A bay, a barn, and a herd that needs looking after.
Horses of Hoofprint Bay is a lovingly hand-drawn 2D barn buildup and simulation game from Thogli Studios, published by The Mane Quest, released on PC on November 4, 2026. You start with a plot of land, a run-down stable shack and one trusted mare, and you build a working stable from there: brush and feed your horses, treat scratches and injuries, keep their hooves in condition with a hoof pick to prevent saddle sores and hoof abscesses, train them up to tournament standard, compete for prize money in town, breed stallions and mares for foals with varied coats and temperaments, hire staff, expand your buildings and ride out on the trails. This wiki covers horse care, hoof health, training and competition, breeding and inheritance, staff roles, stable upgrades, the in-game equestrian library and strategy for a first playthrough.
A hoof pick prevents saddle sores and hoof abscesses. The game treats grooming, feeding and hoof care as genuine systems with real consequences, not as decorative minigames bolted onto a tycoon.
The Franco-Belgian comic-inspired art by artist Glinsmann varies line weight and colour across the cast, aiming for emotional realism over photorealism. It is the reason the demo reads as cosy rather than clinical.
An in-game encyclopedia covers the real animal as well as the game systems, so the horses teach you something true while they are being brushed.
At gamescom the team showed a custom saddle controller with sensors for leg pressure and reins, built by programmer Theresa. Real horse pressure cues, in a point-and-click game.
Horses of Hoofprint Bay is a hand-drawn 2D barn buildup and simulation game made by Thogli Studios and published by The Mane Quest. It launched on PC via Steam on November 4, 2026. Thogli Studios is a small German team — the studio is described as two horse-loving developers, Theresa and Anna, with Alice handling marketing — and the project came out of a genuine lifelong interest in horses rather than a management-sim trend.
The demo released on February 16, 2026 during Steam's Horse Fest and Next Fest window and was a breakout hit, sitting at around 99% positive across 870 or more reviews. It was subsequently featured at gamescom, where the team demonstrated a custom saddle controller fitted with sensors for leg pressure and reins — a physical device built by the studio's programmer Theresa. A second, rebalanced demo ran during the October 19–26, 2026 Next Fest with playtime limited to 25 in-game days and several new systems added, including walking your horse, Caprilli tests, new trail environments, desensitization training, face markings and Appaloosa patterns.
The art direction is the other thing that sets it apart. Artist Glinsmann works in a Franco-Belgian comic idiom, varying line weight and colour across characters, and the studio has talked about aiming for "emotional realism" rather than photorealism. The KeenGamer preview drew the comparison to the GBA title Pippa Funnell: Stable Adventure, and the general critical read is that the demo is unusually crafted for a cozy sim — with the standing caveat that the demo covers only the core loop, and that the breeding, breed and staff systems are largely gated for the full release.
Support options around launch include a Supporter Pack with a 50-plus-page art book, a "Support the Team" bundle bundling the full game with the official soundtrack, and cross-promotion bundles. Steam playtests ran through the summer of 2026 ahead of launch.
The release facts worth having in one place.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Steam App ID | 3727090 |
| Demo App ID | 4335510 |
| Developer | Thogli Studios |
| Publisher | The Mane Quest |
| Release date | November 4, 2026 |
| Demo released | February 16, 2026 |
| Demo reception | ~99% positive, 870+ reviews |
| Art style | Hand-drawn 2D, Franco-Belgian comic influence |
| Exhibitions | Steam Next Fest (Feb & Oct 2026), gamescom 2026 |
| Special hardware | Custom saddle controller with leg-pressure and rein sensors |
| Playable content | Stable management, care, training, tournaments, breeding, staff, trails |
A note on scope for anyone reading this at launch: the demo covers the core care-and-competition loop, and the October demo specifically was capped at 25 days of playtime. That cap is why demo builds feel short — the full game is the place where breeding, breeds and staff open up properly.