Equipment
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Unlocking your equipment costs Essence, so remember to save up! Additionally, some require that you have had, at any time in the past, collected a certain number of essences from a specific biome. The Essence grid shows how many essences you've collected, in total, from each, so you'll know when you've collected enough to buy whatever it is you'd like. Check Equipment to see the cost of anything you might want to unlock. (Note: Since equipment is unlocked, not bought, you cannot buy or sell it.)
Some of your equipment will have a keyboard shortcut, and these are listed with the equipment after you buy it. Type that shortcut again to put the item away; type X to put any item away.
Personalization:
Some equipment can be personalized to have different colors! To select equipment colors, just go into Myself - > Change My Appearance. You'll be able to select a primary and secondary color in the area just below your shoes.
ART KIT
One of our player's favorite things in the history of, well, ever, has long been customization of their horses. In Horse Isle 2, we gave players the option to create rump and player profile art to further make the game their own...
With a few additions.
Before we begin, we need to remind players that all art must follow Horse Isle Rules, which means you cannot use it to go around or break any of our rules. All art needs to go through a reviewing process before being accepted into the game. The reviewing process is described at the bottom of this Help Center document.
Once a picture is out in the world and published, you cannot delete it unless you have also deleted every instance of it in-game. You cannot force anyone to give you the sticker if you sold it, but once it's out of your hands it is no longer in your control!
Art costs $2,000 to start to put through the Moderator Review; this price increases by $250 with every new piece.
Moderation
Any player with a Mod Trust Score of 75 or higher and is in their majority (18 or older, according to their signup birth date) may review art.
Players wishing to moderate art can type in %mod, at the bottom of which they'll find a handy review spot where the art in question may be seen. Flagging art will cause it to go to Admin Review, where one of the game Admins will review the problem art.
Players who review art will receive $250 Gold Dust in exchange for their time. Be sure to flag art correctly, however, or you'll be penalized!
Art requires 250 points before being approved to the game.
RUMP ART
This favorite classic allows you to create art that can be applied to the rump of any horse you own. You are also able to sell rump art stickers for other people to apply to their horses- the best designs will sell most often! This can be used as a harmless, permanent brand or just a silly doodle for your ponies.
This sticker will appear on both sides of your horse- before you panic a little over image text being inversed, we have an option for that! If you've got something that needs to be flipped on the other side to have it make any sense, select the "right pixels face head" option before you start your masterpiece.
Hint: Dark colored art will be a lot harder to see on dark horses, just as light art will be harder to see on lighter horses. Making both a light and dark colored version will be a good idea!
Other hints are included when making your art- different modes will have different explanations next to them on the Art Tool.
Rump Art Stickers are created through your art kit (type %art to bring up your current art) after making Blank Stickers at your workshop. They require 1 Paper and 1 Honey to create. They may be removed and reapplied as much as you like, but are treated like tack (so one sticker can only be used for one horse)
BLANKET QUILTING
English and Western blankets, as well as simple blankets, have a special, quiltable type that may have a quilting pattern applied to it. While this is usually done while you're making it, in Horse Isle we've found a way to do it AFTER it's already made. (Please don't ask.) Quilting patterns work a lot like dye jars! Just go to your %art panel and apply a quilting pattern after it's been published and approved.
PROFILE ART STICKERS
Profile art is a fan favorite, enabling players to create something that really means something to them. This can be anything- a flower, a pony face, a 'ranch sign,' or whatever your heart desires.
Profile art may be applied to your personal profile or a club profile. You'll need to select this option from the start to create a Profile picture!
Clubs may use this same profile art, though the sticker is immediately returned to the sticker owner, sort of like a transfer.
FLAGS
Flags are not implemented in game yet. But they are to come!
Auction Pigeon
For 1000 essence (250 Stone Forest essence collected), you may unlock your very own Auction Pigeon. Once unlocked, you may view and participate in auctions (as long as they're not Club Only listings.) This handy little bird will send your payment and bids to the Auction Masters, as well as give you magical, real-time auction updates. (We're not sure how it works, it just does.)
Its shortcut is &. Hit & or X again to tell your pigeon to go back to its coop!
Big Book of Breeds
You may unlock the Big Book of Breeds so you're not required to look at a library every time you're in need of breed information. This costs 1,000 Essence with 250 Taiga Essence collected.
Note that this just lets you look at breeds, it does not give you full access to the Library (as you'd have a hard time carting a full building around.
Brush
It's a rare horse indeed who doesn't appreciate a good brushing! Brushing improves both a horse's looks and its mood. Other people that have brushes are also able to groom your horses. The shortcut for the brush is G on your keyboard. To put it away, press G again or X.
A player with a membership gets an added benefit to the brush- they're able to groom their horses twice as fast!
Bucket
Buckets are used for watering both horses and garden crops. Unlike other equipment, you can own as many buckets as you like; but like everything else in the game, the more you buy, the more they cost.
The shortcut for using buckets is B on your keyboard. Once you're done watering your horsies, press B again or X to put it away.
Diving Bell
For 2500 Essence (and 250 savanna essence collected,) you can unlock the Diving Bell for underwater exploration!
Please keep in mind that the oceans are very large and the diving bell is heavy... so you're going to move about the oceans very slowly. You can't use the torch for underwater exploration (fire doesn't like getting wet,) but the lantern is good for this!
Press 0 to use the diving bell. Press 0 again or X to put it away and float back up!
Grappling Bow
The Grappling Bow is a rather magnificent tool that enables the user to channel their inner cave-dwelling adventurer/archaeologist by letting them zip from point to point in a cave using a rope and grapple system.
Left mouse click shoots the grappling hook into the terrain, and holding it will let you ascend. Crouching (C key) will let you descend, while jumping (spacebar) will release the hook.
^ will equip your grappling bow, and hitting ^ again or X will put it away. Using it 25 times without hitting the ground once will unlock the Tarzan award!
Gold Panning
In Horse Isle, you can often find money in the strangest places. One not so strange place is in rivers- with the Gold Pan tool, you can pan for gold like it's 1849.
Horse Cart
Some horses just look the best when they're driving. For those horses, we have the Horse Cart. At 2,500 Essence (with 1,000 FallForest Essence collected), this cart is sure to turn heads without totally breaking your Essence bank. This cart is slightly slower than the Chariot, as it's bulkier.
For centuries, Carts were the primary mode of transport over most distances for most people, as far back as 5000 BCE. It wasn't until much later (around 400 BCE, first in China) that they switched from a rope pull to a trace harness, then later a a collar harness, that you see in Horse Isle today. This cart has room for up to three passengers! Note that your passengers do have weight, so they will slow your cart down a bit. Three passengers will slow you down even more!
Ponies 14.2hh and under cannot pull the horse cart, but everything taller than that can pull this cart!
Pressing - will attempt to use your last used cart. Hitting it again, F, or X will put the cart away.
Chariot
Ever long to race as fast as you can, with your strong and nimble horses? This magnificent Chariot is very expensive but very worth it. At 10,000 essence (with 2,000 desert essence collected,) it is the most expensive essence unlock to say "My horse looks so cool." The chariot is slightly lighter than the horse cart, making it able to be pulled faster.
Historically, chariots were used in hippodromes (horse race tracks) by both Greek and Roman cultures. Horse Isle has done as the Romans did and appropriated it for our own use! This Chariot, however, can hold you and two buddies. Note that if you have passengers, your chariot will be bogged down slightly by their weight!
Horses over 14.3hh may pull this chariot. Ponies just can't reach the braces!
Pressing - will attempt to use your last used cart. Hitting it again, F, or X will put the cart away.
Hitting / will turn on your Horsie Sense, which stays on until you turn it off with / again or by hitting X.
Horsie Sense
When using Horsie Sense, you see yellow sparkles in the direction a wild horse can be found, if there is one nearby. If there's no sparkle when you start using it, there are no nearby horses. Walk around a bit, you'll find some soon! Horsie Sense sparkles towards the nearest wild horse.
Horsie Sense has different ranges at different qualities. The maximum range is 500m at Awesome, and Lowest will only find horses at 100m away (due to the horses not being 'drawn in' until they're within range.)
Awesome- 500m; High- 400m; Normal- 300m; Low- 200m; Lowest- 100m
Hot Air Balloon
For the phenomenally expensive cost of just 25,000 Essence (and 1,000 Decay Essence collected) you can unlock the Hot Air Balloon. This requires Hot Air Balloon Fuel to use takes about five seconds of oil burning to heat up the inside of the balloon.
The Hot Air Balloon travels with the current direction of the wind at just under wind speed; the only way you can control it is by pressing the Up and Down buttons.
Hot Air Balloon Fuel can be made on your Ranch at a Furnace.
It takes 5 Corn Ears, 2 Coal, 1 Shovel of Tar to make 1 Hot Air Balloon Fuel.
HANG GLIDER
A great way to get around the Wilds in a hurry for the magnificent price of 10,000 essence, and 1,000 Fjords essence collected!
You'll need to find a high point in the world to launch from- obviously you can't easily hang glide in the Salt Flats. While a little complicated, picking this up will soon be a breeze.
Your Hang glider will automatically pitch down (go into a downward dive) so it doesn't stall. The W key will make you pitch forward faster, and if you'd like to pitch backward (go up) you'll need to use the S key. Steer with your mouse or arrow keys and you'll be flying about in no time! Sort of.
There's an award for those that get lots of 'hang time,' so go up, up, and away!
Click here to go to tutorials
Ice Skates
Tired of just walking on the ice or dealing with horses that panic every time the ice cracks a little? The Ice Skates, at the cost of 2,000 Essence (with 250 Ice Scape Essence collected) will allow you to travel over the frozen oceans of Horse Isle.
Press A and D to move your feet (or use the arrows) and you'll be skating in no time! Tap W to speed up- if you time it properly, you can get a nice speed going. Hold the W key for a slower, more leisurely skating speed- using this replaces the A and D keys. Press C for a nice Swizzle move and S to hit the breaks!
Jousting Lance
This exceptionally fun tool is used for one purpose: Unhorsing your friends. Its cost to unlock is 1,000 Essence with 250 Bamboo Essence collected.
You can only unhorse someone that also has the lance out. It will wibble and wobble (it's heavy!) but to unhorse someone, you'll need to hold your left mouse button and take aim!
If you're in a ridealong and you and your passenger are the 'losers' in a joust, both players will be unhorsed!
Use \ to ready your lance. Press \ again or X to put it away.
Jousting Hints:
A taller horse is harder to be unhorsed from.
A faster horse will have more 'oomph' in a deadhead charge.
An agile horse will be able to turn faster to meet an opponent again, should you fail to unhorse them the first time!
Magic String
Magic String costs 2,500 essence with 500 Wonderland essence to unlock
Breadcrumbs aren't really an option in a cave full of bug eyed, big nosed ponies that specialize in hunting food- any food- in their homes. Instead, we have a Magic String that keeps track of where you've been for the last three minutes. Putting the magic string away will clear your path away entirely.
Because this requires an extreme amount of mental concentration, you cannot use your Magic String and Horsie Sense at the same time, and you are the only one that can see your own Magic String.
Magic String is activated with @ (since it looks like a ball of string!), hit it again or X to put it away.
Lasso
A lasso (or lariat, or la riata, or just rope) is used to capture wild horses. Unlock this item in your Equipment tab for 10 essence.
Roping horses is a tricky business in the Wilds, and can take a good deal of practice to master. It's all a matter of timing! Keep trying, you'll get it!
The more you swing your rope, the father it will go. Three swings is usually enough to catch a horse, if it's as close to you as you as it will let you get. If in doubt, overthrowing rarely hurts.
Use your lasso by pressing L, and put it away by pressing L again, or press X.
Kayak
The Kayak is one of the most useful tools you can own, though it is rather expensive, comparatively. One of the first things you're likely to notice about the Wilds is that a good deal of it is water; rivers, lakes, shallow seas and deep oceans. If you really want to, you can navigate these by swimming (but you've probably got better things to do with your time.) But the Kayak is a great deal faster, once you master how to use the paddle. It's definitely a very worthwhile investment!
To use the kayak, alternate button presses on A and D or the left and right arrow keys. If you're not really in a hurry to get anywhere, you can press W or the Up arrow to travel forward (albeit a little slower than if you were paddling.)
Once you wish to set out on an ocean adventure (or really just don't feel like walking around a lake or through a stream,) the keyboard shortcut for your kayak is K. Press K again or X to put your kayak away when you're done with it. Your Kayak will also immediately go back to your inventory if you quick travel to an area that isn't water.
Lantern
The Lantern costs 500 essence and 100 Dark Forest essence to unlock
Uses Lantern Oil that you craft in your workshop on your ranch. This equipment cannot be used on your horse.
The shortcut for your Lantern is the Y on your keyboard. To put it away, press Y again or X.
Lead Rope
The Lead Rope costs 500 essence with 100 Swamp Essence
Use your lead rope by pressing 'u,' your horse must be wearing a bridle or halter in order to use the lead rope.
Map
With the map, you're able to view the places you've already been, with the fog of discovery hiding the rest.
To pan your map (make it go side to side and such,) use your arrow keys. To reset it, just hit SPACE and your map will ZIP back to you at the center :)
To use your Map, press M to pull it out. The scroll button on your mouse zooms it in and out (or page up/down on your keyboard) and you can press M again or X to put it away when you're done reviewing your journey.
Places you have actually visited will have the clearest view; places you've only seen from afar will be paler.
Newspaper
For 1000 essence (250 Sandstone Hills essence collected), you will gain access to the Horse Isle newspaper, which allows you to search all Village Stores for things for sale.
Of course, you'll still need to visit the stores, as a newspaper is not a magical pigeon, but it may be handier to have this Newspaper on hand rather than visit a Shopping Board every time you wish to look at the availability of an item or horse!
Its shortcut is $. Hit $ again or X to put your newspaper away.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
There are musical instruments associated with each biome, and you can collect Essence from each of those biomes to buy them. Instruments are used to play some minigames.
To play an instrument, you'll use the numerical keys (1-0, - and =) for sharps and the Q-\ keys for your normal notes. To play a higher or lower octave, you can utilize the SHIFT buttons.
Right Shift will allow you to play a higher octave, while Left Shift allows you to play a lower octave.
Note Legend:
Q: C2
2: C#2
W: D2
3: D#2
E: E2
R: F2
5: F#2
T: G2
6: G#2
Y: A2
7: A#2
U: B2
I: C3
9: C#3
O: D3
0: D#3
P: E3
[: F3
=: F#3
Accordion
1,000 essence with 1,000 Taiga collected
Acoustic Bass
1,000 essence with 1,000 Stone Forests collected
Bag Pipes
1,000 essence with 1,000 Tundra collected
Banjo
1,000 essence with 1,000 Swamp collected
Bottle Blow
250 essence
Cello
1,000 essence with 1,000 Dark Forests collected
Dulcimer
1,000 essence with 1,000 Decay collected
Flute
1,000 essence with 1,000 Fall Forests collected
French Horn
1,000 essence with 1,000 Mesa collected
Glockenspiel
1,000 essence with 1,000 Ice Scape collected
Guitar
1,000 essence with 1,000 Badlands collected
Harmonica
1,000 essence with 1,000 Desert collected
Harp
1,000 essence with 1,000 Wonderland collected
Marimba
1,000 essence with 1,000 Mediterranean collected
Oboe
1,000 essence with 1,000 Fjords collected
Piano
1,000 essence with 1,000 Plains collected
Sitar
1,000 essence with 1,000 Bamboo Forests collected
Steel Drum
1,000 essence with 1,000 Savanna collected
Taiko Drum
1,000 essence with 1,000 Jungle collected
Tinker Bell
1,000 essence with 1,000 Snowy Mountains collected
Tom
1,000 essence with 1,000 Blacksands collected
Trumpet
1,000 essence with 1,000 Sandstone Hills collected
Tubular Bells
1,000 essence with 1,000 Alpine Mountains collected
Vibraphone
1,000 essence with 1,000 Volcanic collected
Violin
1,000 essence with 1,000 Rain Forests collected
Xylophone
1,000 essence with 1,000 Salt Flats collected
Recording Kit
With a Recording Kit, players may record music they create with their instruments, up to ten minutes long. Hit ; to pull up the instrument wheel to select the instrument you'd like to record yourself playing and hit 'record!' An instrument can only be used once per track, so you cannot set up a cacophony... err... orchestra of recorders playing Three Blind Mice both out of tune and slightly off beat.
Those not so skilled with music need not fear, for those that are skilled can do commissions and trade un-crafted recordings, meaning recordings that don't have any copies yet.
You can manage your music by clicking the proper button on the recording panel or by typing %MUSIC, but note that once you're done recording and save it, there's no editing your masterpiece!
Please make sure you choose a Genre for your music to make sure it's easier for others to find music they're interested in.
Music may only be deleted if no copies are remaining in the world.
Crafting a Permanent Record costs 25 Mobia each. Make sure the price you set for your records reflects this!
Gramophone House
Every ranch and club house has been given a complimentary gramophone in which to play records. If you go to your ranch house, you can pick a soundtrack for it of all the music in your inventory, if you so wish. Records loop in the order you add them to the house and will be synchronized for all players on the parcel (meaning you can ask someone what's playing and they'll hear the same thing!)
Owners and managers may add or remove club records from the clubhouse. Once removed, it will go to its owner's inventory, NOT to the person who removed it ;)
But why does it cost mobia to press a record?
Importing costs! Horse Isle does not have a natural source of vinyl, and importing it can be fairly expensive. To make sure every record pressed is worth these high import costs for such an unusual material, the importers have decided to charge a bit more for it.
Note that you do not need to go to an Importer... as soon as you hit 'craft' they will deliver it, pronto! This also ensures it doesn't get chomped on by a curious zebra.
How do I make it STOP?
You can always quickly mute all game sounds up in your toolbar and unmute when all is safe and quiet :)
Camera
The Camera costs 1000 Essence and 250 Volcanic essence- This is a one time unlock, as with all equipment.
A film kit is required for each photo you take.
Pointing your camera and taking a photo of most natural features- plants, fungi, animals, and geological formations- will be tracked.
Your Album stats located in your Profile will keep track of what unique animals you have and have not taken photos of.
Click your camera again to clear the photo from your screen to take another one.
Each new tracked critter or landscape object gives 10qp and 20 Essence, and goes towards the National Geographic award in-game :)
Photo that you take get saved to your copmputer. The exact path for photos taken is:
Windows (C:) > Program Files > Horse Isle 3 > HI3 > HI3 Data.
Mac: Finder > Applications > HI3 Folder > Right Click on the game launcher (NOT patcher) > Show Package Contents > Contents Folder > Frameworks Folder.
Additionally, if you can't find it in your applications folder, right-click your game app on your dock and click "Show in Finder."
Pony Cart
For 2000 essence (with 250 Mesa essence collected,) you can unlock the Pony Cart.
The pony cart gives your little ponies and horses a way to be 'ridden,' (or at least useful!) and pulling a cart operates just the same as riding a horse.
The pony cart is able to be pulled by any pony or miniature horse under 14.2hh with a pull strength greater than .21. Ideally, your cart pony should be .4 or higher in pulling strength. You will get a warning saying that your very small pony just isn't strong enough to pull the cart (even though she thinks she can!) - this message displays regardless of gender.
A pull strength greater than 1 sled will enable a horse to pull the cart with greater efficiency.
Hitting - will automatically attempt to bring out the last cart you used. Hitting - again or X will put it away.
Click here to go to Stat Training
SAIL BOAT
If you're tired of Kayaking and want something more involved than simply pressing a couple buttons, this VERY expensive piece of equipment is right up your alley. Using the wind as power, you can harness the forces of nature to travel the oceans much faster. It's no good for staying close to the shore, however- this ship has a deep keel and will run aground!
Wind
The winds of Horse Isle all blow in one direction. You'll need to set your sail boom accordingly (Shift+A and D, center it with W or S.) The direction of the wind is highlighted by the transparent blue and red arrows that appear when you're in your sailboat.
Steering
Your Sailboat has a rudder that needs to be adjusted if you're to have any control over it! Use the A and D keys to steer and W or S to center. To get the best speed out of your ship, try to catch the wind at its highest and keep focused on where the wind is blowing!
Wind Direction and Speed
These make for a very speedy way to get across the water, if you know how to use them. Going against the wind will put you at a dead stop; going with the wind will be smooth sailing!
Sometimes, the wind just isn't blowing very hard at all. You can usually sit these periods out without a problem, maybe sing some sea shanties with your buddies ;)
Ridealongs
You're not the only one that can enjoy the wind on the water! You and four other players may take to the high seas in your trusty vessel, but only YOU are the captain! You can click and 'invite ridealong' or %ridealong PLAYERNAME to have people board your ship.
Getting Your Sailboat Out
The default key to board your trusty boat is J, and you can hit J or X to put it away.
Shovel
The shovel is used for digging up things, usually beach sand used to make glass. To use it, select the shovel from your equipment, go to some suitable beach, and click the left mouse button, holding it down momentarily until you see that you've dug something up (a message to that effect will appear on the screen).
Spyglass
The spyglass allows you to get a closer view at distant objects. It can help you find collectible items, and give you a good look at a wild horse so you can make sure you really want to catch it. To see things further away, you can use the scroll button on your mouse (or page up/down on your keyboard.) This extends your view of the world around you to see things MUCH further away!
The shortcut for your spyglass is V on your keyboard. If you're done gazing off into the distance, hit V again or X to put it away.
Snowshoes
Snowshoes have been used by different cultures all over the world for several thousand years, and are still in use today for being incredibly useful for areas where it's difficult or impossible to get a vehicle through.
They are so useful, in fact, that once unlocked, you will automatically equip your snowshoes when you hit snowy terrain!
Skis
Skis make traveling in snowy areas much easier and faster. And no, your horse can't wear them. This speeds up downhill snow travel by quite a bit! Better slalom to avoid the trees!
Press forward (W) to pole push when you're moving too slow, backward (S) to slow down. Hitting Space will allow you to jump... if you get over 1.5 seconds of air, it'll show on your air time on your screen!
SEA HORSE
This friendly, giant sized Seahorse is more than happy to help you move faster through the great oceans of Horse Isle, provided you have an underwater helmet.
Your Seahorse will sink further into the water if you hit C and will surface a bit if you hit Space. You'll need to be underwater with your helmet equipment for the Seahorse to be summoned, which you can quickly do with the % button!
The Seahorse is VERY EXPENSIVE, costing 25,000 Essence (with 2500 Mediterranean essence collected.) They'll be a worthy companion for you, however!
