Hi all,

I've read the FAQ and the Manual, but I still don't fully understand training in SO5.

I know I should train horses lightly when they are low fitness, then gradually increase their LOT when they are ready (up to race day).
But how does the training affects horse stats in the longer term?

1) Should I expect to see my horses stats change over a season, or are they only updated at the season end?
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)?
3) The game lets me use Stamina training, even if I haven't bought a swimming pool. Does this just mean the Stamina training will be a lot less effective, or have zero effect until I buy a pool?
4) Finally, when should I use a specific training such as Agility / Breaking?

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?

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.



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.



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.



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.