My Horses on Second Life

By Deaflegacy

My horses are not just the most beautiful animals on Second Life. They are also on my lots for a reason. What reason is what? Some people might ask. The reason is simple. They are my inspiration and at the same time, good for my mental health.

It was Bixyl Shuftan who first introduced me to the whole idea of having horses, him having been given a few by a friend. At first, it was just two horses of two different kinds. Their names were Beverley and Lorne. I named them after my real life best friends. My real life best friends too are my inspiration. Over time, I would get more horses and name them after my real life inspiration. I have even named some horses after Bixyl.

With Bixyl's help, I am able to take care of my horses. I would check on them once or twice a day to make sure that they have their hay and salt licks. I would make sure that they are getting along just fine.

I love my horses very much because they are more than just inspiration. They are my family, too. The new horse got named Six String after my partner, Six String (roleplayismylife) because I love Six  very much both on Second Life and in real life. I hope to one day ride horses with Six. We did it before and have a lot of fun. But we only did it within the lots. We will be riding horses one day around Cape Heron.

My horses have so far taught me a lot about myself, some I already know and some I don't already know. I am very thankful to Bixyl for showing me the horses. Now I have something else to look forward to every time I get on Second Life. That is to take care of my horses. Thanks so much, Bixyl. The horses mean a lot to me.

Deaflegacy

Farewell, Silver Fire

By Wesley Regenbogen

In October 2014, I decided to own a virtual horse in Second Life. I wrote a few articles on virtual horse riding and I “horsed around” a bit. I also rented a horse box for many months.

At first it was all a bit new to me, but Hope Driftwood, whom I gotten the virtual horse from, guided me along the way and supported me with everything concerning the rideable pet.

Thanks to her, I learned how to ride my virtual horse. At first I thought : “ Oh God, riding the horse with my avatar will be hard.” But I must admit, it’s not difficult at all. Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy to ride your virtual horse.

Providing your virtual horse with food, Amaretto food, because it’s a Amaretto horse that I had, is done at the Amaretto Main Store in Second Life. You just need to know which one to buy and buy, Salt Lick (for the horse's happiness level) and Breedable Food as well. Renting the virtual horse box costs L$ 800/month and the food costs L$ 144 and L$ 158. Hope Driftwood is a very nice person, who has always helped me out with the virtual horse thing.

Sadly, on January 3^rd 2015 I decided to stop doing the virtual horse thing. I had to make this decision, because I have a land rental to pay in Second Life as well. So this is the “farewell” article for my former virtual horse called “Silver Fire”. If you want a virtual horse, you can contact Hope Driftwood in-world. She will tell you all about it. I would like to thank her a million times for her help.

To “Silver Fire” I say : “Thank you for being my virtual horse. I wave you farewell now and I hope another owner will give you a nice virtual life in Second Life”.

I think I made the right decision and I hope that “Silver Fire” finds a good owner once again.

Farewell, “Silver Fire” and may virtual life be well for you in the future.

Wesley Regenbogen

Virtual Horseback Riding

By Wesley Regenbogen

A few days ago Hope Driftwood taught me how to ride my virtual horse Silver Fire for the first time. I must admit it was quite an experience ! How I rode my virtual horse, I will explain you later in this article. Let me first show you the stats of my virtual horse Silver Fire first ( at the moment of writing, it might be changed after it ) :

Silver Fire

Version 5.0

Age 24

Gender male

Nourishment 1%

Energy 77%

Happiness 92%

Fervor 100%

Coat: Silver Mecklenburger

Eye: Fire Element

Mane: Long

Tail: Long

Coat Gleam High

Hair Gleam High

Coat Luster Low

Coat Gloom

Hair Gloom

Coat Opal

Hair Opal

Hoof Kiwi

Ear Style Half Droop Left

Wing: Wild Turkey

bb7dff45-aac5-82e4-9ae1-84b3bfc756be

These stats look very good, right ? I thought so as well. I hope Silver Fire stays that way.

How to ride a virtual horse in Second Life :

First you need to take the horse into your inventory, so if you are at the horse box, you need to click your virtual horse and then choose “Take” in the menu that appears. Once it’s in your inventory you will need to rezz it somewhere before you can ride it. If it’s rezzed out, you will need to ride it, but that’s easy enough.

You need to click the virtual horse and “Add” it to your avatar, DON’T “Wear” it, because that will NOT work. Once you “Added” your virtual horse you will see your avatar sitting on the virtual horse.

Moving your virtual horse around is as easy as moving your avatar around, with the plain ol’ arrow keys on your keyboard, not the ones on your number pad, though. If you would like to go forward, you will need to tap the “up” key on the keyboard. If you want to gallop, double tap the “up” key and keep it pressed. You will hear the sound of a horse going into gallop.

In my personal opinion, I find that it’s not hard at all to ride a virtual horse. Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy, trust me. If you ever buy a virtual horse and it’s over age 9, you can ride it.

If you have questions about getting, managing or riding a virtual horse, you can contact Hope Driftwood and ask her about it.

Conclusion :

Riding virtual horses isn’t that hard to learn and once you get the hang of it, it’s quite awesome. It’s like with everything in Second Life, the first time you need to adjust a bit to the new things. At first I thought, ”It's going to be difficult to ride my virtual horse”. But Hope Driftwood guided me step-by-step and afterwards, I though “Well, that wasn’t difficult at all”.

So, you see, it’s not hard at all. If you get yourself a virtual horse, follow the instructions above ( if it’s the same with the virtual horse you bought, of course ) and then you are on your way in no time.

So, happy virtual horseback riding !

Wesley Regenbogen

Amaretto Horses

I was out looking for a park the other day when I found myself in the middle of a herd of horses. They were near the path leading to Artis Natur, located at Reveleations (121/156/29). I must have arrived at dinner time because the horses were all whinnying and restless. When I spotted their owner, Freyja Nemeth, I decided to postpone my hike in order to talk to her.

Freyja Nemeth and her partner, Ran Garrigus, have been raising Amaretto horses for about 3 weeks. The Amaretto horses have only been available for about a month, so Nemeth and Garrigus have gotten in on the ground floor of this newest addition to breedable SL animals. Between them they own about 22 horses.

Prior to raising horses, Nemeth raised Ozimal bunnies. The horses, she explained, are more complex, and serious breeders keep track of bloodlines and traits in order to try to breed more exotic horses. “Each horse has two genes for each trait,” she said, “so once you start breeding them, that's when you can get out rare coats that sell for lots of money. For example, a starter horse might be a golden Palomino. Some hidden traits are coats like Red Arabians or Silver/Black Mustangs. And they can also get special eyes like Diamond or Opal or upright or long manes instead of normal manes.”

The Amaretto horses vary widely in price. If purchased as a pack of 1 male and 3 females, the cost is about $3000L. At the auction houses or from private sellers, the cost can range from as low as $200L to as high $80,000L. Rare stallions have been known to cause bidding wars at the auctions, she said.

Her dapple grey, “Prosperina”, was a special limited edition horse and very pretty. Nemeth also has a foal who was born with aquamarine eyes, another special trait. The foal was just hours old when I saw her, but she’ll be mature in 7 days and be able to breed in about 4 months.

The horses can also be ridden, and Nemeth assured me they were gentle. She hopped up on “Branwen” to show me how the horses move. Because they are worn, they can be ridden in any location, which is a plus. Like RL horses, however, these SL horses must be fed and cared for on a regular basis. If they aren’t cared for and fed, they can get sick, which means vet bills, medicine, etc. Horse food costs about $200L/month. Saddles, bridles, and other accessories are also available.

The horses were fascinating, so I decided to visit a couple of auction houses. The first, Herdy's Auction Barn, located at Nantes (56, 117, 23), was packed with residents and horses. I just missed the live auction, but there were silent auctions going on continually. Owners place their horses in the stalls that line the barn, set a minimum bid, and wait for auction fever to hit. "Beck", a silver Arabian female had almost 3 hours remaining on her auction. A resident named A. Lupindo (a distant cousin maybe?) had bid $10,000L, but he or she had been outbid. When I left, the high bid was $12,500L.

At Red Barn Horses, located at Lighthouse Oasis (196, 121, 301), horses filled a couple of barns and row and after row of outside corrals. Auctions are held every morning there. Signs were posted to explain the rules and how the auctions work, which was helpful.

For more information about Amaretto horses, check out http://amarettobreedables.com But if horses and bunnies aren’t your thing, just wait. The rumor around SL is that kittens are one the way.

Grey Lupindo