[Updated] Player held contest rules
Player Contest Rules Clarification We’ve received feedback from Moderators and the communities on multiple Howrse games requesting clarification of the rules for player hosted contests and giveaways, specifically with offering horses as prizes. Addendum: We've reviewed the rule about offering horses as prizes and have decided to allow you to offer a horse as a prize again. Current rules We allow players to host contests and giveaways according to the following rules:
Review of rules Some players want to offer horses as prizes and would like to know if this is allowed. We reviewed contests held on each version, and we identified the following: On some versions, it has not been allowed for horses to be used as prizes; since the game does not include a tool for gifting horses. Selling a horse to a player costs them a fee to gain their prize. This falls within the Item and Pass Trafficking rules that are not allowed. As a compromise, we will allow players to offer horses as prizes so long as the cost of the horse is the minimum amount that can be set - 500e. Since this is also considered a private agreement between players, we will not support these transactions. Contests are entered at your own risk and it is up to the contest holders to deliver the promised prizes. In addition to the contest rules mentioned above, we have added the following: - You can offer a horse as a prize provided the cost does not exceed 500 Equus. - The horse offered as a prize can have Black Market items. - Contest holders can ask but not require that participants re-post their contest banners. Last Updated: January 31, 2024 Regards, The Howrse Team |
My Message
Click to display Hello there, Many members of the community are finding the ban on selling horses for 500e as a giveaway prize distressing, because with the other rules, one of the most enjoyable aspects of Howrse is being eliminated. I am inquiring as to whether it is allowed to offer a discount ‘coupon’ on a horse of their choice as a prize in a giveaway. This should not be an issue as these are the current list of rules: You cannot require entrance fees or donations -This would not be an entrance fee. There is not even a 500e fee to receive the prize. The prize itself is a discount on a horse, which a player could then use to purchase a horse from me for a reduced price, but they wouldn’t be required to. If they don’t want this prize, they can either not enter, or they could not use their prize. You can give in-game prizes (Only those which can be done via the gifting options already within the game) -This would be making use of the entirely legal horse reservation system. You cannot give Equus or passes as prizes -The discount cannot be ‘cashed in’ for equus, it can only be used to reduce the price of one of my horses. We no longer allow you to offer horses as prizes as there is no mechanism in the game to gift a horse to another player for free. -As mentioned above, the horse would not be given as a prize. The prize is the discount, which can be used to purchase a horse, if the receiver wishes to. I feel this is a very important matter, as there are very limited options for player held giveaways. At present, only one BMI can be donated to the same player per week, which severely limits prizes. Passes, Equus, and Horses have no legal option of transfer as prizes, so BMIs are the only prize which can be given, and this is limited to only one. If you could create a gifting system for horses (or even Equus and Passes), this would solve everyone’s problems, and would still keep to the rule changes Howrse has enforced. Please let me know whether we can offer a discount as a prize. I see no issue in this as it obeys all the rules, however I thought I would check just to be safe. Thank you. Their Response: Click to display Hello Wolf Spirit, Thank you for taking the time to write in! We love it when players give us feedback - it helps us become even better. We appreciate your feedback regarding the horse giveaways. Perhaps you noticed that the topic was posted by Ow in the forum recently. This was simply because when Cailow left the team, her posts were all reposted by Ow. This has caused a bit of confusion with players thinking the rule is new, but it was a rule from 03/30/2018. We'll be happy to readdess this with the team and we'll pass your suggestions along too, including an in-game option to gift horses. This isn't a guarantee that they'll change the current system, but we'll definitely pass your comments on. Thank you once again! Kind regards, The Howrse Team They didn’t answer my question, so I now don’t know whether having a ‘discount coupon’ as a prize is allowed... It isn’t against any of the rules, so I’m not sure why it wouldn’t be? Unless they amend the rules again. At least they were friendly when they replied : )
|
Hmm, wow yeah, they completely avoided your question didn't they. Did you close the ticket yet? Maybe respond and ask them to clarify?
It seems like a blanket response. Probably they drafted it because lots of people have been messaging them about giveaways and feedback. Perhaps some people are confused and think this is a new rule. Still, I'm glad players are messaging Howrse about it - new rule or not, it's a rule that needs to be changed! (Or at least a compromise needs to be found, like the horse giveaway system.)
|
Yes, it did seem like that, as I didn’t think it to be a rule - just brought to my attention now, since I had been away for a year or two.
I’ll send them another message, it’s still open I believe. And for sure, I wonder why we aren’t allowed to sell horses for 500e, or have a gift / donation system in place...
|
My Reply:
Click to display Thank you for your response. Could you please clarify? I believe you may have missed my question, as to whether offering a ‘horse discount voucher’ in a giveaway, which the recipient can use or not use, is legal? I believe it to be, because as you can see with my previous message, I have gone through the rules and explained why it is not against the rules. However I thought I should check, just in case. I remember when this rule first was made. I didn’t imagine it to be a new rule, rather it has come to my attention as I was away from horse for a year or two, and was disappointed to see this rule still in place when I returned. Thank you for your time.
|
By Retired breeder, 23rd September 2020 12:45:12
That’s a good response and I didn’t know you wanted u can’ do horses for 500 E. Even after these rules were posted I have seen ALOT of giveaways as 500E horses for prizes and doing a discounted price off of a horses is a really good idea!
 |
By Retired breeder, 23rd September 2020 12:45:57
Sorry for my many typos. Mobile of course
 |
That’s a good response and I didn’t know you wanted u can’ do horses for 500 E. For the longest time, horse giveaways/horses as prizes for 500 equus were allowed although technically considered a "grey area," and then Howrse started penalizing people for hosting horse contest and giveaways in probably around 2016/2017. This caused a huge backlash, and eventually Howrse created a compromise that allowed people to have horses as prizes in contests and giveaways as long as the horse was sold at the minimum price of 500 equus. People were happy with this, but then this compromise was revoked in April of 2018, which made horses as prizes against the rules again. You can still sell a horse for 500 equus, you just can't advertise it as a giveaway or contest prize. I've been encouraging lots of people to go to Contact Us and let Howrse know that we either want a system to give horses away for free, or we want another compromise to allow horses to be contest prizes again. Please send a quick note if you agree! Lots of people liked entering and hosting horse giveaways - they were very popular. And you're right - you still see people having them as contest prizes, but I want Howrse players to have this option without the fear of getting a warning.
|
Wolf Spirit, I have to admit Howrse's response to your ticket was extremely vague and completely unhelpful.
 I feel like Howrse repeats these following statements to concerned players, players who see gifting horses as a possibility and a much needed one at that! The rule isn't new. We'll pass along your concerns. It is... very annoying.
|
This was Howrse's response to a ticket I had sent a week or two ago...
Click to display The rule is simply there because of the number of complaints we received in the past from players who didn't receive what they agreed on or what they claimed to have won. There is currently no option in the game to trade a horse for a horse or to simply gift it to an other player, and it is often impossible to define who promised what and why. While it may be possible that a feature to gift or trade horses is added in the future, we cannot promise you this. Do let us know if you have more suggestions. Enjoy your game! Kind regards, The Howrse Team "The number of complaints we received in the past from players who didn't receive what they agreed on or what they claimed to have won." Well of course! There's always a bad egg, there's always a liar. But instead of shutting everything down and completely ignoring those who DO keep their word, maybe create a system that will prevent players from cheating. Yes, we know there isn't an option to gift horses. But there should be, and it is very possible. "... it is often impossible to define who promised what and why." What? I was a little confused by this. ___ promises a horse with ___ coat. There. As simple as that. Provide a link, even. "While it may be possible that a feature to gift or trade horses is added in the future, we cannot promise you this." Ok. So you can't promise. I get that. But you can at least try and let the community know you're trying instead of giving it up as a lost cause? Those are my thoughts, anyway. 
|
Okay, I have some thoughts about that response soᴘʜɪᴀ. (I know you've heard some of this before, but bear with me, for the benefit of anyone lurking on this thread.
 )First of all, there exists a chance with every contest or giveaway that the participants could complain that they didn't receive what they were promised. Maybe they were promised a Harmony Pack and instead received a Golden Apple, or maybe they were promised some colored tack and instead received nothing. This isn't limited to horse contests and giveaways. If someone was reserved a horse as a contest prize and it wasn't the prize that was offered, or wasn't for the minimum price of 500 equus, it's as simple as refusing the sale. Banning horses as prizes because some people complained doesn't make any sense, especially as I believe the majority of players enjoyed hosting and/or entering horse giveaways. Secondly, perhaps a bit of good news that can be gleamed from that response... "While it may be possible that a feature to gift or trade horses is added in the future, we cannot promise you this." I know that Howrse cannot promise features in case something happens and the features aren't added. Although you didn't post it here, you sent your original message that you sent to Howrse to me, and you didn't mention anything about trading horses - simply gifting horses. But Howrse specifically added a sentence about the possibility of trading horses? Perhaps that means they have plans for a trading/gifting system?  It's impossible to say for sure, and I might just be grasping at straws, but it seems odd that they would bring up trading horses out of nowhere, right?
|
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Goat_Girl.
I did not mention trading at all. You're right, I'm glad there is a bit of good news, like you said, and I'm just hoping Howrse comes up with a trading / gifting system sooner rather than later. I won't paste the entire message I sent. They were simply suggestions that I had in mind. For the sake of keeping this thread on topic, I will paste the portion that Howrse responded to, as you can see above. Click to display Speaking of voting, I have one last suggestion. Before a major update takes place, I think players should be able to vote on it. By doing so, you avoid the possibility of implementing an update that no one enjoys or likes. For example, giving away horses as prizes. I can confirm that many, many players are still frustrated with this rule. It ought to be changed. I could explain why, but that should be sent through another ticket. Bottom line, voting is a good system. Howrse representatives don't always represent correctly. The Howrse community should be allowed to share their opinions. Now, the main idea of this paragraph was to suggest a voting system, but I was slowly leaning into the issue of not being able to offer horses as prizes. And, as you can see above in my previous post, Howrse immediately responded to that. I've offered my response to that here, but not through contact us and I don't think I will because it often feels like a constant battle of ping-pong.
|
That’s a good idea Sophia! A vote doesn’t necessarily mean they’d have to listen to us, but it would avoid the embarrassment of making a rule, just to realise it’s actually very unpopular, and having to change it. Or rather in this case, not changing it...
And Goat Girl I completely agree... I just wish Howrse would give actual reasons for their rules and decisions, then I would accept the rule change. Even if I didn’t like the change, I would accept it if I understood the reason. However in this case, players have pointed out the many discrepancies in their reasons, and in their further replies, and they still haven’t given a reason.
|
This was their next reply, after I submitted a follow up response.
Click to display Hello Wolf Spirit, Thanks for your reply! Apologies, we missed the initial question you posed. You mentioned a "discount ‘coupon’ on a horse of their choice as a prize in a giveaway." Here you directly reference that a horse of the player's choice is the prize. This would not be permitted as all horse giveways are against the rules. Even with with a discount voucher being offered, the ultimate prize being offered here is still the horse, albeit a discounted one. So this isn't allowed at this stage, but your feedback from yesterday has been passed along to our team for review. We hope this answers your question! Kind regards, The Howrse Team “Even with with a discount voucher being offered, the ultimate prize being offered here is still the horse, albeit a discounted one.” I’m not offering a horse AND a discount voucher. I’m just offering a discount voucher. That alone is the prize. They then would use the voucher to reduce a horse to 500e. Howrse likes to delve into the technicalities of rules, so they should do so here as well. In any case, I thought the issue they first raised was having to sell horses for equus, the equus charge being the problem not the horse itself, but from this reply it seems like they are against horses being given themselves. This would make sense, since the equus charge is easy to fix (horse donation system, or explicitly stating that the horse will be sold for 500e). There is one explanation for this. Since we can only donate 1 item per week per person, and giving equus / passes / horses is banned, the only giveaway prize available are BMIs. These coincidently require passes to buy, which coincidently can and are bought with real life money. Just a thought.
|
Well, I'm disappointed but not surprised
 There's a part of me that has always suspected that the true reason behind the ban on horse giveaways is a monetary one. Perhaps Howrse doesn't want players being generous to other players with rare or special horses, and would rather have players pay real money to get ahead in the game. You're right, Wolf Spirit, that every reason they have given for not allowing any form of horse giveaways has had discrepancies. There's no proof of this, of course, and perhaps I am mistaken. I would love for Howrse to prove me wrong and create a way for horses to be given for free 
|
Yes same! XD Fingers crossed...
|
It is sad that Howrse is against horse gifting. This is a horse game. It makes absolutely no sense that we can't use what the game has most of (horses) as prizes! Especially when there are so many kinds, varieties, etc. that makes it all the more exciting.
Wolf Spirit... your explanation... I never really thought about it that way. 
|
By Retired breeder, 29th September 2020 07:32:33
It would be nice to have horse giveaways back. I've always seen the 500e as a sort of "exchange fee", and never really minded in giveaways. Just like Sophia said, this is a horse game. It seems very strange that horses aren't allowed to be used in giveaways.
|
Even Howrse wants more contests and giveaways - they just posted a contest here in the events forum!
Come on Howrse, bring back horses as prizes and spread the fun! 
|
small problem, you can't reserve a horse for a new player, they don't have reserved sales
|
Ain't players who give horse's as a prize to the 200th player to congratulate them braking the rules?
|
Ain't players who give horse's as a prize to the 200th player to congratulate them braking the rules? Yes, they are since horses can not be given to a player.
|
Please make gifting horses an option then.
|
Please make gifting horses an option then.
|
I've sent a new message in to Contact Us!
Click to display Hello, I wanted to address a statement made by the Howrse team to another player about horses as giveaway prizes. They were told that the compromise that allowed horses as prizes was revoked because some players were complaining that they didn't receive what they claimed to have won or what was agreed upon. This struck me as an absurd reason to make horses as prizes against the rules, due to the following: 1) Players could complain about contest or giveaway prizes regardless of what they are. For example, someone could claim that they won a Harmony Pack and instead received a Golden Apple, or someone could say they were supposed to get colored tack but never did. Players could complain for multiple reasons - this isn't limited to horses as prizes. However, I think the majority of players who participated in horse giveaways enjoyed them, so it seems unfair to ruin this due to a few bad apples, so to speak. 2) If someone won a horse in a giveaway, and the horse that was reserved to them wasn't the prize that was advertised, or wasn't for the minimum price of 500 equus, the sale could be refused if the player doesn't want the horse. They are not forced to buy to the horse. And I think it's safe to say that all players who participated in horse giveaways were aware that they would have to spend 500 equus to get their prize, and by entering the giveaway, they were showing that they were okay with that. Thus, the 500 fee is not a surprise, and the player still has full control over whether or not they will spend that equus and get the horse prize. 3) It's stated in the giveaway rules topic that "You do not have to give prizes". While I personally think that everyone who offers a contest or giveaway should follow through with distributing the prizes, Howrse has made it clear that contest/giveaway holders do not have to give prizes out. Therefore, this rule in itself cancels out the reason for the revocation of the compromise. The person who hosts a giveaway can chose to not give out the prize that was offered (or, by the same token, offer a different prize instead). The giveaway participants may complain, but the giveaway holder is not required to give out prizes. 4) If it's a simple matter of people complaining, I think it's fair to say that more than enough people have complained about the fact that we cannot offer horses as giveaway prizes. Just looking at the giveaway rules topic in the Events forum, most of the pro-horse-giveaway posts have multiple hearts, and one of them has 22 hearts. The original post (which, I think it's fair to say, is anti-horse-giveaway), currently only has 4 hearts. This unofficial poll I think shows the general attitude of the Howrse community, that horses should be allowed to be given away. The same thing was shown in the old giveaway rules topic (before the information was reposted). I would occasionally make a note of how many hearts the pro-giveaway posts or anti-giveaway posts had (and please note that the only anti-giveaway post in the prior thread was the original post by the Admin). At my last count on June 4, 2019, the top pro-horse-giveaway post had 142 likes, while the original post by Cailow only had 7 likes. I have long felt that the rule that said that horses cannot be offered as giveaway prizes is unfair. I used to give away unicorns and I had lots of fun thinking of new and exciting contests and giveaways for others to participate in, and I think people enjoyed both entering my giveaways and getting unicorns as prizes. I look forward to the day when I can do this again. Please, consider allowing a new compromise so we can bring horse giveaways back to Howrse! Thank you for your time. Best, Goat_Girl Fingers crossed we get a positive response! And if you haven't sent Contact Us a message yet, please do so! The best way to get gifting horses an option is to not let Howrse forget that we want it!
|
Howrse's response:
Click to display Hello Goat_Girl, Thank you for your feedback. Currently is not possible to offer horses as giveaways on Howrse. Your feedback will be shared within the whole Howrse Team. Your comment helps us to keep improving the game. However, we cannot guarantee that any changes will be made or that potential changes to come will be exactly what you would like. If you have any question that needs a specific answer, please send us a new request, choosing a category different from ""Send a comment"" that fits the best with your situation. We will be happy to answer you. See you soon, and have fun on Howrse. Kind regards, The Howrse Team Nothing new  Still, I'm glad I sent my feedback in. There is no valid reason for this rule to be in place. I don't think Howrse will allow horses to be offered as prizes for 500 equus, like they used to do, but I do think they will eventually create a horse gifting option.
|