Newbie Tips
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Newbie Tips

General Tips
Join our discord channel! There is so much to learn on Flying For Home and you can get 24/7 support on discord which you can either use via your web browser or download the app. Our mod team is spread across the globe to ensure someone is almost always on hand for whatever you need, as well as many veteran members who hang out here and will be more than willing to help. In addition to support, our community is friendly and loves welcoming new members with open arms! You'll often find people willing to do quick trades, offer advice, or simply chat in the Discord.

Visit the Item Database in the Handbook whenever you need to know more about an item. Not only does this show descriptions and prices, but additional tips that may help you decide when and where to use some items.

See that little green recycling icon to the right? Rusty The Recycler rewards you for feeding him your rubbish!
Money Tips
Play Springo! Who doesn't like a fun mini game that earns you some cash for playing? Head on over to the Vale Of Runes, which is found under the Community tab, and you can earn up to $100,000 FFH dollars per day as well as a chance to be entered into the weekly raffle for a random item.

Replying to news posts is a great way to earn a little extra income! Just make sure you're following the listed rules. You can also earn money (significantly less) by participating in forum posts and discussions. Sometimes members post contest they are hosting or discussions they're curious about, so it is a good place to browse.

If you're feeling tight on cash, be sure to visit the Money Management page for a more in-depth look at how to earn (and keep) your money!
Horse Care Tips
Don't use special feeds more than needed. Though they aren't necessarily going to break the bank, the cost and side effects can add up over time. For example, if your horse doesn't really need Hype, consider giving them a meet off of racing instead!

Always, always, always put Basic Wraps on your horses before racing. Doing so significantly reduces their chances of injury in races. Injuries mean time off from racing, and could also mean costly vet bills.
Horse Buying Tips
Don't avoid geldings! Just because a horse isn't stud material doesn't mean they cannot be a great racer -- you'll find geldings to be valuable even when you aren't new, as they can provide you with great buddy workout benefits once they retire.

Look for leases! Head on over to the Sales Arena and check out the leases available on a regular basis - this is an ideal way to get quality, graded stakes racers at a low price without having to worry about what to do with them when they are ready to retire.

Buy from the Yearling Sales! The annual sale is the best way to find talented prospects to form the foundation of racing string for future years. Every horse in the sale is guaranteed to be stakes quality and it's not uncommon to unearth some superstars. We always encourage newer players to buy as many as they possibly can as these will likely be better than horses you'll find from the Horse Trader or sales. If you're not sure what to bid on you can't go wrong picking the cheapest horses.
Racing and Training Tips
Entering races when you're new can sometimes be a little confusing. Always click the button to double check your entry to avoid less than ideal entering. It's okay if a couple things are yellow, but aim for having everything green. Also, avoid putting fillies in open races!

A trick for prepping your horses to race is to enter them first so that when you train them you can train them on the surface and distance they’re entered. It’s a good way to see if you entered them on a surface and distance that they may not be trained for and correct it. Then last, after training, you still have the opportunity to feed a special feed (such as Hype) if needed.

Check your race notes! Visiting your "Stable Results" from your barn profile will show you how your horses performed in the most recent meet and will also give you indicators for race notes. Any horse with a yellow exclamation mark has race notes to view, and if you click on this - you can get valuable information to potentially enhance how your horse performs in their races.
Breeding Tips
When you start breeding carefully review the Handbook sections about Breeding and ask questions if you need help figuring out how to match.

The most common frustrations from breeding all revolve around matching too early. If you match too early you're making your life more difficult in a couple ways. Most importantly, you're probably missing out on 50% or more of the stallions that will be listed this breeding season. You're also far more likely to be denied if you're matching early. Save yourself some stress and wait to match until February and your matching experience is more likely to be a positive one.

Include a note about your mares bloodtype on the request! A lot of breeders won't look at a request unless this has been done, so take the extra time to note this so that your request isn't automatically denied on this basis. If you need any help with bloodtypes on specific mares, hop on over to the Discord -- we have a specific #breeding_help channel!

Fancy color does not equal quality. Breeding for color alone will hurt your stable over time -- take the time to look into pedigrees rather than choosing the first sparkly stud you find for your mare. Stud owners often charge higher fees for colored studs as well, so this could help save some money in your first few breeding seasons.

Genes are far from the most important component of determining a foal's stats. Good genes do not automatically mean a foal will max well, so it's important to focus on Producer Quality rather than becoming overly fixated on perfect gene matches. Most performance genes actually have no correlation with a horse's maximum stats.