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1) Should I expect to see my horses stats change over a season, or are they only updated at the season end?
The stamina bar will raise at 2 for most horses. A true sprinter's stamina bar will usually never change. I have a recurring problem with 2yo's in that when I enter them in a sprint stakes they get outrun. It's not until after the race I notice their stamina bar has gone up and they're now a mile or better horse. As for the other bars I can't say.
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2) Can a horses stats actually be changed at all, using the LOT training system? If so, how does it react if I don't have an emphasis set (Speed, Mid, Stamina)?
I'm a manual trainer and I've always trained with a stamina emphasis. I believe it makes your horses get longer distances than the breeding indicator. I also get a large majority of my horses to have a laid back disposition by the time they reach 5yo. Laid back horses run better. Worked up horses can ruin all your training. Cant tell you what effect the pool has. I always buy everything right off the bat out of habit. I've probably started hundreds of games looking for league quality gamebreds.
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4) Finally, when should I use a specific training such as Agility / Breaking?
From a manual trainer perspective, I set the special training on to agility or starting depending on which one needs it more when the horse is resting between starts. After a while they should improve. Some horses just refuse to improve their agility/starting.
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5) I guess my real question is, if you have a 2 yo donkey at the start of a season, could he become a decent 5 yo with a good training programme, or is it better just to train it into a selling race and get rid of it?
Look for horses with a high potential bar on the stats page. Those are what build your dynasty. You can start a game on easy and check each of your 5 horses for a high potential. If you don't see one. Exit out, start a new game until one pops up. The last game I started I had a 5yo with full potential. Had a nice year with him and then sent him to my league breeding shed.
