Horse Petology

The horses paw and prance and neigh,
Fillies and colts like kittens play,
And dance and toss their rippled manes
Shining and soft as silken skeins;...

—Oliver Wendell Holmes

Nothing captures the human imagination like horses running wild and free. They are iconic figures, from hardscrabble mustangs of the Wild West to sleek sophisticated English hunters, from armored steeds bearing brave knights into battle to stout shaggy ponies who gently teach their young charges to ride.

Countless books have been written about them, and countless works of art are dedicated to them. And now, you can ride, raise, and race horses in The Sims 3!

The Horse UI

Horses are full members of the household, and are under your control. Horse icons appear to the right of the household Sims icons in the UI, along with the icons of any other household pets.

Horses have the following panels: Petology, Relationships, Careers (This tab is grayed out because pets don’t have jobs), Skills, Inventory, Opportunities (This tab is grayed out because pets don’t receive opportunities), Lifetime Happiness, Needs.

Petology Tab

The Petology tab displays the horse’s family tree, gender, scrapbook, age progression, and traits.

A horse family tree

Relationship Tab

The Relationship tab lists all the beings your horse knows, whether they are Sims or other pets, and shows their degree of relationship. As with the Relationship panel for Sims, you can sort by All, Family, Friends, or On the Lot. You can also grab the tab on the right and stretch the panel to show more relationships.

Pets have slightly different relationship levels than Sims do. Rather than Aquaintance, pets who know another Sim slightly show them as a Familiar Sim. There can also be Familiar Cat, Familiar Dog, and Familiar Horse relationships. Pets also have access to the Best Friend Forever relationship level, and can bestow it upon favored Sims or other pets. Pets are also considered Mates if the Mate relationship was set in Create a Sim, or if they have bred.

Careers Tab

Horses don’t have careers, so the Career tab is grayed out on the pet display.