A tribute to Granite Chief after sharing 10,000 miles together

http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2010/06/tribute-granite-chief-10000-miles/
Karen Chaton

Instead of spending much time writing about Chief, I’ve been spending time with him. He is really a kind and gentle soul who has impacted my life in so many wonderful ways that I can’t even think of the words to describe how fantastic a journey we have shared so far.

DSCF7223 Medium 150x150 A tribute to Granite Chief after sharing 10,000 miles togetherToday I shampooed Chief’s tail. OMG, it was dirt brown in color – I was happy with the results. When finished, his tail was returned to it’s normal silver, black and blond color. I have so enjoyed seeing him transform from being nearly black and charcoal grey with black mane and tail to a fleabitten grey with a silver mane and silver, blond and black tail.

We also went for another walk on the trail today. I realized why my arm is sore – from Chief stopping to grab bites of grass constantly! I guess he knows I’m a sucker and will let him get away with it, which I do. The old dog tries to weave her way in between Chief’s hind legs as he walks and sometimes manages to get through. Chief just picks his legs up higher to avoid knocking her head with a hoof. The other dog gets in front of Chief and slows down or completely stops. Chief just weaves around her, or else uses it as another excuse to grab a bite of grass.

This is kind of cheating, but I’m copying what I wrote when Chief made a previous milestone. Everything still holds true, only moreso – I feel like the luckiest person on earth to have ended up with a horse that has a huge amount of personality as well as ability. Here goes…

I really enjoy riding my horses and lately have especially cherished every single minute of it. I have loved riding every one of my horses but I especially have enjoyed the special relationship that I have developed with Chief. He is a once in a lifetime horse and I know that no matter how long I live even if it were to be a million lifetimes that I just won’t have that kind of relationship with another horse. Ever. I may have something completely different with another horse but it won’t be the same. The reason is that Chief feels the same way about me as I do about him. I have been head over heels with my other horses, but it wasn’t as reciprocal.

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