1. Horses without herds belong in the Neutral Terra! They do not roam all over the herdlands, going where they please. If your character is a herdless horse, they stay in the neutral lands. The only exceptions to this is if they're searching for a herd and they know exactly which one they wish to belong to.

2. Neutral horses may breed. And since they are not a herd, they don't even have to look to the leads for permission =D Now isn't that nice. However, a neutral stallion may forcebreed a neutral mare. So ladies, beware. However, it is entirely the choice of the mare whether or not the forcebreeding will result in a foal. If it will, then a breeding application MUST be completed and posted!

3. Neutral horses are NOT a herd! Horses living on the neutral lands are not dependent on one another, they have no lead horses; they are basically just loners. They have either been evicted from their herds or they're new to the land and have yet to choose a herd to go to. Never, under any circumstance should a group of horses living on the Neutral Terra be referred to as a herd, nor should they start acting like one. They may interact, of course, but the forming of a herd is expressly forbidden on the Neutral Terra.

4. The choosing of mates is up to the player's discretion. Horses, in real life, do not choose mates, although they do choose companions sometimes. However, I'm leaving it entirely up to the player to decide if they would like to keep it realistic and not choose a mate, or they want to be a little more romantic and choose a life partner. Soley up to you. This applies either to herd-bound horses or neutral.

5. When seeking a herd, a horse must go no further than the borderlands (for clarity's sake, we'll say the border is the first board of that herd category, i.e. Firetail Cove for Kanaka, Devil Canyon for Margra, etc etc). If a horse passes through this borderland closer to the heart of the herdlands, then they are taking a very grave risk. Even the "pure" herds will defend their territories fiercely, which is why it's always better to stay as close to the borders as possible when asking to enter a herd. Also, anyone with intentions of entering a herd must announce their presence to the leads.

6. In accordance with number five, it is entirely up to the lead horses whether or not your character makes it into their herd. Some will be more considerate than others, but all will judge the potential herd member in their own way. If it is decided that your character will not be accepted into the herd, some might suggest a different herd, others will just drive the horse away. Don't argue with this, and don't take it personally. And please, don't make your character act like it's the end of the world and they should just go throw themselves off a cliff. That's just annoying and really out of character, and it probably decreases your chance of getting into another herd.

7. Make your character's personality fit the herd you plan to go into. Don't go up to the Margran border skipping and humming a happy tune. If you're blowing sunshine up everyone's ass and trying to get into the Margra or Oscurito herd, then guaranteed they're going to rip you apart in nothing flat and leave you for the vultures. On the flip side of the same coin, while it is very good to be in character, do NOT make the "devil" horses carnivores -___- It's not scary, it just sounds dumb when an animal with huge, flat (obviously herbivore) teeth is ripping flesh off a carcass and drinking blood. No. Just.. no. A lust for killing is fine, but that's where it ends. No bloodlust, no craving for flesh. Keep it real, please.

8. In accordance with number seven, Margran horses do not feel love; they might get some kind of sick pleasure out of something, but these horses are straight up mean. Most of them have a grudging respect for the lead horses in the herd, but that's about it. They won't hesitate to rip the throat out of one of their own herd members, if the leads will allow it. They make okay parents. The Oscurito herd is even worse; they are cold, ruthless, and scary intelligent. The differences between these two herds are notable. Margra's horses are more impulsive, more willing to leap into battle without a second thought. They're often wild, and while they're not stupid, per se, most of the time they don't choose to use whatever their parents passed on to them, intelligence wise.

Osurito's horses are much calmer, and can almost pass for "pure" horses at a distance. However, upon close inspection, it's obvious that these are cold, ruthless killers. They answer to no one, and their herd structure is much looser than that of most herds. They trust one another only because they know it will get them farther in the long run. Oscurito is notorious for its brilliant minds, which are part of the reason why they do so little fighting amongst themselves, unlike the Margrans. They do nothing that doesn't benefit them in some way, which is why it is rare for them to ally themselves with the Margrans. As far as foals are concerned, the members of this herd make excellent parents, but they're obviously lacking in the affection department. Instead, they raise their foals with everything they need to become the next generation of ruthless killers.

This is listed here because I want people to notice the difference and choose carefully between the two herds. Don't make a wild, bloodthirsty hooligan and send it over to Oscurito, because odds are, that character will be seriously maimed. So choose your "devil" horse carefully; you won't want it to end up in the wrong herd.

9. All herd-bound horses MUST obey their leaders! It doesn't matter if they're being sent to certain demise, if the lead horse(s) say/s to do something, DO IT. Don't argue, don't whine, nothing. If any insubordination occurs, then it is very much up to the lead(s) to decide what to do about it. And some of the punishments might not be so pleasant. So make sure you obey the leaders, make them happy, and all will go well.

10. To become the leader of a herd, you can either claim an empty land, kill the current lead and just hope that the herd doesn't kill you in response, or challenge the current leader to a duel. There does not have to be two lead horses; there can be a lead stallion only, or a lead mare only. It is up to the lead horse(s) entirely to choose which ranks will go to what herd members. Ranks will go to members in accordance with that member's skills, talents, or attributes, NOT because of any favor the lead(s) may or may not have toward that horse! So keep this in mind if you're displeased with your rank, or jealous because someone else got the rank you wanted.


(More later)