Serious Mail Issues!!

Hi, my mom has started using my iMac more than her PC lately. I just created an account for her, and set up mail for her SBC email account that she has had for about 4 years. Apparently, she has over 3800 emails, and they are all trying to download. How can I force it to not download all of her old mail? Thanks. Justin.

I have no idea if this will work, but...

Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Advanced has a "Remove Now" button next to the settings for removing downloaded mail from the server. I've never used it, but I always assumed it was to clear emails off the server.