Henry the Handyman from rags to riches

Pls keep us updated! :pray:

BTW: Thatā€™s the Best showname! :grin:

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I love Henry the Hunky Handyman Honey!

I canā€™t wait to see him grow up. He would make a cute little driving honey too.

Horray for Henry!!

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I bought the planetā€™s best boy as a 3 YO. I went to look at this ragged-ass sorrel gelding that needed groceries and deworming and all the things. He was completely unfazed by the seller hoping on him bareback in a halter and leadrop and WTC around the yard while a wicked Summer storm was brewing- wind whipping, tin flapping, he was fine. Owned him the rest of his life and did everything under the sun with that good boy. Looks like you found one, too :slight_smile:

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To me, and a sort of virtual string test, he looks like heā€™s going to get more height and for sure heā€™s going to muscle up. Doesnā€™t look like heā€™s done much, muscle isnā€™t very developed. Maybe just a hint of a drop or two of draft blood in that head shape? Could he be younger then 4 or a short 4yo with later birthday?

Like to see regular pics of his progress as he develops since I am hooked on checking in on Bo every week. Fun to watch them bloom.

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Are you 100% certain heā€™s 4? He looks like heā€™s still waiting for the neck fairy to visit. And I say that as the owner of a 2.5yo (late fall baby) who is also currently in the big head-no neck phase. :wink: Henry is adorable and I love him. Canā€™t wait to see how he looks in a couple months!

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I agree! But heā€™s definitely four, as the baby pic the owner sent me of Henry as a foal has the date embedded in May 2019. I would have guessed a three year old otherwise.

Henry has had a lot of firsts already! Heā€™s been vaccinated and wormed, his Coggins and dental are scheduled for tomorrow, and today was the first time heā€™d ever stepped foot inside a stall.

We hand walked around the ring and stepped over flower boxes, visited my DH who was delimbing some trees with the chainsaw, and then hiked around my little woods trail that borders the property and cruised over a fallen log.

We also walked in and out of the wash stall a few times, and tomorrow Iā€™ll take advantage of the dental sedation to give him his first bath and trim his hairy legs.

He was a little shy and standoffish over the weekend, but thatā€™s changing as he realizes he gets a treat every time he engages with me, stands to have his halter put on, or just randomly as Iā€™m walking by.

I really truly love baby horses. :heart:

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Heā€™s quite butt high right now and string tests to about 15.2. I think less than ideal nutrition has his body looking less mature than his age. He has no muscle, no neck, and heā€™s all legs and big head right now :rofl:

If I hadnā€™t seen pictures of both parents I would have guessed some draft in there as well, but the dam appears to be just a common-looking sort of gaited trail horse and the sire is a papered QH of the lighter type. One of the best horses I ever owned was an appy whose mother was an unattractive evil sort of back yard Appaloosa who was bred to a quite nice Paint. Baby was a gorgeous blanket appy with an auto lead change who became a local phenom in the show ring and the hunt field and retired with me as the very best lesson horse that ever lived.

Iā€™m hoping Henry is a repeat of that unlikely kind of recipe. He shows no tendency to gait at all and his stride is huge. I got to see him canter for the first time when I turned him out for a little while in a biggish field and I loved his push from behind and he was swapping leads naturally. Fingers crossed with this one!

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I canā€™t wait to see more of him.

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Oh heā€™s cute!

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Yay, Henry! He sounds like such a good boy already!

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Excited to follow along with Henryā€™s journey! As I get older I find I have much more appreciation for a cute and sturdy hony over those big and easily breakable warmbloods/TBs. In fact I just foaled out my OTTB mareā€™s first baby by a Connemara stallion and my goal was a nice all around hony type!

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I have an OTTB mare Iā€™m seriously considering breeding to a Connemara stallion for the same reason! I think thereā€™s a real need for the all around easy but athletic horses and not everybody wants them huge!

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I love my Connie/TB foal! Used Coudā€™Poker as the stallion and honestly the resulting colt is very nice. There are a lot of photos of him over on the Foal Watch 2023 thread in Sporthorse Breeding :grin:

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Love his expression in this photo. Itā€™s like heā€™s saying, ā€œSuddenly, I have found myself in a house.ā€

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Its amazing how quickly they bloom when they get into a regular, consistent management program and start regular a regular work schedule. Even if its just introductory lunging and groundwork, its a controlled regular exercise program. We wonā€™t even recognize him in a couple of monthsā€¦assuming OP keeps us updated. Hint, hint, hint.

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Then he and Bo may be related! Way way back maybe, but cousins to some degree.

Another cute trot video for no reason whatsoever.

I canā€™t wait for the first ride in a week or so!

#HenrytheHandyman

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Heā€™ll be a humdinger with some muscle!!

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Henry the Humdinger!

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He doesnā€™t seem to canter much when heā€™s trotting around loose?

Guessing that once the good groceries start to settle in, a whole new Henry may emerge. One with great enthusiasm for life! :smile:

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