Help, I have a question that's not listed here!
If your question is not listed here feel free to contact me via email (tiniquine[at]yahoo[dot]com) or you can catch me on MSN/AIM at night. My MSN screen name is Sanguinexraven[at]hotmail[dot]com and AIM is Sanguine X Raven.
About Tiniquines themselves...
What do tiniquines do exactly?
Well mostly they sit on your webpage looking pretty but they also do so much more! You can also breed them, enter them into shows, register them with the registries and much more. Instead of being like a normal cyberpet that just sits on a webpage and does nothing tiniquines are very interactive. They can compete in many different types of shows, can be registered along with your stable, and you can also breed them. But that's not all. You can also buy items and equipment for them to go on your website too. Not just for the site and to take care of your tiniquine but there are also items that actually go on the tiniquine. Blankets, halters, bridles, saddles, etc are all available through SFA (ShadowFlight Acres Forum) or commission. Tiniquines can also be roleplayed via the forum.
What's the purpose of tiniquines?
For fun! If you can't own a real horse and compete in shows than owning a tiniquine is a good thing, because they can be registered, shown, and bred realistically just like a real horse. Owning tiniquines is also a great way to meet like-minded people who also have their own tiniquine stables. Owning tiniquines give you the fun of owning a cyberpet without all the physical work involved with caring for it. And you will get to be part of a wonderful community of other tiniquine owners.
'Silver Flourines' or SF.
You will see 'SF' everywhere. SF means Silver Flourines. This is the make believe currency that you can use to buy tiniquines, order items, etc. Silver Flourines are a type of English coin, they are silver in color and about the size of a fity-cent piece. Note, this currency is FAKE on this site and anywhere you see 'SF' or 'Silver Flourines' it is make believe. Commissions are bought with real money and cost real U.S. dollars.
How do I gain more SF?
You will start with 1,000 SF. You gain SF through buying tiniquines, breeding and showing them so they are worth more and selling them, through showing, raffles, hunts, etc. If you are not able to win and what-not that's okay also because everyone gets 400 SF on the 1st of every month as salary for their efforts. This goes for every member.
Do tiniquines age?
No. Tiniquines live forever one your webpage and show and have fun. The aging is just much too hard to enforce and keep up with. A TQ mare may be bred any number of times until she successfully has 10 foals, after that she may no longer breed. A TQ stallion may breed as many times as he wants.
What is a mare? A stallion? And a gelding?
A mare is a female. A stallion is an uncastrated male. A gelding is a castrated male that can not breed.
Are there any geldings?
Yes. Like real horses I also have included the ability to have geldings. Geldings won't be very common though, but some of the tiniquines will be geldings. We don't have spayed females because it very rarely happens to mares in real life.
Owner-based questions...
What if I only own one tiniquine and I want to breed it?
If your tiniquine is a mare you will have to either buy a stallion or look for a stallion that someone has "at stud" or "up for stud". You will also have to have the funds to pay for the stud fee, which is whatever the owner of the stallion chooses. If you buy a stallion you don't have to pay for stud service and can put your own stallion up for stud to other people's mares if you choose.
Can I really register my tiniquines like real live horses?
Yes! That's one of the things that make tiniquines great. You can register them just like a real horse. Just look under registration, find a running registry, and get your tiniquine registered. Once registered, you will be issued a registration number and your tiniquine will be listed in the book of registered tiniquines. Only registered tiniquines may compete in most tiniquines shows.
Can I really show my tiniquines?
Yes! Once your tiniquine is registered and you have been issued a registration number then you can participate in tiniquine shows. See the show section for more information.
Do you use genetics?
Yes, I use a very specific and realistic set of genetics to determine color and predict the outcome of a breeding. It's not like a color wheel where if you bred a white to a black you'd get a gray. It's based upon real equine genetics so if you bred a white to a black you'd get a white or a black.
What is a 'capture date'?
The capture date is the date you bought the tiniquine if it has wild lineage.
What is a 'foal date'?
The date you received the foal from a breeding.
Breeding questions...
Can my tiniquines breed forever?
Mares may be bred as many times as necessary until they have 10 foals. After that they are retired from breeding. Stallions may breed as many times as wanted without limit.
What is "at stud", "up for stud", and "stud service"?
This means to have your stallion available for breeding to outside mares with a fee.
Can I put any of my stallions up for "stud" any time I want?
Yes, but only registered stallions may have a fee applied. All unregistered stallions are ineligable to have a breed fee, but may still be at stud.
What is "open", "limited", "reserved", "free", and "trade"?
These terms mean a stallion IS registered and the owner can charge a breeding fee if they choose.
Open means the stallion is open to any mare anytime.
Limited means only a certain number of mares will be taken per tiniquine year (1 month).
Reserved means only select mares will be allowed to breed with their stud.
Trade means you get to breed to their stud and they get to breed to your stud.
'Free' means the stallion is NOT registered and the owner is not eligible to charge a breeding fee.
Free Open means the stallion is open to any mare.
Free Limited means that only a certain number of mares will be taken.
Free Reserved means that only select mares will be taken.
Trade means you get to breed to their stud and they get to breed to your stud.
Can geldings be bred?
No. Geldings are castrated males and therefore can't breed.
What is a Sire?
The father of a tiniquine.
What is a Dam?
The mother of a tiniquine.
How many foals will I get from a breeding?
One. Although very rare cases of twins may occur.
Genetics questions...
What is heterozygous?
Heterozygous means that the tiniquine carries one dominant and one recessive allele of whatever gene you are looking at. Example would be the color gray, which would be Gg, carrying one dominant gray and one recessive gray allele. If bred, the foal has a chance of being gray, or not being gray because it carries one dominant and one recessive allele for the gray gene. In this case a heterozygous gray (Gg) bred to a heterozygous black (Bb) would mean the foal could be either black or gray. The abbreviation for heterozygous is HTZ.
What is homozygous?
Homozygous means that the tiniquine carries two dominant alleles of whatever gene you are looking at. Example would be the color black, which would be BB, both being dominant alleles for that gene. If bred, the foals will always get one of the two dominant alleles passed down, and will always exhibit the gene physically and in it's genotype. In this case a homozygous black (BB) bred to a heterozygous gray (Gg) would always produce a heterozygous black foal. A homozygous black (BB) bred to another homozygous black (BB) will always give you a homozygous black foal. The abbreviation for homozygous is HMZ.
What is a genotype?
The genotype is the full genetic makeup of the tiniquine, including traits not physically expressed. The full genotype will be on the pedigree.
What is a phenotype?
The genetics that are physically (visually) expressed on the tiniquine. This will be listed under each tiniquine's stats on the pedigree.
About Raven...
Can I contact Raven to get a Tiniquine from her, or reserve one?
Haha.. No. The only reason you may contact me to get Tiniquines is if you are ordering commissions. Commissions are the ONLY way you can ask me for a Tinquine and get one. The rest of you will just have to sit back and wait until they become available by sale, drawing, raffle, auction, etc.
But I have seen you reserve one for ______!
Then I had good reason. Don't question my reasoning, I hate that.
Who makes Tiniquines?
I, Raven ShadowFlight, am the sole creator of Tiniquines. I have created equine cyberpets since I was introduced into the cyberpet community eight years ago. The very first ones were hand drawn, scanned, and colored while I was still learning and gaining experience with MS paint. Once I became accustomed to mouse drawing I began to create cyberpets that way. The very first pixel cyberpet I ever made were tiny equines called ke'pixes, which were made in MS paint and colored in Adobe Photoshop. They eventually retired and I went on to making larger cyberpets of different types, horses, dogs, and other animals. And then there came another wave of tiny horse addiction when I created more small horses type pets called pinilya. Over time after the start of the pinilya drawing I made many more cyberpet types, some of which were equine, others were not. And now the pinilya have all but become missing in action. But I couldn't live without making an equine cyberpet. And I wanted to make a pet that was very unique and customizable in both the cyberpet community as well as for their owners. Thus was born Tiniquines, one of the most interactive and customizable cyberpets out there today.