Ok, I very rarely start a thread, however, this has been puzzling me for a while. I am aware most of you play easy training and therefore don't have to worry about this issue, but, I'm hoping someone who does manual training, as I do, can help.

There are three training options, green (where the horse basically rests and gets its condition back) Red (where you train a horse so it is ready to run) and then there is amber. What is amber for? I have never used it. if a horse has just run I change its training routine to Green so the horse can rest and get condition back. When a horse is from between 14 and 28 days away from a run, depending on how far down the fitness bar is, I then change training to red and a horse gets fit to run. I have never understood the need for amber, and so, in my ignorance no doubt, I have never used it. Can anyone advise me to the benefits of amber training, and, more importantly, how when and why one would use it.

Brilliant game I have to say I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This is the most addictive game I have ever owned. It has longevity and real variation in gameplay, and, at twenty notes was an absolute steal (that is not an invite for SO6 to go up in price Mark )

I train horses at the beginning of the season on blue, until 11/2 months before their first race, where I switch to amber. 10ish days before the race I switch to red and 2days before back to amber. After races I keep them on amber until
End of season, unless it's a horse that it says I'm overacing before its even run. Think of it like blue trotting/ walking, amber canter and red gallop. In real life you wouldn't send them straight from walking to galloping, so I use amber to maintain fitness without killing them.

Thanks for the answer Ubar, of course it has generated a new question. Does being on Amber have any adverse effect on condition? Dropping to blue after a run sees condition increase after a while, helpful on horses that lose a lot of condition with a run. Does this replenish on amber? Finally, you're saying you never return to blue after their first run of the season?

Once again, many thanks

Amber should hardly affect condition because you're working the horse, but not exhausting it. It's fitness will increase, but not as much as with red. You say you use red all the time, if you think about it, would you want your horse, on a race day, to have a hard gallop before a race, or a gentle canter? There's your answer.

Thank you Top Cat to be honest, have never given it sufficient thought. It would explain some below par performances have been playing the game my way for years, only recently has this popped into my head. feel a bit stupid now as you and Ubar explain it it makes perfect sense.