This week, we’re excited to share a sneak peek at a new feature coming in V2: twinning! While rare, with only about a 1% chance of occurrence, twinning in Legacy Horse Game mirrors the complexities of real-life horse breeding—bringing both opportunities and risks.
Detecting a Twin Pregnancy
If your mare is one of the few to carry twins, you’ll receive a notification that a twin pregnancy has been detected. At this point, you’ll have a critical decision to make:
- Abort one embryo: This option, handled by the vet, comes with no risks. One healthy foal will be born, and the mare will proceed through the pregnancy as normal.
- Keep both embryos: Choosing this option introduces several risks, both for the mare and the foals.
Risks for the Mare
Carrying twins places extra demands on your mare’s body, leading to some unavoidable consequences:
- Increased calorie needs: During the 2nd and 3rd trimester, your mare will need more calories than usual. Even on concentrated feed, she will lose condition, and there’s no way to fully prevent it.
- Foaling complications: When it’s time to foal, there’s a chance the mare may suffer an injury to her reproductive organs. While this won’t be life-threatening, it will require vet treatment, and she will be unable to breed for several in-game months.
- Nursing strain: If both foals are born successfully, the mare will experience double the normal condition loss while nursing.
Risks for the Foals
Carrying twins is not without risks for the foals either:
- Pregnancy loss: There’s a significant 20% chance that one or both embryos will abort, which could result in the loss of the entire pregnancy.
- Low condition at birth: If both foals make it to birth, they will be born with lower-than-normal condition, classified as ‘Thin.’ While this won’t impact their genetics, it will require careful attention to nurse them back to health.
Identical vs. Fraternal Twins
There’s one more twist—twinning in V2 can result in either identical or fraternal twins:
- Identical twins occur when a single embryo splits, producing two genetically identical foals.
- Fraternal twins are the result of a double ovulation, where two genetically unique foals develop at the same time.
Fraternal twins will be more common, but both types will be part of the game’s breeding system.
The Choice is Yours
The introduction of twinning adds an exciting layer of strategy for breeders in V2. Do you take the safer route and opt for a single foal, or gamble on twins with the potential rewards and risks? The decision is yours—and we can’t wait to see how you navigate it!
Stay tuned for more V2 updates, and happy breeding!