Summary
The Sims 4has recently released its newest expansion pack, Horse Ranch, which, as the name suggests, revolves around players creating and managing their very own ranch. The main attraction of the Horse Ranch is, naturally, the horses, whose wide range of traits and customizable appearances have farm-loving players rearing to go.The Sims 4Horse Ranch offers players a chance to create and connect with their horses, caring for them as they would any other member of the family.
As is already the case for dogs and cats, there are specific breeds that players can either buy, rescue, or breed themselves. This choice will impact the horse’s coloration and base body shape, essentially providing a starter pallet if players don’t want to spend lots of time inCreate A Sim.Sims 4’s horses will also have a wide variety of breeds available, many of which will be instantly recognizable to any seasoned equestrian.
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The Sims 4’s Horse Ranch Has Over 30 Available Breeds
The Create-a-Sim interface offers a huge variety of horse breeds to get started with, although it should be known that this is only really a cosmetic choice, as the temperament, skill set, andpersonality ofTheSims 4’s horsesare decided in a separate mechanic. Players can also completely rework the horse’s appearance anyway, regardless of what breed is chosen, so there are no restrictions based on which physical attributes a horse can have, regardless of breed. The complete list of breeds is as follows:
In real life, horse breeds are specifically chosen for their innate traits, such as coat color, strength, size, endurance, or temperament.InThe Sims 4, any horse breedcan be mixed with any physical characteristic. For example, real-life Friesians are a breed of horse that is always totally black, but Sims 4 allows players to make a Friesian with any combination of available colors. Here, reality is sacrificed in the name of more player options, which is in part quintessential toThe Simsfranchise.
TheHorse Ranch inThe Sims 4doesn’t only offer a huge array of horse breeds and appearances to choose from but also lets players determine their horse’s personality. Energetic, mellow, defiant, brave, or needy are some traits that can be added to a horse to give it a unique combination of behaviors. Certain skills like temperament, agility, endurance, and jumping have to be cultivated for a horse to get better at, providing an exciting challenge for equestrian players.
This specific ranch is designed asSims 4’s homage to the cowboys and ranchersthat have long made their living on the backs of horses, and this is reflected in not only the chosen breeds but the tack and riding styles as well. There are some options for English-style gear for both the horse and rider, but the overall design slants heavily toward a Western theme. Players can even take their horses Barrel Racing, which is a style of competitive riding practiced almost exclusively in the United States.
TheSims 4’s Horse Ranch expansionhas a lot for players to enjoy, as it aims to replicate the atmosphere of living on a classic Western ranch and all that entails. There are also some more goofy aspects to this game, as the horses can wear hats or even don unicorn horns, which hopefully reminds players that caring for horses in real life is not as easy as a video game can make it. InThe Sims 4, however, there’s plenty of exciting and carefree horseplay to be found.
The Sims 4is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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