Purebred vs. Crossbred. The Great Debate

The Great Breeder Debate, Will I Crossbreed or will I purebreed?

All horses on howrse come from the same place, Ouranos and Gaia, but somewhere down the line, players mixed breeds. So when breeding, and setting our breeder goals - we're faced with the decision... "To Crossbreed, or not to crossbreed? That is the question". Well, TH is going to give you reasons for and against both types of breeding.

Crossbreeding. 
What is it? Crossbreeding is breeding two different breeds of horse. 
Why is it done? To improve the GP in a skill that would otherwise be low.
Pros:  It gives you a horse that could essentially be an all rounder, as opposed to a horse with high skills in his breeds class, you can mix the two breeds to bring up the GP.
A horse who is PB can sell for more, as he may have higher skills (if crossbred correctly)
Reader 1 "I breed XB paints, because without the extra breed, they are horrible at trot and this effects them in competitions requiring skill in trot." 
Cons: Horses who are crossbred can never be returned to purebred, so even 20 generations down the line, they will still be crossbred - the most they can be is 99%  of one breed. 
Horses may not sell for as much, as they do not posses the blue PB star which most true breeders are looking for.
Reader 2 "I don't like cross breeding, I don't like that no matter how hard you try, the horses will never be 100% of one breed"

Our Verdict: Only crossbreed if you know the implications (they will never be purebred again, and neither will any of their decendants.) If you're trying to make money out of X-Breeding, make sure the sire and dam are both of exceptional quality of their breed. This will mean you can make the horse a competition all rounder. Also, if you decide to X-breed, remember this. The breed of the foal will be determined by the highest percentage of breed for his or her genetic make-up. If both percentages are 50 - 50 (so both parents are PB) then the foal will be the same breed as the father.

Purebreeding
What is it? Purebreeding is making sure a horse is only ever covered with her own breed of horse.
Why is it done? Horses who are purebred are ranked in the GP rankings, so they can achieve the status of greatness.
Pros: A purebred horse has the potential to excel, they posses a blue star which may make them more attractive to other PB breeders.  
Cons: They may be more expensive, they may not have as high a skill as some X-Breds (not always the case however). It can be difficult to maintain the PB status (You may accidently cover with a X-bred horse) There is a lot of PB competition (in the GP rankings)

Our verdict: Being a PB breeder is entirely your choice, everybody's first foal is PB, from there it's up to you. It's great if you want to see your horses name in the standings, but not so great if you're paying more to get a PB covering or new horse from the sales.