I have a post I have written about the recent letter from Star Stable's Interim CEO Jamie, but I want to let that one sit for a little while, so I can come back to it and read again, before I publish it.

The ADHD was on display and the parentheticals were growing in number.

In the mean time!

I'll share a letter/doc I wrote to SSE back in June, with my combined thoughts for a Player Horse Training system, instead of the standard "NPC trainer instantly trains horse for SC."

This is one of my "Wishlist" items, down in the "Wishful Thinking" category. I don't expect to see it, but, fuck it, it's a thought process.

You even get pictures here.

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To whom it may concern,

I have an idea for my Star Stable wishlist. It's a big idea, I think it might be complicated to include, but I think it's doable, with some edits to other parts of the system.

For some background: I have played Flight Rising for a long time. I started in 2012, meaning I passed my 12 year anniversary on the site on June 3.

One thing that Flight Rising has is an unofficial dragon training community. Player A trades their dragon to Player B with some amount of currency and/or food, and just has to trust that Player B doesn't run off with their dragon.

The Flight Rising community has asked for years for an officially sanctioned training system.

That is what I want for Star Stable, but even more locked down.

I'm including some quick mock-ups I tossed together in Clip Studio throughout this. I'm not a UI designer, so while I have thoughts, I don't have the mental spoons to put them together from scratch.


Star Stable would set the prices and minimum timeframe for the training.

Player A (Owner) has to put up the money for the training upfront. This would effectively be held in escrow during the training period.

Player B (Trainer) would have a way to see the "Training Wanted" lists, perhaps in a laptop in the player stable. They would see how many levels the Owner wants, and would see what the timeframe is.

Two edited screenshots from Star Stable Online of the writer's character looking at an open laptop. On the left, the laptop is placed on a table. On the right, it's placed on the "bar" or window ledge looking into the player's "office" in their home stable.


The prospective Trainer should also have certain minimum account milestones required. These could include:
- Must include either lifetime Star Rider, or monthly/quarterly Star Rider that will not end before the training period. No Trial Star Rider accounts.
- Minimum account level (my suggestion is 16, since that is when Epona can be opened at the earliest, or 12, so if someone has just completed an "Invite a Friend" reward, they can have access)
- No disciplinary actions to their account in the last ~6 months.

For safety, and to reduce the possibility of abuse: Neither player would know the name of the other. The Trainer wouldn't know the actual name of the Owner's horse, as the system should randomize that name (and put it in [brackets] so others know the name wasn't picked by the Trainer).

The Trainer cannot change the horse's mane/tail (maybe it's even set to the default), and they cannot change the randomized name. Additionally, the horse needs to be at least 5/7 on the Mood scale, both when it leaves and is sent back to the Owner.

If the Trainer completes the horse's training within the appropriate time frame, they are paid in full. If they only complete part of the contract (ie: they reach level 11, when the contract was for 15), they will be paid the partial amount, and the remainder of the training fee returns to the Owner.

If no training is completed, the full training fee returns to the owner. ("Training" starts at level 3, as a day of stable care and a Jar of Wisdom gets them to that point.)

If the Owner needs the horse back sooner, they would be charged for whatever training is completed.

At all times, the Owner will be able to see where the horse's training/total XP level is.

When the Trainer completes the horse's training, there is a "quest" to return the horse, and this is when the reward is given.

Trainers can only accept a certain number of horses for training. Starting with 1 contract and maxing out at 5 (or less), as the player proves they are a reliable trainer. (Something like a "Trust" level, or a Trainer Reputation/License.)

If a trainer needs to cancel a training contract early, there should be no penalty. If they just do not complete it, it would drop the Trainer's "Trust," but there should be a "freebie" for "oops, life happened" every X months (example: quarterly reset of the "Oops").

Non-completion due to Owner needing early return does not decrease the Trainer's "Trust."

When the Trainer accepts the contract, a copy of the horse is sent to the Trainer's Stable. The original horse should already be in the Owner's Pasture, where they will remain for the duration, with their picture "faded" and an "(In Training)" note. They will not be interactable until the horse returns to the original player, though they would be able to mouse over/click/tap to see where they are at in the training.

A pair of edited screenshots from the player's home stable, looking at the "Pasture" screen, showing a mockup of what a horse "In Training" would show with and without mouseover to the horse owner.


While in the Trainer's stable, the horse's name/randomized temporary name would show in [brackets], with an (In Training) note under the breed name on mouseover. The Trainer would need an open stall in their stable to accept the training contract. This can go along with the restriction of how many training contracts a Trainer can accept at a time.

A screenshot of the player's stable in SSO, showing a mockup of an "In Training" horse for the Trainer.


To prevent loss of tack, the training horse will arrive in the trainer's barn with no items, not even the "Starter gear" horseshoes. After training, the horse returns with no items, but any gear they had on before leaving is re-equipped. The Trainer's gear should be placed either into their backpack or storage if not removed beforehand.

Payment could be made in either JS or SC, however, if the payments are made in JS, a higher JS cap, or even a "bank/savings account" would be needed. If the latter is implemented, payments could go there directly.

As training a horse from level 1 to 15 with the NPC trainer is 1,000 SC, and it would take more time with a player trainer, it's reasonable to expect that paying another player is cheaper, for the trade-off with this not being an "instant" process.

Some players, such as myself, get the most enjoyment from the game by training horses, which is why, even though I've only been playing since February 24, 2025, I have 403 horses as of writing this, with 244 of those level 15.

While I do not mind buying duplicates of my favorites (either on my main account or my alts), I recognise I have a resource many players don't have: time. And a genuine love for training horses. Others may not want to spend that amount of time to level, while I can get a horse to level 15 in 2 to 3 play sessions. If I focus only on one horse, I can level a horse from 1 to 15 in just over 4 hours, with only the races/activities that award HXP normally in the game.

This would also give players a chance to ride horses they may be waffling on buying. I have a friend who has been, for over two years now, been debating on buying one of the Appaloosa-based magic horses, but they're unsure if the horse "fits" them and their stable. The last horse I had any coats of was the Finnhorse, and after riding one (when they went on sale in February 2026), I absolutely adored them. Previews and review videos online can only communicate so much.

I also feel this might be fun for roleplayers. Many players roleplay training horses, but perhaps having an actual horse for training would add another bit of "flavor" for them.

Additionally, by giving the player base a "cheaper" option than the in-game, Star Coin only trainer, this may also further discourage the use of third-party leveling services, which could also cut down on cheating, account hacks/loss.

This could even potentially be introduced as training NPC horses, instead of those for other players. We have some of this during some quests with Anne during the main quest, and a little bit when exercising the sick foal on South Hoof, but outside of those, there's not really any "training" activities that aren't pure roleplay, or walking a horse in one direction while lunging.

This is the "big" item on my wishlist, and I submit this knowing if it's used in whole or in part that it wouldn't be attributed to me. I don't want notoriety, I just want to expand the options for gameplay for players like myself. However, I'm more than willing to expand on or clarify anything in here, approaching it as a player who has ideas.

In an attempt to summarize all of this: I feel that adding an official, sanctioned player training system to SSO will benefit not only players like myself who have an excess amount of time, but those who do not have as much time, roleplayers, as well as encouraging players to try horse breeds they may not otherwise try. I feel it will also discourage use of 3rd party leveling services or other means that are against the Terms of Service, while continuing to leave control of the in-game economy with Star Stable Entertainment.

If you made it through all of this, I appreciate it, whether this is an idea used or not.

Sincerely,
– Ashley Duskbard/EverAinsley