Recently I was hanging out with my friend Kolor Fall when he decided to show me his new horse. I'm always looking for new adventures to enjoy in Second Life, and decided this could be my next one. I spent the next two weeks researching. I'm still not an expert, but decided to post what I've learned, for anyone else's benefit also.Buying the horse:
- I've logged numerous teleports and searches in an effort to compare horses, prices, features, etc. For L$1500-L$2000 this isn't a purchase you make on a whim. And I wanted something BIG, and I wanted some good script work. I initially thought the horse was a scripted vehicle, until Kolor told me he was wearing his horse. This was a good thing, in my opinion. As an attachment, the horse is controlled with the avatar. So the forward arrow walks, double tap the forward arrow to gallop, fly, etc. Also the horse can be worn during teleports.
- S Haras horses are bigger, which is nice for bigger avatars or if you just want a bigger horse.
- AKK horses are supposedly famous for being the first horses of this kind in SL. I was also told they are faster. Since I don't have a need for speed, this wasn't important to me.
- At S Haras you can find horses for Western, Medieval, Fantasy (if memory serves me) and basic. At AKK you can find Western or English Saddles, Pony, or Medieval.
- In the end, I chose a black Western horse at S Haras. I like it but all the saddle accessories are stationary, I can't remove them. So even on a lovely tropical beach I always have my shotgun with me. (geesh). The horses at S Haras also come with a menu of options. Sound or no sound, rear, adjustments of size, and also some indian bots if you like Western role play.
Riding the horse:
- This is not for the faint of ARC points. My ARC score rises to 4000+ when I wear my horse.
- Trails are popping up all over the grid by the day. Searching for horse trails results in lots of 4-8 sim locations.
- Greenfield Village, owned by Kelly Goombah is the largest web of horse trails I've seen. *40 sims*!! Amazing, it is. Kelly is the estate owner for all 40 sims. Each sim owner agreed to an easement for the sign-guided trails. Some locations look islandish, some look castle themed, but at the same time, the trail flows from one location to another seamlessly. You won't soon see all of these trails. Kolor and I rode for an hour the other night, and only hit 9 sims. The slurl for Greenfield Village will take you to Kolor's art studio, just near the trail. His sim is a good central location for all the trails. All three pictures on this post were taken along Greenfield Village.
- If you like Western and want a little (actually a lot) of role play, check out Tombstone. They have a lengthy list of rules to assure a good rp experience for all, but also lots of space and lots of players. You can choose to be a guest and observe 2 of the 8 sims. Or you can choose to wear a hud and be added to a group for the full-on rp.
