Train your horse to be the very best (like no horse ever was)!
How do you get champion horses? By building Sims 4 horse skills! In The Sims 4 Horse Ranch, horses have four major skills; Temperament, Agility, Jumping, and Endurance. Each of these skills is linked to the equestrian competitions that take place at the Equestrian Centre in the New Appaloosa neighbourhood of Chestnut Ridge. Train your horse to specialize in a single discipline or work on all skills to create a well-rounded, multi-talented horse that can take the whole show circuit by storm! Mastering any of these skills comes with rewards and benefits.
Table of Contents
The Sims 4 Horse Skills Guide
Building your horse’s skills is key to success both on the ranch and at the equestrian centre! Read on to learn about all the benefits of training Sims 4 horse skills!
Keeping Track of Sims 4 Horse Skills
Since horses are not controllable, you won’t be able to click on them to view their skills in the info panels like you can with Sims, but don’t worry! You can still keep track of your horse’s skill progress. Just click on your horse in your Sim’s relationship panel and view their profile. Your horse’s profile will display all their basic information, like their traits and monetary value. It also displays their skill information and their competition history.
Temperament Skill
The Temperament skill is the most important skill for any horse to have, whether they’re just a family pet used for trail riding or a highly-trained competition horse. Temperament dictates how well your horse behaves for their riders, as well as how they behave when interacting with both Sims and other animals. It is also a required skill for the Show Jumping and Western Pleasure competitions.
Horses with high Temperament skill are less likely to buck riders off their backs and more likely to have positive interactions with both Sims and animals. This makes it a great skill for horses with traits like Defiant and Aggressive to build because their Temperament skill can help balance out bad behaviour from those traits.
To build this skill, simply spend time interacting with your horse or pay a fee to send your horse for training through the community board. Both foals and adult horses can build the Temperament skill. If you have a foal, it’s best to work on their Temperament skill as much as you can before they grow up. Foals with high Temperament skill grow up with the Well-Mannered Foal reward trait which gives them a skill boost in all the other skills.
Temperament Skill Levels
| Skill Level | Benefits |
| 1 | No special benefits. |
| 2 | Unlocks the Talk About Social Life interaction. Greater chance for positive interactions. |
| 3 | Unlocks the Discuss Secret Lives of Animals interaction. |
| 4 | Unlocks the Ask About Controlling Temper interaction while a horse is angry, which will calm them down faster. Less likely to buck while being ridden. |
| 5 | Unlocks the Compliment Temperament interaction. Greater chance for positive interactions. |
| 6 | Unlocks the Seek Emotional Support interaction while a Sim is sad, which will cheer them up faster. |
| 7 | Unlocks the Ask About Dealing with Sims interaction, which increases the Sim’s Charisma skill gain for a short time afterward. Less likely to buck while being ridden. |
| 8 | Greater chance for positive interactions. |
| 9 | Horse will never buck a rider. |
| 10 | Greatest chance for positive interactions. Unlocks the Iron Works Signage – Temperament reward object. |
Jumping Skill
If your Sims have dreams of being the best show jumper or endurance racer in Chestnut Ridge, they’ll want to work on the Jumping skill with their horse. Jumping is one of the Sims 4 horse skills tied to the Show Jumping and Endurance Racing competitions at the Equestrian Centre.
Training in this area of Sims 4 horse skills will unlock new interactions with your horse and help your horse tackle more difficult jumps with ease. To build this skill, practice on horse jumps or pay a fee to send your horse for training through the community board. Foals cannot learn the Jumping skill.
Jumping Skill Levels
| Skill Level | Benefits |
| 1 | No special benefits. |
| 2 | Unlocks the Talk About Jumping interaction. Slightly better chance of successfully using horse jumps. |
| 3 | Unlocks the Ask About Jumping Training interaction. Slightly better chance of successfully using horse jumps. |
| 4 | Horse will become less fatigued and perform better using horse jumps. |
| 5 | Unlocks the Compliment Jumps interaction. Horse can Practice Advanced Jumps, which boosts Jumping skill gain but fatigues the horse faster. Horse will perform better using horse jumps. |
| 6 | Unlocks the Ask About Favourite Jumps interaction. Better chance of successfully using horse jumps. |
| 7 | Unlocks the Ask About Jumping Mechanics interaction, which increases the Sim’s Video Gaming skill gain for a short time afterward. Better chance of successfully using horse jumps. |
| 8 | Horse can train on horse jumps on their own without a rider. Better chance of successfully using horse jumps. |
| 9 | Horse will become less fatigued and perform better using horse jumps. |
| 10 | Greatest chance of success using horse jumps. Unlocks the Iron Works Signage – Jumping reward object. |
Agility Skill
Sims who want to pursue competitive barrel racing or Western pleasure riding will want to work on the Agility skill with their horse. Agility is one of the Sims 4 horse skills tied to the Barrel Racing and Western Pleasure competitions at the Equestrian Centre.
Training in this area of Sims 4 horse skills will unlock new interactions with your horse and help your horse tackle the training barrels with ease. To build this skill, practice on Horse Barrels or pay a fee to send your horse for training through the community board. Foals cannot learn the Agility skill.
Agility Skill Levels
| Skill Level | Benefits |
| 1 | No special benefits. |
| 2 | Unlocks the Talk About Going Fast interaction. Slightly better chance of successfully using horse barrels. |
| 3 | Unlocks the Ask About Agility Training interaction. Slightly better chance of successfully using horse barrels. |
| 4 | Horse will become less fatigued and perform better using horse barrels. |
| 5 | Unlocks the Compliment Speed interaction. Horse can Race Barrels, which boosts Agility skill gain but fatigues the horse faster. Horse will perform better using horse barrels. |
| 6 | Unlocks the Ask About Favourite Barrel Runs interaction. Better chance of successfully using horse barrels. |
| 7 | Unlocks the Ask About Being Quick on Feet interaction, which increases the Sim’s Dancing and Fitness skill gain for a short time afterward. Better chance of successfully using horse barrels. |
| 8 | Horse can train on horse barrels on their own without a rider. Better chance of successfully using horse barrels. |
| 9 | Horse will become less fatigued and perform better using horse barrels. |
| 10 | Greatest chance of success using horse barrels. Unlocks the Iron Works Signage – Agility reward object. |
Endurance Skill
No matter what discipline your Sims plan to compete in, they shouldn’t neglect the Endurance skill. Endurance is one of the Sims 4 horse skills tied to the Barrel Racing and Endurance Racing competitions at the Equestrian Centre. While not a required skill for Show Jumping, building the Endurance skill will still help your horse perform better at horse jumps.
Training in this area of Sims 4 horse skills will unlock new interactions with your horse and help your horse build up the stamina they need for multiple disciplines. To build this skill, go on trail rides with your horse or pay a fee to send your horse for training through the community board. Foals cannot learn the Endurance skill.
Endurance Skill Levels
| Skill Level | Benefits |
| 1 | No special benefits. |
| 2 | Horse will become less fatigued when using horse barrels or jumps. |
| 3 | Unlocks the Talk About Riding interaction. |
| 4 | Unlocks the Ask About Endurance Training interaction. Horse will become less fatigued when using horse barrels or jumps. |
| 5 | Unlocks the Compliment Physique interaction. |
| 6 | Horse will become less fatigued when using horse barrels or jumps. |
| 7 | Unlocks the Ask About Favourite Type of Ride interaction. Horse will recover from fatigue more quickly. |
| 8 | Unlocks the Ask for Fitness Advice interaction, which increases the Sim’s Fitness skill gain for a short time afterward |
| 9 | Horse will become less fatigued when using horse barrels or jumps. |
| 10 | Horse has achieved maximum endurance. Unlocks the Iron Works Signage – Endurance reward object. |
Skill Reward Objects
Mastering each of the Sims 4 horse skills unlocks an iron sign in Build/Buy which can be displayed on a ranch sign or on any wall. Collecting them all to display on your ranch sign can be a good way to show everyone that your horses have mastered all their Sims 4 horse skills!
You can see all the swatches for each of the Sims 4 horse skills reward objects below displayed on a ranch sign:
Loved our Sims 4 horse skills guide? Check out our Horse Care Guide!
