A Guide to Henry in the Who's Riding Who HandbookLadi

Ladies and Gents, I present a new segment of my blogging development...The Who's Riding Who Handbook. I put a lot of thought into this. It took about...10...minutes to decide to do this. Yeah, I know. Hard to believe it took so long. Anyway, here it is.

A Guide to Henry

The Who's Riding Who Handbook

Rule #1: What Henry wants to do, Henry is going to do.

This is pretty obvious. 1200lb Henry, 180lb you...Do the math. You lose.

Rule #2: Do not force Henry to do ANYTHING.

See rule #1 and its reason. Again, you lose. Henry does not get forced to do anything...and if you try...well, we'll get to that.

Rule #3: If you try to force Henry to do something, you will be racing towards the destination of HIS choice.

See Rule #1 and Rule #2. Henry does not get forced to do anything. When you try, you end up running, yes running, through anything (including trees) back to where it is HE wanted to go.

Rule #4: Henry does not go out alone.

Henry will not go out alone. If he does, it's only as far as he wants to. See Rule #1. Then you come home...quickly. See Rule #3.

Rule #5: Do not use your heels on Henry.

Heels are like forcing him to do something. See Rule #2. Legs, however, are perfectly acceptable. This is more like urging.

Rule #6: If Henry runs off with you...Stay on.

There's really nothing you can do except wait for him to stop. The more you pull, the farther he goes. Just stay on and ride it out...and watch out for the trees. He will take you through them. Why on Earth did you try to force him to do something?

Rule #7: All movements should be very light on his mouth.

If you're trying to turn, stop, or lead Henry, keep all of your movements and pulling to a minimum. Start out as gentle as possible, then increase your pressure slowly until he does what he's asked. If you go too fast...See Rule #3 and Rule #6.

Rule #8: If rule #7 fails...

Henry won't always do what he's asked just because you urged him to. The best thing to do is to wrap a single rein around the horn and tug until his body finally turns where you want him to. Immediately release. Urge forward with your legs ONLY. This is the only way to "force" Henry and it doesn't always work.

Rule #9: Henry learns fast.

If you do this enough and do it right, Henry will do what you ask more and more. He will not however tolerate any manhandling. Be prepared for a workout if you do.

Rule #10: Henry is extremely sweet.

Stubborn or not, Henry is incredibly sweet and should be treated as such. There is no getting angry at Henry. Period.

Tomorrow, the guide to Rocky.

FFR