! Somehow Bill never quite managed to fall off, though.
But Bill was determined, even if he maintained his sometimes whimsical taste in clothes. Meanwhile, with Smokedance and Sundance gone to new (or old) homes, a new mare was needed. Felipe Marshall,a local fairy with lovely green wings, had become friends with Katie at the EC, and stepped in to offer his bay Arabian for boarding and breeding. "I just don't have room for a foal on my property, and I can't really have a baby running loose across the town. So I'll pay boarding and training fees until the foal is grown and trained. Like you did for Blue Moon?" Katie and Bill agreed and Grac'l was brought over.
Bill needed a haircut and rode downtown to discover that the stylist was a werewolf! She did have gorgeous hair, though and offered him some care tips. He was also thrilled to see the local band of wild horses come traipsing right through town while he was there.
And, because mares always plan things this way, he came home to a new foal. Meet Electric Thylacine.
Bill and Katie were both delighted by the colt, who was a splendid combination of his parent's colors and markings. But there was trouble in the wind, quite literally. It's not at all uncommon for friendly mares to become rather protective of new foals, and Wolfe was no exception. Grac'l proved too curious for her comfort, so Wolfe warned her away from Thylacine sharply.
Grac'l retaliated, biting Wolfe on the neck . . . and effacing a small flybite, so that it went unnoticed when Bill treated the larger injury. Wolfe seemed well enough for a few days, gradually relaxing around the other horses and doting on her new foal.
Electric Thylacine was a delightful colt. He poked his nose into everything and made friends with all the other horses, as well as the humans. Katie had just learned she was pregnant, so Bill took over most of the horse-keeping chores. Thylacine adored his human and followed him whenever possible.
Wolfe, on the other hand, was worn out by her active son, and tended to nod off at the slightest opportunity.
However, she woke up quickly enough when Bill came around, and was always willing to go for a ride. One evening, on their return, a strange glow appeared in the sky. Bill rode on into the barn quickly, but Katie had to go out and look for herself.
This proved to be a mistake.
Fortunately, she was quickly returned, along with a few other bewildered kidnapees. Katie was well enough, but there was definitely more wrong with Wolfe than just mare-with-an-active-foal. She had a strange combination of restlessness and lethargy, fidgeting constantly while still looking half-asleep.
She had also started to stumble - even falling at times! Bill recognized the signs and called out the vet with a sinking heart. Within 24 hours Wolfe had gone from seeming tired to being severely ill.
By the time the vet arrived, she was down again, and this time nothing anyone could do could get her up. It took only a small blood sample to confirm the diagnosis: trypanosomiasis, untreatable. Bill had to say goodbye to his beloved silver Wolfe.
There was no time then to grieve though, since the baby chose that moment to announce its arrival, and Katie and Bill had to hustle off to the hospital. Kevin was welcomed into world scant hours after Wolfe left it.
Someone had mysteriously left a gnome at the mailbox - a birthday present?
Yes, this colt was exactly what I'd been hoping for, an actual mix of both parents' coloring. Pity he came so early in the challenge, since color-wise and story-wise he'd have been a perfect one to keep as a replacement.
I got a bit stuck with poor Wolfe, since it was entirely too callous for Bill to say, 'Okay, I'm now part of my wife's 50-foal challenge, so let me just sell my beloved horse so we can get a new mare,' but then I realized I'd built the answer in to the original story. Besides, now they've got even better motivation to spread those resistant genes around.
Thanks!
One good thing about having horses, Bill supposed, was that they did need attention. With Katie preoccupied with Kevin, most of the barn work was now in his hands, and while he missed Wolfe - and kept wondering if there was something he should have done to save her - he didn't have time to brood. Thylacine was a small consolation, but a very good distraction, since he demanded the food and attention his mother used to give from anyone on the lot.
Bill and Katie bickered amiably over whether cleaning stalls was worse than dirty diapers, and both had to deal with 3 a.m. feedings. Neither Kevin nor Thylacine was lacking in the lung department when they wanted feeding!
In spite of everything, Bill still managed to find time to supplement the farm income with shows. When he took Electrum to victory in the Invitational (or when Electrum took him to victory), he completed his lifetime dream of making much money with horses.
And they adopted a new mare, a pretty Appaloosa named Papillon, who had been surrendered to the shelter by an owner who was afraid she'd get sick and die of 'that new horse disease'.
They quickly found out that 'not really a jumper' was an understatement. The mare took it upon herself to kick down every jump in the field on a regular basis!
Unlike good old Baconbits, who had played momma to Cognac, Papillon had no interest in Thylacine. She didn't attack him, but she gave him no care, either.
Bill decided to teach the mare to race, in the hope that it would distract her from attacking the jumps. Unfortunately, apparently the former owner hadn't been quite honest about her training level either. The mare wasn't even green-broke.
Too soon, Thylacine grew up. He developed a splendid long mane, which he certainly hadn't inherited from either parent, and he finally grew into his right eye-patch which had initially covered half his face, like Champagne's.
Bill started him under saddle immediately. Thylacine wasn't the only little boy growing up, though; that night there was a birthday party up above the stalls. Kevin was now a toddler.
Thylacine was training up very nicely, and the proud defender of his territory against all llamas.
Meanwhile Kevin required a lot more attention now that he was a toddler. Katie read to him in the morning, while Bill tended the horses, then they switched off and she went riding while Bill taught their son how to walk.
The wild herd paid an occasional visit, mingling amiably with their horses.
They didn't realize it at the time, but it was the last time they'd see the black mare. A few days later, it was in the local news that she'd been hit by a car while crossing a street at night. The driver was cited for excessive speed, but it was generally agreed that even at the speed limit he'd have been unlikely to see her in time to stop. A few people tried to call for the horses to have reflectors attached to their manes and tails, but most people just laughed at the idea.
Meanwhile, life went on at the farm. Katie was teaching Papillon to jump, partly in hopes of getting her to stop knocking down the obstacles all the time, and the mare was actually doing quite well. Thylacine was also touching up his jumping abilities, under Bill's tutelage.
Once his training was completed, he had to be taken to the EC. Bill hated it, but he and Katie had discussed the issue up, down, and sideways, and neither could see keeping an extra stallion - or even gelding - on the premises. Maybe later on, when Electrum was an aged stallion, they could keep a colt as a replacement, but now? Bill insisted on taking Thylacine in himself, bringing home $8700. But that night he couldn't sleep, and went to talk to Wolfe.
Then he got dressed and went to the gym to exercise opposite James Potter, in hopes of distracting himself.
Then he went fishing, and met a surprise visitor.
]
The unicorn deigned to accept an apple. Bill felt enormously better after that, and decided to adopt one of the wild horses, specifically the remaining mare. While he followed her around patiently, Electrum paid court to Papillon. Grac'l and he just couldn't quite seem to hit it off.
And suddenly it was time for the toddler to start school. Another party!
Now that Kevin had school during the day, Bill took the opportunity to visit the various fishing holes and watch the wild horses that often frequented them. The stallions were not pleased, but the remaining mare, a bay pinto, seemed intrigued by the two-legged visitor. On rare occasions, Bill even managed to make contact.
Up close he could tell she wouldn't be suitable for the breeding project; she was much older than she appeared from a distance. But he still found it thrilling to have a mare who'd lived free all her life allow him to touch her. Meanwhile at home, a mare that was quite suitable was adding her contribution to the project. Meet Flutterby:
And as Bill walked back across the pasture after checking on the new arrival, a strange and unwelcome glow made a reappearance.
As with Katie, he was hauled up into the ship, and returned puzzled but unharmed. After that the summer passed fairly uneventfully. Kevin was doing well in the local year-round school, the horses thrived, and Electrum regularly won contests at the EC to keep his name out there, and occasionally met mares there for private assignations.
In late summer, Flutterby grew up, and Grac'l finally yielded to Electrum's advances.
Papillon, who had arrived hating jumps, was sold on to be a cross-country competitor for $6300. In her place Katie and Bill adopted a draft mare whose owner had died. The heirs, not interested in horses, listed her in the paper as 'Plowhorse Free to Good Home'. There simply wasn't any demand in Appaloosa Plains for a plow horse, so Bill and Katie rescued her, planning to retrain her to go under saddle and sell her on after she donated a foal to the project. Her name was Badger, and she was a Shire.
It's called 'New Fjord mane' and I got it from Lakeside Ranch. Actually, at the moment, it can be found on Lakeside Saddlery, here as 'Fjord Mane 2'. I like it a lot.
The inheritance of colors and markings in this game is weird. Flutterby got Electrum's tall white sock, but in black. More bizarrely, he has the layer that includes Papillon's butterfly mark, but there is no location for it on his body map, so it's completely invisible. I also find it interesting that I deliberately gave Electrum three stripe layers in different colors, and so far all the foals have inherited either all or none - I was expecting them to sort out so some foals would have different colors than others. Ah well, there are plenty of foals to come; maybe there will be more surprises in store!
Night had fallen, and the farm lay dark and quiet. The assorted Sparrows were asleep in their 'nest' in the barn loft, and the horses were asleep in the barn below. The only movement was Autumn Leaves,prowling past the base of the newly acquired coffin. A coffin, you ask? Yes, a coffin that contained what was supposed to be 'The MOST Remarkable Maid Ever!!', or so the ads proclaimed. Suddenly the front of the coffin flew open and a skeleton in a red maid's outfit emerged. Rotating her skull to the left, she headed quietly through the barn towards the front of the property. Out there, a stealthy figure in black and white stripes was just opening the main gate. She quickly had cause to regret attempting to rob this house! Electrum found the spectacle most interesting.
Meanwhile additional gnomes were turning up around the property. "Did we put up a sign, or something?" asked Bill.
"I don't know, but there's hardly room to move in the garden," answered Katie.
So she left the garden to the gnomes ("Maybe they'll magic some weeds away"), and went to train Badger.
Badger was an archetypal draft mare: placid, friendly, obedient and BIG. Training for races was obviously pointless, but Katie thought she might make a nice jumper, a least at lower levels. Accordingly, she set the mare to work over the cavalettis. Once Badger realized she wasn't supposed to just step over them, she came along well.
Bill, on the other hand, suddenly decided his life wasn't right and went to town for a makeover. He still prefers properly formal attire.
In spite of his internal crisis, he had to agree with Electrum that it was a lovely day.
Grac'l thought so too, as she added another foal to the farm. Introducing Marrow:
Another stripy baby - fourth visible zorse, and fifth colt out of seven!
It's called 'New Fjord mane' and I got it from Lakeside Ranch. Actually, at the moment, it can be found on Lakeside Saddlery, here as 'Fjord Mane 2'. I like it a lot.
Thank you ! Can´t wait for the next updates, love your story.
Wow my Bonehilda doesn't do things like that. Lately she just eats and occasionally cleans potties. I finally had to hire a maid in addition to her. He's awful too though so not a lot of improvement.
My favorites so far are Thylacine and Flutterby (and foal #10, who you haven't seen yet ) They are all very different from each other, that's for certain!.
Bill was disappointed to read that the second wild mare had been found dead. Tests showed that she, too, had been a victim of the tsetse flies and their dread passengers. He was pleased to discover, however, that the stallions had replaced their lost mares with a younger pair. Actually, on closer inspection, he wasn't certain that the liver chestnut was exactly a wild horse. He got a definite feeling she was a formerly owned horse who had been either neglected or abandoned. The new paint and the stallions were actually less wary of him than the dark mare. She wouldn't let him anywhere near, but she made certain to keep an eye on him.
Bill still wanted to try bringing a wild mare into his little herd, so he started watching the paint, staying just at the edge of her flight zone and following her with a quiet persistence. Gradually she let him approach closer and even sniffed a hand - but only after ascertaining he had apples in his pocket. Bribery will get them every time!
During the acclimatization of the mare, summer had passed into fall, and Bonehilda was kept busy raking leaves. Considering one huge pile - where did they all come from? - Katie got a slightly wicked idea.
Do you think anyone saw us?
When not raking leaves, Bonehilda paid close attention to the assorted gnomes, bringing them fresh snacks which they (of course) did not eat. Bill and Katie were puzzled by the ever-increasing leftovers, apparently untouched, that kept turning up in the fridge, but Kevin insisted he hadn't put them there. Flutterby, Electrum, Grac'l and Marrow kept the family busy as another year swung on towards winter.
But, at last, Flutterby had all the training he needed, so one morning Katie went out to brush him out one last time, and take him on to the Equestrian Center. Coming our $9600 richer, she celebrated with some left-over sparklers.
Cooler weather had finally set in and Spooky Day drew near. The annual cries of "Tricker Treat!" rang through the neighborhood, and this year Kevin was the right age to participate. Dressed up in a tiger outfit (the ears of which he promptly lost to the wind), he ran through the neighborhood ringing bells and collecting candy.
Once the coast was clear and they weren't likely to run down any stray children, Bill took Badger out for a run.
The heart was willing, but the mass was just too great for speed. Although she could lope along at a fair clip, she would never make a racehorse. Bill rode her up to the fishing hole and settled in to watch the wild horses some more. They tended to be less skittish at night, whether because they couldn't see him, or they thought he couldn't see them he never knew.
The next day Marrow was officially grown, so Katie rode Grac'l home. She'd been invited to a costume party, and considered that a good time to deliver the mare. She could always take a taxi home. Felippe was very pleased to see his mare again, and eager to hear all about Marrow. "I keep meaning to drop by, but it's always so busy, you know."
(I'm not sure where his wings went in this picture.)
Meanwhile, Kevin was now a teenager, and needed to learn how to ride. His parents recommended Electrum, as the wisest and most forgiving of the herd. So Kevin bravely saddled up the stallion and took him over a few cavalettis. They seemed an awful lot bigger with the zebra bouncing over them!
And with one mare gone home, a new mare arrived. Honeysuckle was a failed racehorse, whose buyer hoped she'd make a good broodmare. Unfortunately, she was both aggressive to other horses and ornery as the proverbial mule. Bill and Katie were signed on to provide the first foal and to train the mare into better behavior and jumping ability. She was a lovely golden chestnut, and they looked forward eagerly to her foal.
Upstairs a fire broke out, and Bonehilda demonstrated how she could replace the Fire Department as well as the Police Department.
Marrow as a stallion had all the jumping talent and interest his sire had pretended not to have. He could often be seen running the course for fun, and never knocked anything over.
He was also one of the two family members(Honeysuckle being the other) to witness the death of Autumn Leaves, as the elderly cat braved the snow one more time in search of prey.
Her gravestone was moved next to Wolfe's, and a small animal cemetery was started. Although the family grieved for their cat, there were other animals to care for.
Salt break!
Electrum did his part, conspiring with Badger for foal number eight.
And Autumn Leaves proved herself dead but not gone. Only a cat would manifest a ghost only to sleep all night!
Katie did some research on ghosts, and Badger delivered Tarnish Sett during a snowstorm.
I don't know why so many foals are inheriting that huge pink eyepatch; Electrum's pink is only right around his eye. I even went in and checked it in CAS, and it's the same size as the one on his other eye. Marrow is up on the exchange, but with the in-game zebra mane rather than the cc one.
Comments
Sundance could practically fly - clearly she had inherited a great deal of talent.
But with a new pair of hands around the barn, there was time for some recreation. The Zenyattas now had a dozen snow men to race around, and someone was clearly up to something in the igloo at the winter festival!
Electrum was taking it easy for now; the snow was preventing many competitors from reaching the EC, so the races and jumping were cancelled. And there was always the new mare to court.
At last the young mare was fully trained, and Katie rode her down to the EC to sell. Interest in Sundance was very high, and after some spirited bidding she sold for $11,788. Katie was sad to see her go, but that was, after all part of the job. Sundance would certainly be well cared for.
Her mother's tale had an unusual ending: a few days after Bill and Wolfe arrived, Katie noticed a young woman leaning on the fence. She was watching Smokedance with unusual attention. She turned up again the next day, and Katie went over to speak to her. It developed that she had just returned home from college to discover that her mare - which her father had told her had died while she was in school - had actually been confiscated from him for neglect!
"I was raised by my grandmother," she explained. "My father hated his mother-in-law, and since she gave me the mare, he hated her too. When she died, we had to go live with him for a year, and I couldn't take Smokey to college the first year, because I couldn't afford to board her." She showed Katie some pictures that were clearly Smokedance - and clearly in excellent condition. "As soon as I could, I got a job at a stable near campus and made arrangements to work for board, but when I called home to tell Dad I was coming to get Smokey, he told me she was dead. I went straight home, but couldn't find any recent signs of her in the barn there. It turns out, he stashed her in an abandoned field, and didn't bother to provide hay or grain when the grass ran out. I only just learned a blue roan mare was confiscated by Animal Control and had been fostered out with you. So I came to see if it might be Smokey." She added wistfully, "She does look very happy here."
After some discussion with Animal Control, a deal was worked out where Clara Turner would be allowed to reclaim her mare, as long as she repaid a percentage of the costs accrued by Katie for Smokedance's care. Since Smokedance had been clearly delighted to see Clara, and Katie needed room for a new mare, she agreed to the terms. She actually charged the young woman only a few thousand dollars of the actual costs, but after several visits to the mare's new home, she was certain that she would not be neglected again.
But Bill was determined, even if he maintained his sometimes whimsical taste in clothes. Meanwhile, with Smokedance and Sundance gone to new (or old) homes, a new mare was needed. Felipe Marshall,a local fairy with lovely green wings, had become friends with Katie at the EC, and stepped in to offer his bay Arabian for boarding and breeding. "I just don't have room for a foal on my property, and I can't really have a baby running loose across the town. So I'll pay boarding and training fees until the foal is grown and trained. Like you did for Blue Moon?" Katie and Bill agreed and Grac'l was brought over.
Bill needed a haircut and rode downtown to discover that the stylist was a werewolf! She did have gorgeous hair, though and offered him some care tips. He was also thrilled to see the local band of wild horses come traipsing right through town while he was there.
And, because mares always plan things this way, he came home to a new foal. Meet Electric Thylacine.
Bill and Katie were both delighted by the colt, who was a splendid combination of his parent's colors and markings. But there was trouble in the wind, quite literally. It's not at all uncommon for friendly mares to become rather protective of new foals, and Wolfe was no exception. Grac'l proved too curious for her comfort, so Wolfe warned her away from Thylacine sharply.
Grac'l retaliated, biting Wolfe on the neck . . . and effacing a small flybite, so that it went unnoticed when Bill treated the larger injury. Wolfe seemed well enough for a few days, gradually relaxing around the other horses and doting on her new foal.
Wolfe, on the other hand, was worn out by her active son, and tended to nod off at the slightest opportunity.
However, she woke up quickly enough when Bill came around, and was always willing to go for a ride. One evening, on their return, a strange glow appeared in the sky. Bill rode on into the barn quickly, but Katie had to go out and look for herself.
This proved to be a mistake.
Fortunately, she was quickly returned, along with a few other bewildered kidnapees. Katie was well enough, but there was definitely more wrong with Wolfe than just mare-with-an-active-foal. She had a strange combination of restlessness and lethargy, fidgeting constantly while still looking half-asleep.
She had also started to stumble - even falling at times! Bill recognized the signs and called out the vet with a sinking heart. Within 24 hours Wolfe had gone from seeming tired to being severely ill.
By the time the vet arrived, she was down again, and this time nothing anyone could do could get her up. It took only a small blood sample to confirm the diagnosis: trypanosomiasis, untreatable. Bill had to say goodbye to his beloved silver Wolfe.
There was no time then to grieve though, since the baby chose that moment to announce its arrival, and Katie and Bill had to hustle off to the hospital. Kevin was welcomed into world scant hours after Wolfe left it.
Someone had mysteriously left a gnome at the mailbox - a birthday present?
I got a bit stuck with poor Wolfe, since it was entirely too callous for Bill to say, 'Okay, I'm now part of my wife's 50-foal challenge, so let me just sell my beloved horse so we can get a new mare,' but then I realized I'd built the answer in to the original story. Besides, now they've got even better motivation to spread those resistant genes around.
I love your ranch!
Nice story, keep it up
One good thing about having horses, Bill supposed, was that they did need attention. With Katie preoccupied with Kevin, most of the barn work was now in his hands, and while he missed Wolfe - and kept wondering if there was something he should have done to save her - he didn't have time to brood. Thylacine was a small consolation, but a very good distraction, since he demanded the food and attention his mother used to give from anyone on the lot.
Bill and Katie bickered amiably over whether cleaning stalls was worse than dirty diapers, and both had to deal with 3 a.m. feedings. Neither Kevin nor Thylacine was lacking in the lung department when they wanted feeding!
In spite of everything, Bill still managed to find time to supplement the farm income with shows. When he took Electrum to victory in the Invitational (or when Electrum took him to victory), he completed his lifetime dream of making much money with horses.
And they adopted a new mare, a pretty Appaloosa named Papillon, who had been surrendered to the shelter by an owner who was afraid she'd get sick and die of 'that new horse disease'.
They quickly found out that 'not really a jumper' was an understatement. The mare took it upon herself to kick down every jump in the field on a regular basis!
Unlike good old Baconbits, who had played momma to Cognac, Papillon had no interest in Thylacine. She didn't attack him, but she gave him no care, either.
Bill decided to teach the mare to race, in the hope that it would distract her from attacking the jumps. Unfortunately, apparently the former owner hadn't been quite honest about her training level either. The mare wasn't even green-broke.
Too soon, Thylacine grew up. He developed a splendid long mane, which he certainly hadn't inherited from either parent, and he finally grew into his right eye-patch which had initially covered half his face, like Champagne's.
Bill started him under saddle immediately. Thylacine wasn't the only little boy growing up, though; that night there was a birthday party up above the stalls. Kevin was now a toddler.
Imaginary Friends Legacy: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/563003/baptiste-imaginary-friend-legacy-updated-6-18-new-baby/p1
Meanwhile Kevin required a lot more attention now that he was a toddler. Katie read to him in the morning, while Bill tended the horses, then they switched off and she went riding while Bill taught their son how to walk.
The wild herd paid an occasional visit, mingling amiably with their horses.
They didn't realize it at the time, but it was the last time they'd see the black mare. A few days later, it was in the local news that she'd been hit by a car while crossing a street at night. The driver was cited for excessive speed, but it was generally agreed that even at the speed limit he'd have been unlikely to see her in time to stop. A few people tried to call for the horses to have reflectors attached to their manes and tails, but most people just laughed at the idea.
Meanwhile, life went on at the farm. Katie was teaching Papillon to jump, partly in hopes of getting her to stop knocking down the obstacles all the time, and the mare was actually doing quite well. Thylacine was also touching up his jumping abilities, under Bill's tutelage.
Once his training was completed, he had to be taken to the EC. Bill hated it, but he and Katie had discussed the issue up, down, and sideways, and neither could see keeping an extra stallion - or even gelding - on the premises. Maybe later on, when Electrum was an aged stallion, they could keep a colt as a replacement, but now? Bill insisted on taking Thylacine in himself, bringing home $8700. But that night he couldn't sleep, and went to talk to Wolfe.
Then he got dressed and went to the gym to exercise opposite James Potter, in hopes of distracting himself.
Then he went fishing, and met a surprise visitor.
The unicorn deigned to accept an apple. Bill felt enormously better after that, and decided to adopt one of the wild horses, specifically the remaining mare. While he followed her around patiently, Electrum paid court to Papillon. Grac'l and he just couldn't quite seem to hit it off.
And suddenly it was time for the toddler to start school. Another party!
Up close he could tell she wouldn't be suitable for the breeding project; she was much older than she appeared from a distance. But he still found it thrilling to have a mare who'd lived free all her life allow him to touch her. Meanwhile at home, a mare that was quite suitable was adding her contribution to the project. Meet Flutterby:
And as Bill walked back across the pasture after checking on the new arrival, a strange and unwelcome glow made a reappearance.
As with Katie, he was hauled up into the ship, and returned puzzled but unharmed. After that the summer passed fairly uneventfully. Kevin was doing well in the local year-round school, the horses thrived, and Electrum regularly won contests at the EC to keep his name out there, and occasionally met mares there for private assignations.
In late summer, Flutterby grew up, and Grac'l finally yielded to Electrum's advances.
Papillon, who had arrived hating jumps, was sold on to be a cross-country competitor for $6300. In her place Katie and Bill adopted a draft mare whose owner had died. The heirs, not interested in horses, listed her in the paper as 'Plowhorse Free to Good Home'. There simply wasn't any demand in Appaloosa Plains for a plow horse, so Bill and Katie rescued her, planning to retrain her to go under saddle and sell her on after she donated a foal to the project. Her name was Badger, and she was a Shire.
Where did you get Wolfe´s mane, it´s gorgeous?
The inheritance of colors and markings in this game is weird. Flutterby got Electrum's tall white sock, but in black. More bizarrely, he has the layer that includes Papillon's butterfly mark, but there is no location for it on his body map, so it's completely invisible. I also find it interesting that I deliberately gave Electrum three stripe layers in different colors, and so far all the foals have inherited either all or none - I was expecting them to sort out so some foals would have different colors than others. Ah well, there are plenty of foals to come; maybe there will be more surprises in store!
Meanwhile additional gnomes were turning up around the property. "Did we put up a sign, or something?" asked Bill.
"I don't know, but there's hardly room to move in the garden," answered Katie.
So she left the garden to the gnomes ("Maybe they'll magic some weeds away"), and went to train Badger.
Badger was an archetypal draft mare: placid, friendly, obedient and BIG. Training for races was obviously pointless, but Katie thought she might make a nice jumper, a least at lower levels. Accordingly, she set the mare to work over the cavalettis. Once Badger realized she wasn't supposed to just step over them, she came along well.
Bill, on the other hand, suddenly decided his life wasn't right and went to town for a makeover. He still prefers properly formal attire.
In spite of his internal crisis, he had to agree with Electrum that it was a lovely day.
Grac'l thought so too, as she added another foal to the farm. Introducing Marrow:
Another stripy baby - fourth visible zorse, and fifth colt out of seven!
Thank you
I love that last foal!
Imaginary Friends Legacy: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/563003/baptiste-imaginary-friend-legacy-updated-6-18-new-baby/p1
Bill still wanted to try bringing a wild mare into his little herd, so he started watching the paint, staying just at the edge of her flight zone and following her with a quiet persistence. Gradually she let him approach closer and even sniffed a hand - but only after ascertaining he had apples in his pocket. Bribery will get them every time!
During the acclimatization of the mare, summer had passed into fall, and Bonehilda was kept busy raking leaves. Considering one huge pile - where did they all come from? - Katie got a slightly wicked idea.
Do you think anyone saw us?
When not raking leaves, Bonehilda paid close attention to the assorted gnomes, bringing them fresh snacks which they (of course) did not eat. Bill and Katie were puzzled by the ever-increasing leftovers, apparently untouched, that kept turning up in the fridge, but Kevin insisted he hadn't put them there. Flutterby, Electrum, Grac'l and Marrow kept the family busy as another year swung on towards winter.
But, at last, Flutterby had all the training he needed, so one morning Katie went out to brush him out one last time, and take him on to the Equestrian Center. Coming our $9600 richer, she celebrated with some left-over sparklers.
Imaginary Friends Legacy: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/563003/baptiste-imaginary-friend-legacy-updated-6-18-new-baby/p1
Once the coast was clear and they weren't likely to run down any stray children, Bill took Badger out for a run.
The heart was willing, but the mass was just too great for speed. Although she could lope along at a fair clip, she would never make a racehorse. Bill rode her up to the fishing hole and settled in to watch the wild horses some more. They tended to be less skittish at night, whether because they couldn't see him, or they thought he couldn't see them he never knew.
The next day Marrow was officially grown, so Katie rode Grac'l home. She'd been invited to a costume party, and considered that a good time to deliver the mare. She could always take a taxi home. Felippe was very pleased to see his mare again, and eager to hear all about Marrow. "I keep meaning to drop by, but it's always so busy, you know."
(I'm not sure where his wings went in this picture.)
Meanwhile, Kevin was now a teenager, and needed to learn how to ride. His parents recommended Electrum, as the wisest and most forgiving of the herd. So Kevin bravely saddled up the stallion and took him over a few cavalettis. They seemed an awful lot bigger with the zebra bouncing over them!
And with one mare gone home, a new mare arrived. Honeysuckle was a failed racehorse, whose buyer hoped she'd make a good broodmare. Unfortunately, she was both aggressive to other horses and ornery as the proverbial mule. Bill and Katie were signed on to provide the first foal and to train the mare into better behavior and jumping ability. She was a lovely golden chestnut, and they looked forward eagerly to her foal.
Upstairs a fire broke out, and Bonehilda demonstrated how she could replace the Fire Department as well as the Police Department.
Marrow as a stallion had all the jumping talent and interest his sire had pretended not to have. He could often be seen running the course for fun, and never knocked anything over.
He was also one of the two family members(Honeysuckle being the other) to witness the death of Autumn Leaves, as the elderly cat braved the snow one more time in search of prey.
Her gravestone was moved next to Wolfe's, and a small animal cemetery was started. Although the family grieved for their cat, there were other animals to care for.
Salt break!
Electrum did his part, conspiring with Badger for foal number eight.
And Autumn Leaves proved herself dead but not gone. Only a cat would manifest a ghost only to sleep all night!
Katie did some research on ghosts, and Badger delivered Tarnish Sett during a snowstorm.
I don't know why so many foals are inheriting that huge pink eyepatch; Electrum's pink is only right around his eye. I even went in and checked it in CAS, and it's the same size as the one on his other eye. Marrow is up on the exchange, but with the in-game zebra mane rather than the cc one.