The Sims 4: Horse Ranch is more than My Little Pony fan service, but only just. Launching on July 20, 2023, EA's upcoming expansion for its beloved life sim features two new animal types, the ability to add patterns to ceilings in build mode, and its first ever 64 x 64 residential lot for us to finally tell some elaborate farmyard-rancher stories.
That's pretty much all there is to it. As far as breadth and variety in The Sims 4 goes, Horse Ranch looks fun yet a little too familiar, kind of like a mashup of The Sims 4: Cottage Living and The Sims 4: Strangerville in terms of aesthetics. This is predominantly thanks to the farming elements of ranch life being interpolated into an American midwest-inspired world map, something we've already seen in earlier packs. Still, there some noteworthy and exclusive features to get you chomping at the bit for more, so for a full breakdown of everything new in The Sims 4: Horse Ranch, read on.
Welcome, neigh-bor
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The Sims 4 Horse Ranch transports us to the rolling plains of Chestnut Ridge. As seen during my hands-off preview of the new pack, Chestnut Ridge comprises 13 lots, with 12 of them already built on. The empty lot is the real surprise: it's 64 x 64, making it the biggest residential lot we've ever had in The Sims 4.
Many Simmers had hopes that Horse Ranch might fix the game's most glaring issue, and being a pack all about raising and caring for your own host of noble steeds, I'm relieved to report that Maxis has finally found a way to bring us the spacious Sims 4 lots of our dreams. Building a ranch in a 40 x 40 space just sounds… cramped, after all. I'm especially excited to discover "spooky spots" and secrets throughout the new world, with the EA team having hinted that "mysterious ranchers" around an area called Galloping Gulch might be of interest.
Another key new feature of Horse Ranch is the ability to brew and sell your own Nectar. It's the in-game term for juices and, sometimes, alcoholic beverages, so the upcoming Nectar-Making skill essentially turns you into an independent brewer. You'll be bottling your own unique vintages and getting to name them, too; sounds like the perfect last-minute Winterfest gift for any young adult or older Sim in the family.
Finally, and most obviously, we get to the horse part of Horse Ranch. Much like cats and dogs, horses will take up one slot in your household roster – which is still capped at eight members maximum per family. You'll also be able to fully customize your horses in Create-A-Sim, including adding patterns to their coats, clothes, and accessories. Yes, you can add a unicorn horn, but it's purely cosmetic and won't grant your horse any special powers. It would have been nice to see an actual occult-type horse, to go galloping around Moonwood Mill astride a vampire-unicorn hybrid pony in search of werewolves to bully, but I'm sure someone will mod that in eventually.
Horses will also have their own set of skills to build up that can be shown off at the county show, as well as 11 personality traits to select or acquire over time. Sims themselves will have new traits and aspirations of their own, including Rancher and Horse-Whisperer to help them build bonds with their stallion besties that much quicker. Horses also have unique tempers that you'll have to work with when training and handling them, making them the most comprehensively-detailed pet option in The Sims 4 so far.
As well as horses, mini-goats are another new animal you can rear in Horse Ranch. They function much in the same way as chickens and llamas in the Cottage Living expansion, as they don't count toward your household numbers and can be farmed for wool and milk daily. I tried to find out if goats, horses, chickens, and other animals will have any unique interactions, but it seems that outside of acknowledging each other, there are no special pack-specific attributes to watch out for as you play. Oh, and horses have their own toys to play with. It's just as cute as it sounds.
Base game goodies
Horses also have unique tempers that you'll have to work with when training and handling them, making them the most comprehensively-detailed pet option in The Sims 4 so far.
There are a couple of base game changes arriving alongside The Sims 4: Horse Ranch. One of these is three sister chilli being added to our recipe books, incorporated by the devs as an homage to the Chestnut Ridge's Native American roots. Ceiling patterns are also on the way for all owners of the base game, as well as the free camera tool to let us properly view our ceilings and apply signs and decals to them.
Some wall decos will be exclusive to Horse Ranch, like the cowplant wall-mounted skull akin to a wild west bison skull. We'll also have unique trophies and medals that can be put on display, signposting milestones in your horse's skills journey or celebrating their successes at the horse show.
Horse Ranch is shaping up to be a detailed, cozy, if slightly too-familiar Sims 4 expansion that will mostly appeal to the animal lovers out there. Grumbles about the lack of paranormal ponies aside, there are some in-game functions and aesthetics I would have liked to see Horse Ranch evolving instead of recycling.
More interactions with those similar packs would have been nice – why oh why can't llamas play with ponies? – since aside from riding horses, square-dancing, and making moonshine, there doesn't seem a whole lot else to do in Chestnut Ridge. Plus, swap out the lush green hills for sand dunes, and there's very little to separate it from Strangerville. However, with the sheer size of the map looking to dwarf most other Sims 4 worlds, I'm ready to explore its myriad charms on July 20 and proudly wear a silly little bandana while doing so.
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