<s>
Howrse	B-Application
is	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
developed	O
by	O
French	O
studio	O
Owlient	O
and	O
currently	O
published	O
by	O
Ubisoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2005	O
,	O
two	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
students	O
,	O
Vincent	O
Guth	O
and	O
Olivier	O
Issaly	O
,	O
founded	O
Owlient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Their	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
Equideow	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
French	O
version	O
of	O
Howrse	B-Application
,	O
went	O
online	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
day	O
,	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
games	O
to	O
prominently	O
use	O
micro-transactions	O
for	O
funding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
could	O
donate	O
in-game	O
passes	O
in	O
Howrse	B-Application
to	O
donate	O
money	O
to	O
the	O
association	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
Meredith	O
Michaels-Beerbaum	O
endorsed	O
the	O
international	O
version	O
of	O
Howrse	B-Application
,	O
while	O
her	O
husband	O
Ludger	O
Beerbaum	O
endorsed	O
the	O
German	O
version	O
in	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Owlient	O
's	O
homepage	O
in	O
2014	O
,	O
55	O
million	O
players	O
played	O
Howrse	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2011	O
survey	O
showed	O
that	O
males	O
play	O
Howrse	B-Application
as	O
well	O
,	O
especially	O
in	O
countries	O
like	O
Brazil	O
,	O
Portugal	O
and	O
Spain	O
,	O
where	O
about	O
50%	O
of	O
all	O
players	O
are	O
male	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
consumer	O
advice	O
centre	O
in	O
North	O
Rhine-Westphalia	O
(	O
Germany	O
)	O
advised	O
in	O
2009	O
against	O
free-to-play	O
games	O
and	O
cited	O
Howrse	B-Application
,	O
among	O
other	O
games	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
criticized	O
advertisements	O
with	O
equestrians	O
,	O
saying	O
that	O
Howrse	B-Application
is	O
"	O
extremely	O
easy	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
without	O
problems	O
playable	O
for	O
younger	O
players	O
"	O
(	O
das	O
"	O
denkbar	O
einfache	O
"	O
Spiel	O
,	O
das	O
"	O
problemlos	O
auch	O
für	O
jüngere	O
Spieler	O
"	O
zu	O
nutzen	O
sei	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2009	O
,	O
Howrse	B-Application
won	O
two	O
Browser	B-Protocol
Game	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
Year	O
2008	O
awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2011	O
,	O
Howrse	B-Application
won	O
another	O
Browser	B-Protocol
Game	I-Protocol
of	O
the	O
Year	O
Award	O
in	O
the	O
category	O
"	O
Community	O
Relations	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
