>>>> I think what I do is a few minutes of groundwork over several years:) I don't repeat and drill and drill, and bore the horse to death.
Pretty much us too. I've often said that we don't "train" our foals - we play with them. Somehow, in the course of normal handling - checking in on them every day, bringing them in for the vet and farrier, just normal stuff, somehow we get to a point one day where they are shockingly trained. And of course, we just think of odd things to do along - like when Cary had fun putting the big box and big piece of plastic in the pasture from the water heater we had to buy last fall. We just see some opportunity and grab it, and it's fun for horses and humans. Very seldom do we train "training sessions" for the ones under two...they just happen. But, I think this is VERY different from leaving them alone until they are ready to ride. Karen Thomas, NC [EMAIL PROTECTED]
