Horseland is an online community that simulates the breeding and raising of horses and dogs. Begun in 1994 in the United States, Horseland has now grown to have more than 7 million users who play from all over the world. Most of the players are girls from age 10 to 22, although a number of adults play the game. In September 2006, an animated cartoon series based on the web site was launched in the United States.
The original game on the Horseland website was re-named from “Horseland” to “Horseland World” on September 1, 2006 when the Jr. game was launched. It was re-named “Horseland” in February 2009 when the Jr. game was closed. In the Horseland game, players buy and sell horses, find good stables to board their horses at, find a fair trainer, chat with friends, and participate in horse shows and have a homepage.
There was some controversy among the players after the October 28, 2008 changes. The change in currency from HLD to HLC was one of them. The value of 1 HLC is different from the value of one old HLD, so prices across the game were changed to reflect the new value. Horseland also removed the ability for Basic Players (free-accounts) to get free money. Players now earn money by playing casual and boring games.
Horseland is an escalating system of gameplay, where players strive to earn as many points as possible, both for their player account as well as their individual horses. Players earn points through the training of their horses or dogs. A single player can own many animals of varying breeds and descriptions. While there is no single point goal for their animals, the players are restricted by the trainable lifespan of their horses and dogs. While a horse or a dog can only participate in show training for a period of time, it can participate in ticket training its whole life. When an animal becomes too old for show training, it is offered the option of retirement. Most players do not retire their animals, as it creates “broken lines” where the horses’ or dogs’ records are wiped off the Horseland database and cannot be found again. However, horses can pass a portion of their earned points to their offspring if they breed before reaching retirement age, and thus an evolving system of gameplay continues through the lineage of the animals that players foster and maintain.
Screenshot of the “Jumping Show” in Horseland.
Points usually take time, depending on the points. The horse or dog must have all their checkups completed before they show.