Re: Conditioning young horse?

[Merryben <Merryben@aol.com>]

Maybe I am ultra conservative, but we did not take Bari out on trails with a
rider until he was over three years old.  We had the kind of dirt roads in the
redwood trees with no traffic and no other horses.  We just let him go along
with us from the time he was about 6-8 months old.  Of course we never went
more that a mile or two until he was about 3 or 3 1/2.   He had to cross two
creeks just to get away from the ranch.  It was a perfect place to train.  I
was lucky to have juniors, ages 9 to 14.  They would ride him around the
corral for 5-10 minutes at a time when he was two but we never asked him to do
more than that.  The only problem we ever had with him was teaching him to be
ridden and not led.  We had led him with riders for so long, he did not know
how to go without a lead rope.  
I can't imagine conditioning a two year old for anything....Maryben.