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

Never Seen This Before...

I've seen a lot of new things living out here in the country...ish area that we do. But still, I get surprised from time to time. Imagine seeing this while out on the motorcycle!

He got incredibly close to those power lines. That takes some precision!

FFR

All Hail Working Man

Working Man is a good man. If I ever complain about him, it's never in seriousness. I only jest about him good naturedly and in a way that keeps his pride from swallowing him whole. Not likely to happen anyway, but just in case...

But Working Man works incredibly hard around here. Just this last week he replaced the ever important screen on our bedroom, wired up our tack room with electricity, pulled all the hoses out of our garden, did sheep round-up and duck and goose round-up. Not to mention all his usual stuff. All hail Working Man.

In honor of Working Man, some of his tools:

What is Working Man without his hat? Not quite as steamy...but very sunburned.


The hat is so important...it needs two pictures.


Okay, so the steamy hat needs three photos. But seriously...look at him work.


I did a little work too and Working Man in all his goodness, caught this photo on his phone for me. My young boy doesn't know what he's doing totally, but he tried hard.


The boots...mmm, Working Man's boots. These are a must have. They protect the feet after all.


But where would Working Man's boots be without Working Woman's boots? Nowhere. Absolutely nowhere.

Working Man, you are much appreciated. Without your boots, my boots would have no place to call home. All hail Working Man.

Of course, my flip flops are still my favorite.
FFR

Henry...In The Light

Finally, a chance to see Henry during the day. Gosh he's cute...and sweet!

Given the choice between the cheap crap hay and alfalfa...he wants the cheap hay. Good boy.




Nom nom nom.


Big head...again.


Look at those eyelashes! Jealous?!

FFR

Ma'am, Sir Henry Has Arrived

"Ma'am, Sir Henry has arrived." "Why thank you Jeeves..." Henry has finally arrived. After his long, cross-state trip, Henry has finally made his way to our house. I took a lot of pictures and have learned one major thing:

My camera does NOT like working at night. It has a horrible time focusing. Working Man will probably buy me a new one because he got annoyed too. *Happy Dance* Ah, probably not. After all, how often do I shoot at night?...never.

Anyway, Henry. He arrived, safe and sound. He got one scrape on his butt (bum?) from the trip but (bum? Oh no, that really is supposed to be but) a little antiseptic ointment (Henry was NOT amused) and all was well. Better pictures will come tomorrow, but these are a start. See above for why there are not more/better photos.

And like a kid at Christmas, I couldn't wait to unwrap my gift, I just HAD to ride him. I was going to just jump on him bareback but Working Man, ever the protective one, insisted on saddling him..."just in case". I indulge him so (and I love it so...he'd never let anyone/anything hurt me).

Oh right, pictures.

The ears!!!


His eye, no joke, as big as my palm...seriously.


Poor boy was hungry! How is a 1600 pound mule to survive?!


Biiiiig boy. Haven't measured his height/weight yet. Maybe tomorrow.


He's big...and lumbering...I even said I was ready to get on my elephant now. He is that big...ok, maybe a little exaggeration on my part...but I think it's allowed here.


And you still think "elephant" was going too far?...That's what I thought.


I can speak for Working Man...and probably Henry too...neither of them were inebriated at the time this photo was taken. Just tired. It's been a long day for us all.

Time to collapse into bed with Working Man.

FFR