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The Sims 4: Horse Ranchexpansion added plenty of new content to the game, the majority of it centered around caring for horses on a ranch of your very own. And while there’s a plethora of extra content in the pack as well, horses naturally take center stage.
RELATED:The Sims 4 Horse Ranch: Where To Get A Horse
But caring for them is no easy task, and earning money with horses in The Sims 4 can be a little time-consuming. Whether you’re training your horses to compete, doing Community Jobs, or breeding prize horses to sell, there are plenty of ways you can make money on your Sims horse ranch!
Starting Costs And Time Investment
What Is The Time Investment For Running A Ranch?
With so much happening on the ranch each day, it’s pretty easy tomake ranching your Sim’s full-time job.
There’s enough to do on a daily basis, especially as the ranch grows, to keep a Sim busy the entire day: you’ll need totend to the horses, work tomaintain the ranchwith tasks like cleaning and repairs, and more.
If you can swing the cash for one,a Ranch Hand can helpmassivelywith all the work.
They’re a daily service that can care for your animals and the ranch overall, so check out ourguide on Ranch Handsfor more info.
Generally speaking, you’ll need toform a bondwith your horse- ranching is a collaborative effort with them, after all!
That all covers thebasicsof operating a horse ranch, but you’ll also need totrain your horsesif you’re hoping to make any real money off them, which is done bycompeting.
This means you’ll need toinvest time to train your horses, in addition to doing the work to maintain the ranch, whichtakes plenty of timeto do.
There istraining equipment available throughout Chestnut Ridge for free, though, so look around the neighborhood if you’re able to’t quite afford your own training equipment for the ranch yet.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Ranch?
If you’re looking tobuild a ranch of your own, you’ll need to be sure you’vebought the essentialsfor your horses early on. We cover this more in-depth in ourguide to horse care.
The table below breaks down theessential items for each horse, as well as theoptional training equipmentyou can purchase for at-home training. Overall,equipment for horses isn’t too expensive.
30
Raises your horses' fun need
50
Quenches your horses' thirst
Hay Now! Animal Feeder
Must be filled manually, but holds hay for your horses to eat
Hay Now! Horse Bed
Must be cleaned regularly, but provides a comfortable place for horses to sleep
Champ Certified Horse Barrels
75
Allows you and your horse to work on the Agility skill
100
Heritage Vintage Horse Jumps
90
Allows you and yoru horse to work on the Jumping skill
Champ Certified Horse Jump
You can cut costs and save space by visiting the Equestrian Center with your horses - there are training items, toys, and feeders available nearby.
Sell Manure For A Quick Few Simoleons
While it’s maybe less conventional than the other suggestions we’ve made in this guide, you cansell manureleft around your ranch for varying amounts of cash.
If you’re not planning to use it for garden fertilizer, theneach pile of manure, which isstored in baggies in your inventory, can be sold for a quick few bucks.
It’s not much per pile, butif you have horseson your lot, then you’llnever run out of manure, so sell those baggies for a quick and easy, albeit smelly, payout.
Enter Horse Competitions And Win Prize Money
Train Your Horses Before Competition
We’ve touched on it already with the equipment we listed above, butmake the time totrain your horseregularlyto be sure your horse is raising its skills.
There arefour skillsfor your horse to learn:Agility, Endurance, Jumping, and Temperament.
Temperament and Endurancecan be worked on simply byriding your horse, butAgility and Jumping require equipmentto train a horse in these skills.
It’s important to know beforehand thattraining a horse can be time-consuming, especially given thathorses withdifferent traitsrespond differently to training.
Traits likeAggressiveorDefiantwill make itmore difficult to train a horse reliably.
We won’t call them lost causes, butbeginner trainers should stay awayfrom these resistant horse traits for an easier time learning how to train horses.
Your horsesneed to practice to raise their skills. Horse skills level like Sim skills, sotrain consistentlyto see progress.
you’re able to alsohave horses train by themselvesto free your Sim up for other activities around the ranch, beginning when your Sim has reachedlevel three in the Horse Riding skill.
There Are Five Competitions
We detail each one much more extensively in ourhorse competition guide, but there arefive competitionsfor your horse to compete in over at the Equestrian Center.
To enter a competition, all you need to do isclick on the Equestrian Centerand choose to enter from the menu here, which opens a larger window with competition information.
Each competition tests two skills- a primay one with a higher level requirement, as well as a secondary skill related to the competition in some way.
In addition,the competition checks your Sim’s Horse RIding skillas well, with suggested skill levels for your rider listed for the competition alongside your horse’s.
Competitionsscale in difficulty, but you’llneed to win at lower levels to unlock harder competitions. Naturally, it’s the higher-level competitions that earn the most, so you’ll need to win your way up to the top-paying contests.
You Can Compete Multiple Times Per Day, But Your Horse Cannot
If you’ve only got one horse on your ranch and are dedicating all your time to training it, that horse will succeed sooner than the rest! However, be mindful thathorses can only compete once each day. Additionally,foals and pregnant horses cannot competeat all.
Your Sim, though, does not have the same restrictions.The same Sim can compete with multiple horses on the same day, if you’re feeling ready.
If you havea few horsesyou’re working with that areready to compete, you can justbring them all with youwhen you go to the Equestrian Center and compete with them one by one.
The Ultimate Competition Requires All Skills To Be Maxed
Sure, you’ve been in your share of competitions with your horse already, but theUltimate Horse Championshipis the final level of competition - and it’sthe most difficultof them all.
Your Sim should have theirHorse Riding skill maxedbefore entering, but your horse has even stricter guidelines:Agility, Endurance, Jumping, and Temperament should all be maxedas well.
This willdefinitelytake some time to do, especially since the competition levels before this have both lower requirementsandfewer skills they’re checking. However,the Ultimate Horse Championship offers the most prize money.
The cost for entry is a bit higher, butyou can win up to 6,000 simoleonsin the competition. Even the bronze medal horse takes a cool 4,000 simoleons home, sofully train your horseand then pursue greatness together!
Winning the Ultimate Horse Championship, though, is part of one of the new aspirations with the pack,“Championship Rider.”
RELATED:The Sims 4 Horse Ranch: Best Horse Breeds
Breed And Sell Horses
Competing isn’t the only way to earn money on your horses, though - far from it. Sims can alsobreed horsesat home, andsell themto earn a profit.
Generally,the value of a horseis determined by a few things:
Any horses withChampion Genesalso fetch a higher price when sold, and they alsolearn skills faster. You can breed this into them after completing theChampionship Rider aspirationto boost their value.
The value of a horse isdisplayed alongside the option to sell it, but it raises horses worth a pretty penny and sell them off for a huge payday when you’re ready.
Breeding and selling horses is time-consuming, and there are much quicker ways to earn money with horses, but thelump-sum payouts are usually worth the time, with prize horses able to bring in tens of thousands each.
Do Community Jobs With Your Horse
Available by checking theCommunity Boardsdotted around the worlds in The Sims 4, your Sim and their animals canaccept Community Jobs for a quick payout.
Youearn the money as soon as the job is completed, with jobs ranging from a few hours to day-long activities and pay that scales proportionately to the time investment.
Community Jobs can be centered on a few things:
Thepayouton each task is shown rightin the menu where you select the job, meaning there are no surprises - you don’t have to accept jobs you don’t think are worth your time.
However, if you’re training your animals anyway, it pays - quite literally - to take on Community Jobs fora few hours per taskwhen you have the time.
Raise Goats And Sheep For Their Milk And Wool
Although the pack is specifically centered on horses and their care, they’re not the only animals introduced in the Horse Ranch expansion: you canbuy mini goats and mini sheepfor the ranch as well. When you buy them, they’llappear in your inventory, so you’ll need toplace them on your ranch-like items.
Caring for sheep and goats is much more manual than horses, requiring you to consistentlyfeed, bathe, and socialize with themin addition to your hoses.
Ranch Hands will also care for sheep and goatsduring their day, if hired.
Healthy, happygoats produce Goat Milk, while your various colors ofsheep can be sheared for their Wool.
Both resources can besold for simoleons, or, depending on the other expansion packs you’ve got, potentially crafted into other, higher-value items.
RELATED:The Sims 4: The Best Packs To Play With Horse Ranch
Host Ranch Gatherings Or Animal Days
Though there are plenty of ways to make money on your animals themselves, Sims around town wouldloveto come check out your ranch - andRanch GatheringsandRanch Animal Daysare their chance to do just that!
Bothgoal-based, scored eventssee youinvite any Sims to your ranch(you don’t even need to know them yet, making this agreat way to meet townies) for a day of farm-filled fun.
And if the day goes well,you may make a few hundred simoleonsfor the effort wheninvited Sims donate to your ranch.
Ranch Gatheringsare more of a social event than anything, allowing neighbors tocome to your house for a party.
You and your pals will head to the ranch for a few hours offood, music, nectar, and dancing, with the goaled event based on how much fun your guests are having.
On the other hand,Ranch Animal Daysinvolve your Simshowing townie Sims how to care for animals. It’s something you do each day, but non-ranchers are curious, and willing to pay to check out life on the ranch.
For these, you’ll need tosocialize with guests, as well as let them watch yousocialize with and care for your animals.
This is easy enough to do on an average day at the ranch, as you’llmake progress toward better event rewards just for caring for animals, because you’ve invited others to watch.
Other Sims may eventake care of your animals for you, socializing with them and feeding them as a hands-on part of the event.
Nectar-Making Is A Great Money-Maker
But horse riding and care aren’t the only new features in The Sims 4: Horse Ranch - you can alsomake “nectar” at home using fruits and vegetablesto sell for quite a pretty penny.
We’ve got afull guide to making nectarand how best to earn cash from it, but in short,nectar is an easy way to earn simoleonsin the expansion.
For alower startup cost than ranching, Sims can get a nectar-making tub for350 simoleonsand begin using produce items tomake nectar at homein their free time.
Aging racksare an optional300 simoleonpurchase to increase the selling price per bottle - it delays the payout, but increases it to reward you for the time you’ve waited!
Bottles can besold from your inventory, or you canhead to the Equestrian Centerto sell them - you may bump into folks willing tobuy nectar for more than the base selling price, which you’ll see in apush notificationwhen you arrive.
Nectar itself already has ahigh base selling price, but nectar can also beagedto significantlyincrease the sale price. Overall,nectar takes less time than ranching, and makes for agreat side hustle on the ranch.
It’s easy enough for a single Sim to do on the side, but itcan also become adedicated jobfor a different Sim in the family as well to add to how much money you’re earning on the ranch.
