Mr. Unflappable! Man did you find a gem! (my big hunter mare doesn’t seem to mind walking on tarps, plastic, Liverpools but flower boxes just outside the ring? So scary! The things they find to ‘play spook’ at is amusing…sometimes!)
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I think this is the best “before and after” I’ve EVER seen.
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So my mare got hurt yesterday and is out of commission for at least a few weeks, so Henry got pressed into service this morning for an off property trail ride with my foxhunting club.
Yesterday evening we practiced loading on the trailer and he was great, so I figured what the heck. I brought along one of his barnmates as an emotional support pony, and away we went. There was some excitement when our group got into ground bees and needed to hustle to escape, but overall I couldn’t be happier with his first outing off the farm.
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Will be interesting to observe if Henry gains maturity and confidence from having attended this outing. Although he seems such an old soul already.
The first time I took my recently-off-the-track OTTB to a horse show for experience and sightseeing only, he reacted with shock at first, gradually calmer throughout the day.
It was in the days after that that he showed his greatest change of demeanor. He was more confident, mature and all knowing. He had been somewhere and come back. He was pretty sure he knew everything now. 
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That pony: “You keep feeding me like this, I will do WHATEVER you ask!”
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Ah, Henry went to his first horse party! I’m glad he was a good boy and had fun.
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Way to go, Henry!!!
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YEAH!! Henry! I would not expect anything less from Henry. I am sure his fan club aquired new members after his first outing with the hunt.
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Tally-ho Henry!
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I love seeing awesome Henry updates!
He does seem like an old soul, and I keep wondering if he will go through the “Terrible Fives” in the next year or two. 
And what would that look like in such a good boy. A few tail wrings? Pretending to forget how to canter? Deciding tarps ARE in fact horse-eaters? 
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Or the classic “there is only one lead at the canter, no horse for thousands of years has ever cantered on the other lead, so there is no point for you to keep asking”.
The one canter lead that has ever existed tends to switch back & forth, from time to time.
The rider was in a dream state a few weeks ago, thinking that the greenie had in fact cantered on both leads in one ride, at some earlier point in training.
When they finally get stronger and re-discover both leads, they think that now they are trained and don’t need to learn anything else.
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A year from now:
"Dear diary,
Doesn’t anyone know that I, Henry, am just a baby? A little cherub? How could they ask such complicated things as a lead change or clean transition?
They say things like ‘Henry you did this yesterday with no problem’ but how can a baby be expected to remember such calculus? No, I have a squad of virtual cheerleaders who will take my side. I am blameless."
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Well. We did have a few yee-haw moments yesterday when we encountered the bees. Several horses got stung, including Henry, and the only solution for that is to leave the area pronto.
So the field master turned to me and said WE ARE TROTTING NOW and off she went. Between following a quite big moving hunt horse and the bees, Henry was prepared to charge through the woods
When I suggested to him that a nice road trot staying on the trail would be more appropriate, we did have a few grab-the-bit and shake-the-head reactions.
That is what sticky spray and knee blocks on the saddle are made for. 
But he settled right back down and loaded right back on the trailer no fuss so no harm no foul.
The trail ride was supposed to be walk-only but plans change as needed! I’ll take him again hound walking in a couple weeks.
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Have fun! Sending jingles for no bees or other stingers-biters!
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I love the idea of a flying change as calculus. Seems about right
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It’s like he is saying quick get the picture showing how brave I am, because I am not sure if this is a good idea or not . I love this thread by the way, I check in at work and it makes me smile every day .
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He probably wants to be the quality-control expert on that hay-field!
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Henry says the trick to making your head look smaller is to make your bootie bigger! It’s all about balance y’all 
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He’s got the spotted-hony-hunter-under-saddle thing going on there! So cute and he looks genuinely fun to ride.
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