For those of you that start your own colts, what is your philosophy on loping them the first few rides? Do you have/make them lope or not? What are your opinions?

I'm not a professional trainer, but I start my own and I do not lope them for a while. Anything i've started I've had the intentions of keeping for myself, and I beleive in the interest of the longevity of the horse, I prefer not to put that kind of strain on their legs that early. I am in no rush with them, so it can wait.

the loping will come with time, when I broke my babys I would just let them build up their confidence and the loping will come with that, so just take your time, its been years since I broke one but it seems like within a week of riding I would get them to break/ease into a lope, I was always never in a hurry, lol..  

If loping happens the first ride, we let it happen.  Sometimes it takes a little longer to convince one to lope.  When they are ready, they are asked to lope. 

Same here. Sometimes it happens in the first ride and if it does I just go with it. I do lope them within the first 3 rides. My round pen is large, has good ground, they are conditioned, and I'm not very big so I do not believe it is putting any extra stress on them. I try to get out of the round pen ASAP and focus on going places rather than circles. 

I don't push my young ones past their comfort zone much during the first handful of rides.  Once I can tell they're more comfortable with what's going on and feeling more confident about it, I will ask for them to pick up a lope. Once they settle into it just slightly, we slow it back down and give heavy praise. Keep building up from there.

Mine I don't lope right away (unless it happens), but I like to have a little something there in the event that one decides to buck and I can try to stop them. But I take mine really slow, too, and don't push beyond what we're both comfortable at. 

Mine lope from day one... but I do a lot of ground driving so they have all the buttons before I get on..