BK :>Well while you remember I'm overly tough on this one.. I
BK :>don't see a problem with small sessions earlier then that.
BK :>I'm going to give Tush some extra time since she's still on
BK :>the smallish side.. although after Feb.. She's going to get
BK :>saddled seriously. 
No problem with working them as long as you're aware of the limitations put 
on you by their growth process.  As for saddling her, I don't see any problem 
with that.  She has to get used to is sometime (g).  And if you think she's 
ready, I wouldn't even hesitate to get one her every once in a while.  As 
long as you keep the sessions short and without any undue stress to her mind 
or bones (g).
BK :>Tush is a delight.. she's a fairly fast learner.. she's
BK :>getting bored with driving.. didn't take much to teach her
BK :>to lunge. :)
BK :>
BK :>So now I"m throwing some new stuff at her like side
BK :>passing, etc.. going to try and work up to this while still
BK :>driving her.
Sounds good to me.  One of the hardest things I found was trying to keep 
Fiddle interested in the pre-backing stuff.  She learned too fast and I ran 
out of things to keep her little, evil mind occupied!
BK :>> Right now
BK :>> we're dealing with a rooting at the bit problem...argghhh!
BK :>
BK :>What do you mean?
She pulls on the bit.  Drives me crazy!  I'm switching to a thinner, French 
training snaffle as soon as I can get one that fits her and that I like the 
quality of.  I think I may have one of those horses who fit the description 
of having too small a mouth for a fat bit...however, this is a recent 
occurance, so who knows.  I'll keep working on it, but would appreciate any 
suggestions from the peanut gallery!
Meg  
 
---
---------------