Not to much, not to little.

One of the things that I worry about, is how to maintain the appropriate level of training for the age of the horse.

It's not so hard with Fritha. At 4 she is old enough to do quite a bit of training and trail riding, but all the same, I occasionally have to remind myself that she is only 4, and she has many more years to learn and advance.

I worry about the day I bring home my Barb foal. Will I remember to go slow? Will I go too slow, and not teach enough?

My best (human) friend ran up against this worry recently. That's her lovely 18 month old Friesian colt in the pictures. She started worrying that she wasn't doing enough with him. "Does he know everything he needs to know at this age?" or even "Is there anything more I could be teaching him right now?"

I gave her lots of reassurance that he was right on track, and not to worry. He's a good boy,

very sensitive, very responsive. She's gone through all the ground work with him. He bathes, he stands for the farrier. He's learning all about the clippers. We've even ponied him along with us on some short trail rides, so that he can learn all about the world.

He's a good boy, and she is doing a good job with him, but still she worries. It makes her a good horse person.

So today she got a second (or maybe it was third or fourth) opinion. Sure enough, he's doing great. He's right where he needs to be.

Right now, all he needs is consistant handling, and lots of good quality time with his human. As for my friend, she was much reassured.



I can only hope that when the time comes, and I'm all worried about my Barb colt, "Am I doing enough, or am I doing to much." She will be the one to tell me when it's just right.