So, I was gone from the game for about two years, which means that about half of my horses were sitting at the track tanking their natural energy levels the entire time. I came back to the game mid July, and I originally thought I’d send the horses home until about mid September. Now that I’ve gotten back into playing the game again that doesn’t seem long enough… Has anyone else had a lengthy hiatus? How long did it take your horses to regain their natural energy? Thanks! 
Horses should be able to go from 0 to 100 natural energy in 20-60 days. I think there’s also a bottom limit on how low NE can go (I don’t remember if it’s -50 or -100, but it’s not negative infinity).
Ok, so I’m going to assume worse case scenario and say they were at -100 mid July, which puts them at mid November (~120 days) for returning to the track. I think I’ll ship a few that know their jockeys well in September and October just to see what the jockey comments are. Thanks for the info Shanthi!
I have bought horses who have been at the track for 2-3 years without rest, and it usually takes about a month for them to get back up to racing quality. As long as they get good training and adequate rest thereafter, they ought to serve you well for the rest of their careers without too much time away from the track.
That’s interesting! I just shipped three horses who know their jockeys well to test out their NE, hopefully there won’t be any comments that involve tearing the pants off their jockeys! Also, I didn’t realize how many race mares I had at the farm, hopefully most of them are still up to racing. I don’t want to deal with that many broodmares! 
I think my oldest racer is 6. Don’t generally have much luck past that, but I’ve had pretty good luck with several up to 5. And don’t forget, if you do end up with more than you can handle, you can always sell or lease.
This is my 2nd time with this game and I havent taken an extended hiatus but last time I played I was inactive for about 6 months. Most of my horses had been at the track on a training schedule. I entered them in races and legit everyone I sent out won 
I think I sent them home after that though.
It is definitely still possible for them to win even if NE is super low. What I’ve noticed with the horses I’ve bought is that they start to get really inconsistent more than anything. From what I remember, NE has a small effect on race performance, but its biggest consequence is that it can shorten the career/lifespan of the horse overall. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, though.
Brought three horses to the track earlier this week. One mare got in shape quickly enough to run today and came in second! So, I’d say I’m good to go with a month and a half of rest. Think I’ll bring them in shifts though, so I don’t go from 37 to 77 horses at the track all at once and overwhelm myself!
Another few questions- What’s a ratio of track time to farm time that people have found works for them? I was thinking 3 months at the track and 1 month at the farm? Also, I have a few horses who are regaining energy ridiculously quickly. This 2 year old colt ran Wednesday (8/29) and had full energy yesterday (8/31). If I have a horse who does that, am I risking injury by running them with only one week’s rest?
And thanks to everyone who has replied here! 
[member=3494]faedar[/member], I think I will be leasing some broodmares at the beginning of the year, 26 broodmares (plus whatever I retire between now and then) is just way too many stud fees lol.
Lol. On a small budget, that is, indeed, a lot of broodmares.
As for racing vs. farm time, I think everyone has a slightly different approach. I have had success doing what you have suggested with 3 months at the track and 1 at the farm. For a small budget, shipping can get costly, so leaving horses at the track helps cut down on those costs. Some (like myself currently) will ship their horses home for a couple weeks between races. It just ensures their NE is top-notch for every race. But I don’t think there’s any one “ideal” way to go about it. Just keep them well-trained and don’t push them beyond their limits and you should do fine. If you’re really curious about how people do things, you can always buy horses from the bigger/most successful stables and look at their workouts and shipping records to get an idea for how they do things. No sense in re-inventing the wheel, as the saying goes.
The number of times you race your horse in a month kinda depends on the horse, but as a general rule, I wouldn’t suggest racing them more than twice in a month. And if you do race them more, you’ll probably want to send them home to the farm more frequently, as heavy racing can drain a horse’s NE very quickly. Also, some horses’ performances begin to tank if you race them too often. It really all depends on the quality of your horse.
Edit: I should add that there is a distinct difference between a horse’s energy grade in the workouts section and their actual natural energy (NE). The energy grade only means so much.