Interview of an International Moderator.

Hey everyone, we apologise for the large break we've taken. But we're back now and we're excited to give you all the low-down on the latest Howrse news!

We interviewed another moderator, one who works on the international server. We're interested to know what really annoys our mods, what they enjoy and what they love about our game. So sit back, relax and read Mod "I's" interview!

TH: We're sure you must enjoy your job, what's the highlight?
  I:  I love playing Howrse and I love the people I talk too. It's so enjoyable to breed horses and look after them.

TH: And the lowlights?
  I  : Definitely having to sanction players, nobody enjoys that.

TH: What's your favourite breed of horse?
  I  : I really like Akhal-Teke horses, pity they aren't on the international server. It's ok though, I also play on other servers, which allows me to breed AT's!

TH: What's the rule that get's broken the most often on Howrse?
  I  : I don't know if there is one that gets broken the most, they all get tested. Multi-accounting is becoming more prevalent it seems, that rule is a big one. Another one is what goes on in the forums. The rules are pretty basic, yet it's the basic ones that seem to get broken the most.

TH: What kinds of things do you not like seeing in the forums?
  I  : Advertising, players being rude, mini-modding, people posting 6 or 7 topics a day.

TH: Why do you not like these things specifically?
  I  : Advertising - well because we'd all like to have our things seen. We'd all love players to buy our horses, board in our centres etc. But if we all advertise, then we tend not to answer game play questions that really need answering.
Rudeness: because it makes players angry, sad and really a whole range of emotions. FYI, just because you have high seniority, doesn't mean you know everything about the game.
Mini-Modding: Again, if you have seniority, help other players with your knowledge that's all you're there to do. We will sort out the rest.
Serial-Posters: If you have 6 or 7 genuine questions, that's ok. If you're asking silly questions over and over again then you're going to annoy other players.

Thanks again to I, you've really given us insight into the things moderators do and what makes you tick. Just remember players, Moderators aren't paid. They volunteer. So give them a break now and again! Also, thanks to TH writer Analeise from America for getting this interview for us.

Advertising, Where and What?

I've been hunting around the forums lately and have noticed a lot of Howrse players asking where they can/can't advertise. So because of the lack of knowledge regarding Advertising we thought we'd fill you in.

 

What is Advertising?: 
Advertising is where you tell people about a service you're offering or something you're looking for or believe in. 

What can I advertise on Howrse?
It varies depending on where you plan on doing it. Here is a list of places and what is acceptable there.

- Your Presentation: On your page you can advertise trades, services - both for your personal breeding farm (sales, coverings etc) and your EC (Jobs, boarding etc), you can advertise a giveaway or service of another player. You may also advertise your religion however this is limited to a small wordless image. You can also advertise your ideas that are in voting.
  Hint: If you want more people to check out your page, go give some congratulations. 
- Your EC Presentation: You can advertise the same things here that you can advertise on your personal page however most people just use it for their EC.
-  Your EC Forum (International) You can advertise the same things here that you can on your page. You can also allow others to advertise. 
- The EC Forum - Specifically designed for offering board, offering jobs etc. This is the only thing that can be advertised here. 

What can't I advertise on Howrse?
You can't advertise religion (other than stated above) nor can you advertise politics. 

Where can't I advertise?
 Read the places below.
- Personal Messages: So no spam, no advertising. You can't even advertise via your email if it is for your EC.
- Forums (Other than EC forum) You can't advertise in the Game play forum or the Events forum. You will lose karma. 
   Hint: You can't even ask where you can advertise (in the forums) as this is also seen as advertising.
- EC forums of others, The exception to this is if you have permission. 

Q&A - Gameplay Questions Answered

We've had a few people ask us questions that they couldn't get answered in game play, and are dying to know the answer to.

1. I'm trying to blup my horse but it hasn't happened yet. Why?
A. You haven't given much detail but these are the criteria for a horse to reach +100 Blup
            - The horse has his or her top 3 skills bolded. (Training and Rides can do this) 
            - The horse has won 20 competitions (first place)
            - The horse is at least 10 years old
Reply: Oh darn! I feel so silly, my horse is 9. Thank you TH


2. I'm doing the objective where you need to put your horse in a box to find a Tub of Grease, problem is I've been doing it for days and all the horse does is sleep.

A. My first instinct is that you're maybe putting your horse in the wrong box. Here is a diagram of which box to use. The box marked with a red X is the wrong one. Once you've found the correct box (the one with the yellow circle) Select a time period for your horse to stay in there, repeat until you get a ToG.
 Reply: Thankyou TH! I got a ToG the first go and validated.

3. I'm stuck on objectives 88, 91 and 94. Help!
A 88 - Propose an item exchange. Breeding > Shop >Exchange Items.
   91 - Buy a horse over 25 years with 0 skill points. Hunt around in the sales for horses matching those criteria, or search Objective 91 in the sales search. Be ready to pay a premium for these horses though. 
   94 - Get a Pandora's box by trading items, simple. You can even complete 88 and 94 at the same time. Offer either a Pandora's box for a Pandora's box, or use something you don't need.  

Magic Ride - Info and Help

The Magic Ride - Our Christmas 2012 Promo

So, We've been going at this promo for a week now. 

You're required to roll a die to collect a total of 25 keys to unlock the Wind Gate to win the Divine Eurus. It's pretty simple, just check back when you're due to roll again and Bob's your uncle!

Along the way, as well as collecting keys you can undergo missions (by landing on the lightning bolt) squares. You also will collect presents along the way, that you can begin opening from December 25. Each present varies in prize and worth of prize.

Check out the links to find out what each prize can offer.

Small - http://www.howrse.com/operation/balade/cadeau?type=petit

Great - http://www.howrse.com/operation/balade/cadeau?type=moyen

Exceptional - http://www.howrse.com/operation/balade/cadeau?type=grand

A few promo questions sent it...

Question 1) I rolled a 5, by my counting the key I need is 5 away. I'm on board 1. Why can't I get the key?

Answer - Have you checked to see if their are any barriers inbetween you and the key? On the first board it is somewhat difficult to see the barriers, when you reach board two you may notice them more.

Question 2) I can't open my presents, is this a glitch?

Answer - Nope, you can't open your gifts until Christmas day.

Question 3) When I get all 25 keys, what do I do?

Answer - Head back to board 1, go to the Wind Gate (Below the Secret Passage) and head along the path to Eurus.

Question 4) How do I send my friend a gift?

Answer) You can land on a space on the board which allows you to send a friend of your choice a gift to put under their tree.        

Interview with New Mod Y

We've made a new mod-friend.  "Y" will be helping us answer some fan questions along with help from our old friend X. 

But today, we're going to welcome Y to our family and ask them some questions. 

You obviously love your job as a moderator, what's the highlight?
I've always loved getting to know players and helping with their game.

What is the lowlight?
I don't think there *is* a lowlight, really. Everything is so great. I suppose the only negative thing on Howrse is players who continually refuse to follow rules. I dislike sanctioning.

What is your primary 'Breeding goal'?
I guess it'd be to breed high gp and excellency star unicorns. I love the excitement of not knowing whether I will produce a uni or not. These new changes to unicorn breeding really do help. Especially when you're a moderator on a server where you don't live!

Favourite TV show?
Doctor Who for sure!

In your opinion, why is Multi-accounting so wrong and does the system make mistakes?
Multi accounting is wrong on many levels. If you think about it, a player gets 1 pass every 50 days. If a player has 10 accounts they get 10 passes, this can inturn be used to buy items and send them to the main account. Same with equus and horses and other BMI's. It's not fair to players who work hard for what they have or our ever supportive pass buyers. 

As for the second part of your question, yes, I do believe the system makes mistakes. I've seen genuine players have accounts deleted when they have used the same computer. Like humans, computers and IP trackers also make mistakes. 

How can we explain our innocence, if we are to get in-trouble for multi-accounting when we genuinely aren't?
Well, you need to realise first before contacting us that we know when a player is lying to us. So don't multi account and then expect to blame it on your siblings' accounts. Admin do know. 
You must *politely* state your case.
Remember, players, you may not have your ban or deletion reinstated. 

How can we avoid getting in trouble for M-A when our sibling's use the same computer?
 - Simple, use different emails
 - Log on, play and log off. Wait longer than 10 minutes before allowing a sibling to log on, and when they log off, leave a period of time before you log on. 


Thanks heaps "Y". We hope to hear from you soon, Welcome to the TH family!
No, thank you. I hope I can work with you and aid you and players in having a great game and getting the most from it! 

BMI's for New Players

Under 30 days seniority? Read This

We've all been there. Learning the game, making mistakes etc. Well we've been asked to make a post about BM items for new players.

What is a new player?
A new player is anyone with under 30 days seniority. 

Items:
- Gaia Foal
- Business Key
- Professional Trainer (Formally DNA Strand)

Item 1: Gaia Foal
This allows new players to create another horse (picking gender, breed and colour) and not have to wait until they can access the sales. 

Item 2: Business Key
This allows new players to access the Auction, Reserved and Direct sales before having 30 days of seniority. It also allows players to create an EC before having 20 days seniority.

Item 3: Professional Trainer (Formally DNA Strand)
This allows players to immediately and fully train their horse without using any energy. 

These are only available for players with under 30 days seniority, and can only be purchased with passes and diamonds. 

Merry Christmas TH-ers/

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's that time of year again, and from us to you we'd love to say Merry Christmas. Keep safe and enjoy the festive season.

We're answering a few questions we've recieved lately in regards to the X-Mas season..

Q1 - Will the advent calander be coming to Howrse
Unfortunately, we don't know. But we're hoping and praying that Howrse deliver a Christmas themed Promo.

Q2 - Will Total Howrse be online during the holiday season?
We're all very busy folks, but we will be playing Howrse, so with any new changes comes a new post. This might mean promos, updates or important information regarding your game. However in the unlikely event that an event takes place on Christmas day we won't be posting until the following day. 

Again, Continue to send us questions and we'll continue to answer.
Keep safe THsers, we look forward to delivering all the Howrse news in the new year.
All our love, The team at TotalHowrse.  

Objectives 22 - 29

22. Put one of your horses in a stall for 10 consecutive hours
       Hint: It is not the box that you put your horse to sleep in.
        - You must put it in the box on the top right hand side of the page. 

Reward: 4 FK horseshoes

23. Congratulate a player on their birthday

Hint: Go to community > Directory > "See today's birthdays"

Reward: 1 MF Bridle

24. Give your horse a health mash
      Hint: Search for an EC with health mashes, you may need a horse of high skill in some cases. Then go to horse, go into feed and select health mashes.

Reward: 1 Sea-horse

25. Give an apple to another player’s horse
       Hint: Find any horse (that you don't own) and give it an apple.

Reward: 1 MK saddle

26. Reach a breeder reserve of _____ equus 
       Hint: This can take a few days, check out our post on earning equus' to find out some ways to get some cash.

Reward: 300 more equus

27. Sell a horse in auction
        Hint: It takes 3 days for an auction to finish, so if you know you're coming up to this objective put your horse up early for a fair amount (500e) It will validate once you've sold the horse.

Reward: a trained horse with a Water of Youth

28. Out of the past 20 days, log-in 10 days
       Hint: Come online each day.

Reward: 20 apples

29.Buy a saddle from the shop

Hint: Breeding > Store, buy the cheapest saddle.

Reward: 2 energy mashes

Objectives 11 - 21

It's taken us a while, but we're back with the next objectives. Good luck!

11. Equip your horse with horseshoes

Hint - Go to your horses page, under the competition tab  

Reward: 1 trained horse with Pluto’s Parchment

12. Buy 20 turnips at a time from the store
        Hint - Sell exactly the amount stated, no more, no less. 

Reward: 10 more turnips

13. Train for at least three hours with any of your horses
        Hint - Go to your horses page, choose a discipline and train for 3 hours >

Reward: 2 energy mashes

14. View the details of one of the top 20 players in the general ranking
       Hint - Go to Ranking > General > Click on the page of one of the players.

Reward: 3 aging points

15. Participate in 8 competitions with your horse
      Hint: It can be 1 - or all of your horses.

Reward: 300 equus

16. Use an aging point
       Hint: Go the page of a horse, make sure they're at least fed, groomed and in bed and then age. 

Reward: Fully trained pegasus

17. Be an employee in an equestrian center
       Hint: You should already be employed, but if not go to Profile > My job

Reward: regular salary

18. Finish among the top four in a competition with your horse
        Hint: Come 1st, 2nd, 3rd of 4th. Enter two horses in a competiton, you'll come at the least 4th.

Reward: 2 calorific mashes

19. Put horses from your breeding farm to bed _____ times
      Hint: Don't try and do this one all in one day, if you can't do it over a few days. 

Reward: Daphne’s Laurels

 

20. Bid on a horse at auction
        Hint: You need 10 days of seniority to access the auctions

Reward: 300e

21. Name one of your horses “Tip”
       Hint: Some people say it has to be a horse you bred. Make sure you spell it correctly 'Tip' Yes, you need the capital letter!

Reward: 10 turnips

Seniority

New and Old players are often left wondering, what can and can't I do with my current seniority.
1st of all, seniority is determined by how many real days you've logged on, not how many days you've been registered. Seniority dictates many things in Howrse and we've compiled a list of landmarks you'll reach once you've reached a given seniority.

1 Day - On your first day, you have access to all the forums. You will also be able to take a job as a groom. 
5 Days - You can post in the forums without having your message validated
10 Days - You are granted access to the auction and can also take a job as a Horse Riding Instructor, you can also access Gift giving and BM exchanges
20 Days - You can open your EC.
30 Days - Access to the Direct and Reserved Sales
40 Days - Take a job as a farrier.
120 Days - Take a job as a saddler
150 days - Post ideas in the ideas forum (International only)
 

Horse Games for girls

It's true, we love our horses here at TH - but what about after we've looked after all our horses on Howrse and we need something to do. Here's some ideas.

www.agame.com/game/horse-eventing-3.html - this little game allows you to participate in three events with your horse (dressage, barrel racing and cutting). It's got great graphics and allows you to buy new horses, change the look of the rider and of the horse. Its a 4/5 from us! 
- Note, for this game you may need to install the unity 3D plug in. (You may not however)
www.agame.com/game/horse-eventing-2.html  - another game in the horse eventing series. This game is slightly different to its predecessor, with show jumping, dressage and steeple chase, it's sure to keep you entertained. It has three levels of difficulty and is a must for any english lover. The steeple chase can be a little difficult however. We're giving it a 3/5. 
Both of these games use the X key on your keyboard to jump as well as directional arrows for movement.
http://www.ebog.com/skill-games/6147/horse-jumping-3d.html - This game isn't quite as good as the last two, but it's a fun little game none the less.

So check them out, when we find a game you might like we'll post it up.
 

 

New Promo - Nov 2012

Mary, Mary, How does your garden grow?

Our new promo is the Enchanted Greenhouse. Basically, you plant a seed, look after it, it grows and in turn delivers you a prize. 

1st of all, How do you get seeds?
- When you log on for the first time each day
- With some daily missions (You'll find these down the bottom of the promo page)
- When certain flowers bloom
- By Purchasing them in the flash sales
- By opening a HoP (Maximum two seeds per HoP)

Your plants will grow by several means, these are:
- Each time you log on for the first time each day
-When you water your plants (every 8 hours)
- By giving them fertilizer (which you'll find by doing missions, when you get certain flowers blooming, in the flash sales and when you open some HoP's)

Levels of Seeds and their given growth
Seed       Quality    Daily Growth       Growth - Watering    Growth - Fertiliser
Purple      1*                8%                             8%                            32%
Green       2*                6%                             6%                            24%
Blue         3*                4%                             4%                            16%
Pink         4*                2%                             2%                              8%
Gold        5*                1%                             1%                              4%

Howrse Changes October 2012

Get the Goss on Our New Updates!

Whether you love them, or you hate them - the new updates are here - they cover (pun intended) covering, costs to covering, etc. etc. 

1. Changes to Unicorn Covering time!
So, we're no longer covering from GMT - but local time. 
it isn't just the time they've changed over at Howrse HQ either. 
2. Covering Timer - If you're sitting on the 'Cover my Mare' page waiting for the time to cover your uni, then here is a new change. 
If the time is wrong, you'll see an X - Covering in wrong conditions.
If the time is right, you'll see a big ol' tick - Covering in right conditions, as well as a timer telling you how long you have left to make the covering. 

Covering Price - So now, instead of the covering fee (from the stallion) or the free covering we gave ourselves and only the vet bill, we now have to pay 1% of our equus reserve (from 200equus up to 2500) for our covering + the fee to the stallion (yes, you still have to pay the excessive vet bills if you cover your own horse) owner all upfront. 

Leave us some feedback THers, we're not a fan of this last change, are you?

Foal Games - KGS

Before you start, you'll need....

- A sparkly new foal (under 6 months)
- An EC with carrots, large and impeccable meadows
- Turnips

6 Months (prior to actual games)
- Send the foal to bed with 100% energy
- 100% morale 
- 100% health.
Don't overfeed, give water, groom, carrot, turnip and stroke. Send to bed before 10 pm. 

8 Months - 
Feed 6 kilos, Groom, 7hrs play, drink, carrot, stoke, turnip, 1hr play, Put to bed. 

10 Months -
Feed 6 kilos, groom, 8hrs play, drink, carrot, stroke, turnip, 1hr play, Put to bed.

1 year - 
Feed 6 kilos, groom, 9hrs play, drink, carrot, stroke, turnip, 1hr play, Put to bed

1 year 2 months, 
Feed 6 kilos, groom, 10hrs play, drink, carrot, stroke, turnip, 1hr play, put to bed

This is the most crucial part, please read carefully.

1 year 4 months,
Feed 6 kilos, groom, 10hrs play, drink, carrot, stroke, turnip, 2hr play, (You should be using 18% energy) put to bed
(yes, you will be putting your horse to bed late, it doesn't really matter)
Congratulations, you've achieved your 60 points!

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.   

BLUPing.

Here are some tips when BLUPing.

Are you going to fully train, or only train for necessity?
In order to BLUP correctly, you must bold the top three skills, so in theory you can just train in the top three skills. However I prefer to train in all skills, this gives a 'better' resale value and enables a horse to excell in all disciplines.

Competitions first. 
What I mean by this, is that you should train only the top three skills first. 
For example, a horse that excells in Dressage.
Train 75% or there abouts in dressage
train 50 % in the next best skill
and 10% or 0 in the final best skill.
This allows the horse to qualify for lower ranked and lower difficulty events, and will give you a better chance of winning them as opposed to being up against the best of the best. 
 After you win 20 competitions, you are free to train just the three best skills or all the skills, do lessons and rides and get that BLUP of +100.

  

Happy Halloweeeeen

Halloween Card Collection!

Happy Halloween TotalHowrsers! As you've probably seen around horse, we've wwelcomed in a new event 'Halloween Cards'.

How to get the cards
 - 2 for your first log on of the day
   1 if you win a competition with your horse (max 2 per day) 
   Purchase them in the flash sales (1 per each level every two days) 
   Trade duplicate cards for five diamonds - (1 per day) 


What you win: 
You can get individual cards (ones that don't belong in a series, and will give you prizes)
Each series also has a prize - 
 -Witches House Series - 1 x Philosophers Stone
 -Abandoned Villiage Series - 20,000equus
 -Mist Lake Series - 1x Morpheus Arms
 -Haunted Castle Series - 5x Diamonds
 -Cursed Forest Series - 10x Diamonds
 -Creatures of The Night Series - 1 x The 5th Element
 -Vampire's Crypt Series - 1 x Vampires' Privilege (A new 'item' that gives you 1 Medusa's Blood every month for a year)

When you have completed all the series' there is a special prize. 

A Divine (Of your choosing) From either the Gemstone Series (Ruby, Emerald, Jade, Sapphire etc.), from the Solar System Divines (Saturn, Jupiter, Earth etc.) Or a Greyfell of your choice, from the ones you don't already have.

Objectives and How to do them! 1-10

100 Objectives, all different. How will you do?

For each objective you complete, you will recieve a prize, so here we're going to give you the list of objectives, and how to complete them.
You can find your objectives at the bottom of the home page and in Profile > My objectives

1.  Buy 7 turnips at the store at one time ( Go to Breeding > Store)
Prize: Poseidon's Horseshoes
2. Post your postion in the breeder's ranking (Go to Ranking>Breeders>View My Position in the Ranking)
Prize: 3 aging points
3. Participate in two competitions with your horse (Breeding > My horses > (select horse) > choose a competition)
Prize: 1 trained horse. 
4.. Reach a Given Seniority - (Log on each day)
Prize - unknown
5. Reach ____ years with a horse you produced (You bred the horse, and your username is listed as the breedr)
Prize: 300 equus
6. Go riding for at least 4 hours in a row with one of your horses (Breeding>My Horses> (Select Horse) > Choose a discipline for riding (Trop, Gallop etc), select four hours or more.
Prize: 1 diamond
7. Offer a covering with one of your stallions. (Breeding>My horses> (select male horse) > Reproduction > offer a covering (either to your horse or one in the public domain)
Prize: 1 MG Saddle
8. Give a lesson with one of your horses (Breeding > My horses > (select horse) > Lesson)
Prize: 5 turnips
9. Sell 20 droppings to the store at once (Breeding>Store> Resell Items> Select 20 droppings)
Prize: 100 more droppings.
10. Congratulate 3 players on their game - (you can either do this by going to your friends if you have any, returning congratulations on your page or by going to Ranking>General Ranking and then congratulating any three players there.

Stay tuned for 11 - 21 :) 

Goodbye Lottery, Hello Trophies

Yes, we here know that the trophies aren't 'new' but, seeing as the lottery is over once again, we thought trophies would be the perfect topic. 

The trophies are for those who have completed all their objectives. (Listed in the next post)
Here are some (listed on your home page) of the trophies you can collect
1. Own all the breeds of horses (So one of each kind)
2. Own all the coats (These can be both regular, GA, DA and RC)
3. Have caught a certain amount of UFO's.

Horses are only counted if they are alive
You can lose trophies
Trophies are displayed on your home page if you have a Peggy subscription. 

Trading and Safety

It's great that we can trade items that we no longer need for something we do. But how does it all work? How can we do it safely? and How do we know we aren't being ripped off?

1. Trading BMI. 
We always suggest looking here before using passes and diamonds to buy something. All sorts of BMI can be found here. (Breeding Farm > Store > Item Exchange) 
Tips:                                      - Look around in the Black Market for both the item you want, and the item you will trade for it. Find out their pass values and decide whether the trade will be fair for both parties. 
 This is the only form of trading Howrse encourages, as it is kept safe. 

2. Trading Outside of the Item Exchange
Tips:                                      -You can only trade with 'friends' - so make sure the person you're adding as a friend a) allows random friend requests and b) allows trading, most people will say so on their profiles, but if they don't feel free to PM them, as long as you use the magic words 'Please' and 'Thank you' even if they don't want to be your friend or trade. 
                                              - Both agree on what you want to trade, and if you feel like you're being taken advantage of, say kindly 'I'm sorry, but I don't think I can trade with you, thank you for your time', that way nobody is being hurt. Once you both agree, it's time to trade. 
                                              - Howrse and TotalHowrse don't condone trading outside the site or privately, and encourage you to trade in the Item Exchange, however some people won't do this and all trading outside of the IE is done so at your own risk. Some people won't be unfair and will carry out the trade, however there is always going to be one person who doesn't. 
                                              - How to avoid a scam - Normally, avid traders will say so on their presentations, they may even give the names of people who they trade with regularly, feel free to PM these people and ask how the person trades, if they say they respond and say 'quickly' etc. then that is a good indication that the trader is genuine - but not always. Remember, if they offer you something that is totally 'too good to be true' then it probably is.