Cathryn at That Red Mare posted this blog hop yesterday and it immediately grabbed my attention. Who doesn’t love a good transformation? Honestly though, I don’t think Henry is your typical super impressive “before and after”. He came to me in good health (albeit FAT and with no muscle from having sat in a pasture for over a year) and he’d already jumped a little bit, so his early education went by pretty quickly. His is not a particularly radical transformation, but it’s still kind of fun to look back.
This was Henry on Day 1 when he arrived in Texas in December 2013. So fat that his butt jiggled when he walked. He’s always been cute though – the long mane and shaggy coat couldn’t hide that.
He’s a bit more fit these days… looks more like a event horse than a pasture puff. I think he went from cute to handsome.
This is one of our very first jumps, also December 2013. He was a little bit more green and careful in those days, but his style has always been good.
Now he just jumps much bigger things.
Ah, but what about the DERP? Well, absolutely nothing has changed in that regard. On Day 1 he was 100% derp…
and almost 3 years later – still derping so hard.
I started with a pretty nice horse. Now I just have a more fit, more educated one.
Maybe Sadie is a a little bit more fun as a before and after, since… ya know… going from a baby to an adult is a lot more drastic?
Sadie at 2 weeks, when she was still cute and tiny.
Sadie at 2 years, still looking a little gangly. (Yes, I’m skipping over the yearling part. No one wants to re-live that, especially not me.)
Sadie at 3 years, at her first little schooling show.
Her first show over fences, at 4 years. Cantering over the Baby Green jumps like NBD, because teeny things have always been a joke to her.
At 5, when she decided she’d rather be a jumper and the sticks got bigger.
And then last year, finally mature at age 8, and with her first baby.
Still hard to believe that my tiny little fuzzball is now a giant mare!
breedrideevent.com 
Hah, I love that Henry doesn’t really look all THAT different, although obviously a lot has changed with him. I think it’s because his personality is SO BIG ❤
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He really is the same ol’ derpy Henny that he’s always been. Just less fat. 😉
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Transformations are so much more fun when you’ve had the horse from a young age 😀 I don’t follow TRM yet (off to read!) but my post today was a transformation post too, what are the odds? Haha
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You were on the ball without even realizing it!
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Do I get a gold star or something?? 😉 Lol
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OMG the chub level on Henry!!! Fit Henry is for sure more handsome than puffball Henry.
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Love the look of a mare with foal! I like the idea of this post!
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How come you decided to have her be a brood mare? Looks like she was a nice jumper!!
Both are super cute tho!
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She had a hock infection as a 2yo (mare in the stall next to her kicked the wall down, into her stall) and it created a lot of scar tissue that started causing problems as her riding career got more intense. We probably could have kept her going at the 1m-1.10m for a while with lots of regular maintenance, but eventually the wear and tear on that hock would have caused permanent issues. I didn’t think that was a super fair life for her. She’s sound – you can get on her and ride her, no problem – but she’s a REALLY good broodmare. I think her new life is the best of both worlds… she’s happy and she’s comfortable, and hopefully she’ll stay that way for a long time.
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Ahhh ok.. yeah totally get that decision! Good choice!
And she does make cute babies!!
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i love these transformation posts and can only hope to have something to show for charlie’s time with me (eventually lol). in an ideal world it’ll be an evolution more similar to Henry’s – fostering and educating pre-existing good qualities to end up with a confident and self-assured athlete.
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Haha now I want to play. Can I do a progression of fails?
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Whoa when did Sadie get to be 8? She’s like permanently 5 in my mind.
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She’s NINE!!!
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STOP.
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I KNOW.
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Wow! Henry sure was “fluffy” when you got him!
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I love seeing baby horse transformations!
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Man, Henry was a wee bit pudgy when you got him. Easy to see the quality underneath, though~
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Henny was pudge!!! I need to do this for Annie though I don’t feel like she’s all that different.
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So, so awesome! Henry is so handsome and Sadie is absolutely gorgeous…you hit the good looks jackpot with those two!
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K. I’m seriously fangirling that you read my blog.
*blushing*
And I agree that altho there isn’t a huge difference outwardly in Henny, he is inwardly so changed. His demeanor has changed so much – I remember when you first got him and how afraid he was of contact. You’ve done such a wonderful job with him.
And ermagerd… Sadie is soooo gorgeous.
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