Introducing Henry..

I have taken Henry on loan at the riding school. He is a Warmblood Bay gelding, standing 16.2h and at a rough guess 10-12 years old. Very handsome he is too! Henry came to the school some two or three years ago and was immediately popular, probably due to his looks..possibly to his detriment. He was initially overworked and almost inevitably went lame and had a back problem. On his recovery other new shiny horses had taken the limelight and the poor lad became an also ran in popularity and he generally languished without turnout or work.
Henry the Horse! Never stands still for very long and is quite bargy...needs to get out more!

Luckily for Henry he was taken on loan last Summer by Helen. Horses thrive with good regular attention and care. So with good feed and a warm clean stable his rehabilitation from obscurity was swift. With one problem. Horses like people have different characters. Now with proper weight and potential fitness Henry started to act himself...no longer squashed with overwork. The opposite...bursting with energy...nervous energy! He is a very spooky horse...easily worried. So on his re-introduction to the school, unfortunately he managed to make a name for himself bucking riders off. Not maliciously, but as a result of nervous tension. He is not really best suited in a school. A riding school horse should be steady giving the rider confidence. Henry is the opposite. He takes confidence from the rider...he needs a steadying hand to reassure his nervous nature.
I'm about to get stepped on!

So he's now in my hands. The challenge is to try and apply the same skills learned from looking after Heather, though Henry is so much different. On a day to day basis he is dirty and wet in his stable, though he seems to be settling a little now. He is happy to be groomed and picks his feet up quite well. Though I've been told he has poor feet, they're lots better than Heathers were. He has very elegant fine legs and a big plus, no white hair or pink skin, which so often seems to be more prone to infections. He's fine haired and thin skinned, which means he's a bit sensitive to brush, but stays clean and his coat comes up shiny without much effort. He had his teeth rasped in the week which was needed but revealed no trouble and he behaved very well.
Henry's in lovely condition and just needs some more fitness to get him working nicely.

I have got my work cut out though. He has poor stable manners, which are already improving. A walk in hand across the yard is close to an epic adventure. To turn him out is close to suicide with two leading him! To fetch him in is fraught as he will not be separated. I've had to get someone else to catch another to bring in alongside. None of these things are his fault. He's just not been handled enough and had regular boundaries applied. I can understand why...he is very strong and intimidating. Taking the couple of photos of him ended up with me having what is probably a broken toe as he jumped on my foot...ouch! Ridden work is coming along and I'll write more soon.