[ARCHIVED] [HR] Horse/Foals refuse to play with Ball

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:Steam-PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Often (50% - 99%)
What is your current game version number? 1.99.264.1030
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? ALL of them EXCEPT Journey to Batuu, Vampires and Werewolves.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Place a horse ball down and have a horse play with it or leave them to autonomously play with it. After a while (possibly a few sims days) the horse will stop autonomously playing with it on its own and if you ask them to play with it they get a thought bubble of the ball and then shake their head and won't play with it.
What happens when the bug occurs? The horse won't play with the ball on their own or if you ask them to. Their fun level ultimately drops. The only way to get them to play with a ball once they start refusing to is to delete the ball and buy a brand new one. Using the eyedropper to get a new ball does not work either, they still won't play with it. It has to be a brand new ball selected from the catalogue.
What do you expect to see? The horses playing with the ball whenever you ask them to without needing to replace it after a while.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. It came as a new item in the Horse Ranch pack.

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I've tested this on both a modded and clean, unmodded vanilla save and the result is the same; the horse stops playing with the ball after a while and won't play with it again unless you completely replace it.

I'm a member of a few Discord servers and other players have mentioned having this issue too.

[CM Edit: Title update]

crinrict
24 days ago
Please use this thread going forward: [HR] Horse/Foals refuse to play with Ball | EA Forums - 12291052

44 Replies

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twistedstitch
Rising Traveler
2 years ago
The frequency I have to replace the horseballs is very frustrating especially since there aren't any visual cues the ball no longer works and I only figure it out when my horses fun gets low. My guess is it's intentional they need to be replaced, but it happens too quickly and I'd like some way of seeing the ball is worn out.
elfinpcc
New Scout
2 years ago
This just happened to me too. I had three balls on my lot, and they all stopped working simultaneously. I deleted all three and put down three fresh ones; now they are working again.
NightlyCoffee
2 years ago
I'm having this issue too. My horses' fun need was so low, and I kept telling them to use the ball and they just wouldn't. I moved the ball around thinking they just couldn't reach it for whatever reason, but they still refused to use it. Deleting the ball and placing down a brand new one was the only thing that worked.
ReneHollyDesign1
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
I had the same problem. the reason the horse will not play is because he's bored. I took him for an what it is extreme ride or what ever they use for the max ride under "Go for a Ride". It fixed the horse right up. He just wanted activity that wasn't training. Some horses aren't so crazy to play with the ball.
As for the foal get them to be friendly with another horse or a goat, pet if you have any. This also makes their happiness go up.
KatMum42
Seasoned Rookie
2 years ago
So tired of my horses being sad all the time. They won't even play after you ask what's wrong and the game tells you the horses needs to play with the ball. Rebuying them all the it annoying. I don't have any cc or mods so it isn't that.
JuniperWhimsy
Seasoned Veteran
2 years ago
@ReneHollyDesign1 wrote:
I had the same problem. the reason the horse will not play is because he's bored. I took him for an what it is extreme ride or what ever they use for the max ride under "Go for a Ride". It fixed the horse right up. He just wanted activity that wasn't training. Some horses aren't so crazy to play with the ball.
As for the foal get them to be friendly with another horse or a goat, pet if you have any. This also makes their happiness go up.
Playing with the ball isn't training as the game classes it as a fun activity - I get pop ups telling me my horse's fun is low and I should buy a ball! When I have a brand new ball both my horses play with it autonomously without prompting from my sim, so I know they both love playing with it. I only have 1 adult sim and when it works the ball keeps my horses fun levels in great condition while my sim is doing other things and I don't have time to ride. Both horses regularly socialise with my goats, sheep and pets but socialising doesn't raise their fun level.
My horses fun levels only drop to low when the ball stops working and they can't play with it. As soon as I delete a ball they refuse to play with (they literally shake their head with a thought bubble of the ball when I ask them to play) and buy a new one they autonomously play with the new one, so the ball IS bugged.
hotbread01
2 years ago
i have this issue as well! i personally do use mods but the problem is exactly the same so im sure its the vanilla bug!
ReneHollyDesign1
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
@JuniperWhimsy I know the ball isn't training but you can't get the horse to use the ball when it's bored. Take the horse for go for a ride option and see for yourself that it fixes the problem. Odd about the socializing not working in your game, it does in mine.
You don't have time to ride? (ranch hand could help)
Eenpaardenleven
2 years ago
is the same with me. I suddenly couldn't let the horses use the ball anymore. I use mods and if they are off then and another game starts then the ball only works in the beginning the ball just worked with the mods. i have 4 mods. MC Command Center.Send Sims to Bed mod. smarter self care mod and an older mod that lets you control pets just like your sims

Edit By Crinrict: Removed formatting for easier reading
Simming_P4nd4
2 years ago
I started to have this happen tonight and I think I *may* have found a temporary fix. (Let me know if it works for you). I had a very small paddock made for my chicken coop/chickens. When they all passed I deleted the coop but kept the paddock so I put a ball in there and my foal has not had any issues going to use the one in the paddock!
Please try and let me know if it works for you guys too??