Rules & Regulations | Equination

Stable Sizes & Stalls
1. Basic Members (members with a free, entry-level membership to Equination) are restricted to have a maximum of 25 stalls in their main barn and 20 stalls in their breeding barn.
2. First-Tier Premium Members (members with the purchased first-level account upgrade at Equination) are restricted to a maximum of 80 stalls in their main barn and 55 in their breeding barn.
3. Second-Tier Premium Members (members with the purchased second-level account upgrade at Equination) follow 1.b rules but are allowed a maximum of 175 stalls total. The additional 50 stalls (more than the First-Tier membership) are chosen by the member to be in either the breeding barn or main barn.
4. Additional stalls may be accumulated by the discretion of administrators for Premium Members.
5. Additional stalls may be purchased with US Dollars for a total of 225 stalls for Second-Tier Premiums only. If a stable is to accumulate 225 stalls, 60 of those must be located in the Breeding Stable, leaving no more than 165 stalls in the main stable. Once these stalls are purchased, they cannot be moved unless the Stall Moving feature is used, which costs additional US dollars.
6. Premium Members have the option to move their additional stalls between their main/breeding stables at a US Dollar fee per stall. In order to do so, the stalls wished to be moved must be empty. Applicable stall minimums must still be met after stalls are moved.
7. Stalls can only be transferred between the Main/Breeding stables within an account and cannot be transferred to different accounts.
8. Having more horses than there are stalls will result in both racing and sales/breeding suspensions until the stall to horse ratio is corrected.
Multiple Stables - Users may create as many stables as they would like to at Equination, with either the Basic or Premium status. These stables are, however, treated as though they are one large stable. This means they must comply to the multiple entry rules and additionally must follow these interaction rules:
Stables owned, created or accessed by the same user cannot:
1. Buy, sell or breed horses between their multiple accounts. Any stables found transferring horses between their stables will face the following penalties:
  1. For first time offences or for smaller transfer problems, there will be a minimum of a four week ban from the entire game and all of the horses involved in the transfers will be fully retired - regardless of what stable they currently reside in. All connected stables will also receive a ban. If a large amount of connected stables are found to be connected and the stables are what we consider 'rubbish' stables or stables that may have been used in cheating schemes, all stables connected will be banned indefinitely.
  2. For second time offences or large transfer offences there will be a minimum of one to two Equination season ban from the game and all horses will be retired from the stable involved or those connected. A large fine will also be imposed on the stable involved and those connected.
  3. For third time offences or incredibly large offences (in some circumstances, even if it is a first offence), the stable involved, and possibly those connected, will receive a permanent ban from Equination. All horses involved will be retired.
2. The only exception in which stables may sell horses between their accounts is through proper use of the horse transfer tool as stated on its page.
3. Breed with public or private stallions or broodmares available in their other accounts. An example of illegal breeding between two stables owned by the same person could be, but is not limited to: Person A owns Stable AA and AB (neither stable is Second-Tier), from stable AA puts a mare up on the broodmare list and a stallion up on the stud list, then uses the breeding application for a foal in Stable AB. Any resulting foals will be fully retired by administration.
4. If a user has multiple Second-Tier stables, those that are Second-Tier stables can breed between each other. Basic and First-Tier stables are not acceptable for this feature.
Breeding Direct inbreeding is not allowed and is typically blocked by the game. Indirect inbreeding is acceptable. Direct inbreeding is when the sire or dam breed with one of their offspring or when two horses that share the same sire or dam are bred together.
If you accidentally breed a horse that is later discovered to be inbred, please notify Administration and the foal will be removed from the system without penalty. If the foal is a yearling and breeding season is still active, the mare's breeding will also be released so they can breed again.
Multiple Race Entries
1. Users are restricted to have a maximum of two entries in a single race, regardless if they are from different stables.
2. In Graded Races (cup races/special events), stables are restricted to have only one entry in the event. It is unacceptable for a user to enter more than one horse from a single stable.
3. A user that owns multiple Premium Stables may run one horse per stable in a Graded Race.
Graded Race Nominations
1. Nomination open and closing dates are announced either in the Stake Schedule, Racing Calendar or Message Board sections of the website and are subject to change.
2. Most Graded races open nominations on the weekend two weeks prior to the race itself and will usually close nominations on the Sunday night a week prior to the race.
3. Nominations will end at Midnight on the Sunday night, unless otherwise specified. Nominated horses must remain nominated until the field is finalized.
4. Horses can only be actively nominated for a single graded race at a time.
5. Nomination fees are non-refundable.
Graded Race Ineligibility - Premium members are responsible for managing their nominations and entries to make sure they meet the conditions of the event and do not violate the following:
1. Graded Races are limited to 23 total entries. This includes 20 actual entrants and 3 alternates. Alternates are treated the same as official entrants with regards to these rules.
2. Graded Races are restricted to Premium members only. In the event of a basic stable entering a graded race (by means of the Premium membership expiring prior to the event or a sale of the horse), the basic stable owning the horse entered will be given a fourteen day suspension from racing. If the horse was sold from a Premium after nominations closed, the premium member involved will also receive a fourteen-day suspension from racing for not having removed the nomination.
3. If a premium member leaves a horse nominated that does not meet criteria for the race by the time nominations close and that horse qualifies for the field, that horse will be removed from the event and the stable owning the horse will receive a fourteen-day suspension from racing.
4. If a premium member has two horses in the same stable qualify or enter into a graded race after nominations close, both horses will be scratched and the owner will receive a fourteen-day suspension from racing. Premium players with multiple stables may run multiple horses, though, as long as each horse is from a different account.
5. If a horse runs and finishes in a graded race that did not meet criteria and none of the stewards were notified, that horse will lose the purse money, a fine will be issued to the stable and a twenty-one-day suspension from racing will be issued to the stable.
6. If a horse has an injury that is not healed two days prior to race day, or if horse will not have at least 15 health and 15 energy one day prior to race day, the stable must scratch their entry in order to allow alternates to be cleared to race. The scratch must be submitted prior to the official race being created (typically 24 hours prior to the race itself taking place) otherwise the horse will be scratched and receive a twenty-eight-day racing suspension.
7. A single horse can only be entered into a single graded event on a given week of racing. If a horse has been nominated and makes the field of two or more graded events in a single week, they will be scratched from both events and the horses will receive a fourteen-day suspension from racing.
8. Horses who make the field of a race based on earnings accumulated after nominations close will receive a fourteen-day racing suspension.
9. The final 20 horses that qualify for a graded event (17 official entrants and 3 alternates) are not permitted to have any pending nominations or racing engagements during the period after nominations close until the running of the graded event. A horse will receive a twenty-one-day racing suspension if it has pending nominations, raced or unfulfilled racing engagements during this period.
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10. Alternates will be allowed to scratch at any time without penalty provided they have not already drawn into the official field of 20.
11. If Administration has to scratch a horse from a graded event when creating the official race or any time after, the horse will receive a twenty-eight-day racing suspension.
12. Horses who are in the official field of 20 can scratch without penalty provided there is an alternate available to take their post. The horses who will be given the chance to scratch without penalty will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. So, provided a race has 3 AE's, the first 3 horses to submit scratches from the official 20 will be able to scratch without penalty as those AE's move into their place. All subsequent scratches are subject to penalty.
13. There is an exception to the above in the event the horse being scratched has violated rules otherwise and thus would still receive a suspension of appropriate length per their violation.
14. If a horse is scratched and was not previously an alternate and no alternates are available to fill their post, the horse will receive a twenty-one-day racing suspension.
15. If a horse is scratched and was previously an alternate and no alternates are available to fill their post, the horse will receive a fourteen-day racing suspension.
16. All scratches submitted are final and cannot be reversed.
General Racing - Horses must meet the following criteria to be eligible for entry in any race at Equination:
1. Must have a minimum of ten health and ten energy the day the horse is being entered, regardless of when the race will take place.
2. The horse must be located in the main stable.
3. The horse cannot be officially entered in any other race, injured, up for sale, entered into an auction or involved in any other aspect of the game at the time of entry.
4. The horse must meet the age, gender, win conditions and any other restrictions available on that particular race.
5. Entry and shipping fees are non-refundable.
Horse Racing Suspensions
1. Suspension Rules - While a horse is under suspension, they are not eligible for entry into or participation of any race of any nature in EQ until the suspension is complete. A stable who enters their horse into another race prior to submitting the scratch request and thus having the horse on the suspension list - which would then result in the horse racing while suspended - the entire stable will receive a 14 day racing suspension and the horse will receive a 35 day racing suspension. Repeat violations will result in even greater suspension lengths.
  
  Any attempt at skirting the rules for suspensions will result in similar penalties.
  
  Administration retains the right to issue full stable suspensions at their discretion at all times.
2. Reduction Options - Scratch suspension times can be reduced for a fee per day in EQ Credits.
Claiming Races - Claims may be placed on horses that are running in these races. If there are multiple claims on a horse, the winner of the claim is decided in a random draw. The following rules must be met, though, for claiming:
1. The buy-back rule does not apply to claiming. If a horse you previously owned is available in a claiming race, you may place a claim on that horse regardless of buy-back rule requirements provided the horse will be returning to the original stable of yours that it came from.
2. Horses that are claimed can only be reclaimed by the stable it was originally claimed from and not another stable you own.
3. Only one claim per person per horse is acceptable; multiple claims from multiple stables you own is not acceptable.
4. Stables are limited to place claims only on the number of horses they have available stalls for. If a user has only one stall and places claims on two horses or more, this will result in at least a racing suspension.
5. Stables are not allowed to place a claim on their own horse, even with a different account. If the claim goes through, it will result in an immediate three-month ban.
6. Groups claiming the same horse/horses back and forth not allowed. An example of this is getting a friend/friends to claim it for you so you can reclaim back in it's next claiming race. Administration will pick up on patters like this and issue bans accordingly.
Private Transactions
1. Transactions that are made in private based on good-faith or a person's "word" are not regulated by Equination. We are not responsible for any unfaithful transactions that are executed in private.
2. Transactions of horses for sale in order to transfer money to one stable, whether it is owned by the same user or not, is unacceptable. An example of this: stable a sells a horse to stable b for $1 and purchases the horse back for $5,001 in order to provide stable b with $5,000.
3. Transactions of horses to a stable that is also owned by the same person are illegal period. Example A: Person A owns stable AA and AB, horses cannot ever be sold between AA and AB. To further this example, stable AA sells horse to stable X(owned by someone else), horse is later for sale, after the twelve-month buy back rule has passed, the horse can only be purchased back into stable AA, not into stable AB.
Payment Center & Money Transferring
1. Users cannot transfer EQ Money between stables they own.
2. Users cannot use a third party to transfer EQ Money between stables they own.
3. Users cannot purchase a horse into one stable and use a secondary stable to pay for it.
4. Users cannot sell a horse from one stable and accept payment for it in another stable.
Horse Sales, Transfers, & Retirement
1. Buy-Back Rule - Horses sold either through auctions, claims, sales board, or via private transactions may not be purchased back by the original seller for one (3) full real months (90 days).
2. In accordance with the above, the horse must return to the original stable owned by that user that it resided in.
3. Claims are an exception to the buy-back rule as per the claiming section above (9.a.)
4. Transfers
  1. Horses may only be transferred once within a user account in a 90 day period. After 90 days, this horse may be transferred again to any stable within the same user account.
5. In the event a user is purchasing a horse back that they have previously transferred between stables within their account, the horse must return to the most recent stable it resided in.
6. Permanent Retirement and the EQ Stable
  1. A horse may be permanently retired once it has been owned by its current stable for at least 30 full days. Ownership time is measured from the most recent date on which the current stable acquired the horse.
  2. A horse owned by its current stable for less than 30 full days cannot normally be permanently retired. If the horse is eligible, it may instead be sent to the EQ Stable, or the stable may retain the horse until permanent retirement becomes available.
  3. Sending a horse to the EQ Stable transfers ownership of the horse to the game-operated stable. The horse will be placed on the public sales board for $100 EQD. The stable sending the horse does not receive the sale price.
  4. Horses 19 years of age or younger may be sent to the EQ Stable. A 20-year-old horse may be sent during the first two months of an Equination season unless the horse is a mare with a yearling. No 20-year-old horse may be sent during the third and final month. A 20-year-old horse that cannot be sent to the EQ Stable under this rule may be permanently retired instead.
  5. A quick turnover occurs when a stable races a horse after acquiring it and then sends that horse to the EQ Stable within seven days of acquisition. A stable may complete no more than two quick turnovers during any rolling 14-day period without restriction.
  6. If a stable attempts a third quick turnover during a rolling 14-day period, that horse must remain with the stable until 14 full days after its acquisition before it may be sent to the EQ Stable. The same requirement applies to additional qualifying horses while the repeated pattern remains active.
  7. Horses that have not raced for their current stable may be sent to the EQ Stable immediately when otherwise eligible. This allows a stable to correct an unsuitable purchase without permanently removing the horse from the game.
  8. These retirement restrictions do not prevent a stable from placing a horse for ordinary public or private sale, transferring it when otherwise permitted, or retaining it until the applicable date.
  9. Attempts to bypass retirement or EQ Stable restrictions may be treated as an attempt to circumvent the Rules of the Game.
Stable Sales & Giveaways
1. If you receive a stable from another person (via gift, payment or other), you may not sell any horses (directly or indirectly) from said stable to other accounts owned by the person you received it from.
2. Any recent sales between the person receiving the stable and their other stables would also be considered illegal at that point. This is classed as horse transferring and will be treated as such. Example: Example A: Person A owns stable AA and AB, they sell/give away stable AA. to stable X(owned by someone else), horse/s can only be sold back to stable AB or any other stable they own, when the twelve-month buy back rule has passed.
General
1. Any activity that is deemed to have a negative impact on the gameplay at Equination or is found to be malicious in intent by administration at Equination is unacceptable. Administration will handle any such scenarios at their discretion with the integrity of gameplay at Equination being the priority. If any act is deemed to be detrimental to the game, suspensions and/or bans will be issued based on the severity of the situation.
Message Boards, Chatroom & Private Messages - The following acts are unacceptable. Upon the execution of any of the following, it will be to the moderators discretion as to how the situation will be dealt. Premium or Basic member, some of the punishments available include, but are not limited to: deletion of the message/thread; alteration of the message/thread; temporary suspension from the particular section or from the entire website; permenant removal from the particular section or the entire website. It is also up to the moderators discretion if any behavior that may not be covered below is deemed unacceptable. Warnings issued by moderators must be respected.
1. Advertising anything other than images or stable websites without the proper consent.
2. Flooding. This includes, but is not limited to: the use of ASCII text drawings (chatroom); multiple lines of the same/similar text (chatroom); repititious replies; bumping and threads in the same or different message boards stating the same or similar topic.
3. The use of all-caps or odd-caps continuously.
4. Excessive name changes (chatroom).
5. Swearing. Words that are unacceptable are left to the discretion of administration.
6. The use of hurtful, disrespectful, rude and hateful comments.
7. The use of large images (forums/signatures).
8. Initializing or contributing to a negative discussion.
Game Glitches - Any blatant misuse of game programming glitches in the game will be considered cheating the system and receive a suspension and/or ban from the game. Examples of this would be illegally bred horses, having too many horses vs your stall count, etc.
Suspensions, Bans & Horse Retirement - Users shall receive punishment based on the moderators discretion upon the violation of the above rules. Basic and premium members alike must comply to these rules and may receive permanent removal from the game. Any horses that are found to have been bred between stables owned by the same person, or have been used excessively in horse transferring issues can be fully retired by adminstration. Each case will be looked at individually. Multiple offences by the same person will result in a perment ban of that person and all the stables associated with that person. Honesty of the player on the issue will also be considered when deciding upon suspensions or bans.
Disclaimer - We are not responsible for any lost or missing horses or money in your account. These rules are subject to change. Questions should be sent to Administration. Users shall receive punishment based on the moderators discretion upon the violation of the above rules. Basic and premium members alike must comply to these rules and may receive permanent removal from the game.