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Many Shades of Blue
Original article written by Vicki Johnson posted 5 months 2 weeks agoMany Shades of Blue
Vicki Johnson
Regina Moore posted an article seven years ago in which she said during every player SIM life, he/she decides “It is Time to get Serious about Breeding.” I think the bug has gotten kind of close to biting me. I still am all over the place with my stable of racers- Some Thoroughbreds, Apps, Quarter Horses, Paints, a few Steeplechasers, and even fewer Standardbreds. But regardless of the height, spots, dots, or way of moving, I have been searching for those labeled as the highly regarded “Blue Hens.” Multiple articles have been written about how to capture these rare birds. It is almost like “snipe hunting” we did as kids to those poor unfortunate city kids relatives who visited us. We had them our hunting for these non-existent birds. Blue hens do exist, but they are hard to get the real thing.
How do you know if you have a Blue Hen? The key is if she produces and then their offspring continue producing high quality superstar foals to gain entrance in the Blue Hen Club. But have found out that there is a peaking order in this club too! Regina mentioned in her great article that is not a set formula...i.e., Pedigree, racing history, and even the title of “blue hen” itself does not mean the horse will be one of those true-blue hens. She said a mare can have a “not so good” pedigree and be a Blue Hen mare. One of her three-million-dollar winners, War lock, was out of an unpredictable mare!
Another false thought I had was that the Blue Hen mare will always “nick” higher (the grade given from A+ to C when combining the mare and stallion pedigrees) than a lesser rating mare. Don’t seem like this is the total truth either. Before you give up or throw up the reins to your stable in disgust from raising slower than molasses offspring, remember part of it is that there are many shades of blue! Just because a horse is labeled as a Blue Hen doesn’t mean she is going to produce a Steward Cup winner. Blue is everywhere in our world from the seas to the sky. Blue is rated as one of the world’s favorite colors and appears to be that way in the SIM world too. Recently, I have put more interest in purchasing those “Blue Hen” mares with generations of production of “superstar” racers to improve the chance of winning. About a million other players have the same idea about the mare for sale but it gives me hope that maybe I am starting to select better hens for the hen house.
One my new quest for the elusive Blue Hen mare, my next article will look at what happens when you hit the jackpot with a winner. If you breed the mare and stallion back again, will it result in another superstar? Stay turned for some interesting findings from an amateur bird hunter.
If you think I am incorrect in my assumption, be sure to peck out the inconsistencies for me! May your hens roost with the best of them!