It was a very busy August.
I had a couple of mini vacations, like a 40 year class reunion and a very nice visit with some old friends from my TPM (former employer) days.
But I know you're asking, "What does this have to do with Granite?" A lot. Granite is a new friend. These are old friends. Funny how some times when you have lost touch with old friends and find them all over again, it's like they never left. My 40 year class reunion was like that and the visit with my old TPM friends was like that too.
...Although you have shared memories, meetings like this can be like discovering a friend all over again. My TPM friends and I met for dinner on a Saturday night and I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable evenings I've spent in a long time. Joannie, Sandy, Darin, and myself (my hubby, Ben, came too) laughed and remembered old times and other friends who we hadn't thought of in a while.
This reminds me of a day with Granite. Though he is my new friend, I feel as though we have a past together. I went out to see the old boy Saturday morning and I walked to the pasture as always, searching for him among the other horses. There he was with his friends—always with the same two horses, a buckskin and an old black horse with a white mark on his face. They eat together, swat flies together and just hang together with no real expectations of each other, other than the occasional swat of a tail to get a fly off of another's face—standing head to butt, head to butt.
Granite and his buds are much like me and my old pals sharing a meal...minus the tails and flies, of course.
I think about him a lot because Granite is quite a horse. Though his background is sketchy, I know he is a survivor and must have been quite a ladies man in his day. When Granite's owners abandoned him, they didn't give him up to animal control or bring him to Shiloh. They didn't even drop him off at a horse auction. They just left him alone in his corral with no food and no water. Just left him.
But Granite is a survivor and he wasn't about to give. He got out of the corral. Who knows how long it took him, but he didn't stand there alone and wait to starve or die of thirst;, he changed his destiny. Granite broke free and wandered over to the neighbor's house in search of food, which is how he ended up at Shiloh.
I've had to learn hard lessons like Granite did many times in my life. His friends let him down. The people he trusted to take care of him abandoned him, deserted him when times got tough and did nothing to make sure he would survive. We all know how that feels on some level.
But I'm lucky. I have some really great friends who I know would be there for me in all types of situations. It's important who you pick to be friends with; you can't pick just anyone. Friends come into your life and sometimes they move on, but true friends are always there. And no matter how long it is between visits, nothing changes. Every time you see or speak to them, it's just like you spoke yesterday.
It's like that with Granite and I. August was a long month and I missed seeing him a couple weeks, but when I arrived at Shiloh: there he was, not quite as excited to see me as I was to see him, though. He was a little standoffish, but he warmed up quickly. I guess he had to make sure it was me. We enjoyed a great day together. He ran and played (I love the way he kicks and holds his head high and flicks up his tail as he runs when he's playing). He ate treats and got a nice wash and groom.
I love my guy; he's just the most amazing horse. I feel as though we've been friends for a very long time.
He knows a lot, Granite, and his eyes are gentle and kind. He was a stallion for most of his life and wears some small and one very large scar on his side to prove it. He knows as much about riding as I do, so we can both learn together, and I'm lucky that he's patient.
...Especially when I try to figure out how to put on his halter. It's ridiculous. I've used the darn thing 20 times and I still have to turn in forty different directions to figure out how to put it on. Granite stands there and I swear he would tap his toes if he could. He has learned patience and we have that in common: I've tried to learn to be patient all my life. Funny how I've really started to learn it from a horse. Who'd have thought.
I love getting Granite from his pasture, I get so excited to see him and see how he will react. It's almost silly; I get this little giddy feeling as I approach the gate, search the pasture for him (I swear he hides) looking and looking and still not seeing him, and then there he is standing right in front of me. I go towards him and stop and motion for him to come.
He looks in my direction, turns, licks his lips slowly—oh so slowly—and begins his trek towards me. Sometimes I just can't wait and I go out to meet him in the middle.
Last week at Shiloh I went out to see a dear old friend, Stretch, who holds a very special place in my heart. I love this horse. Originally, when I first started going out to Shiloh, it was Vanilla that caught my eye. I tried and tried for a year to get that horse to trust me and she did a little, but she never really let me in. Stretch was instrumental in my getting to know Vanilla as much as I did. Stretch is Vanilla's companion. They came to Shiloh together and they are always together, inseparable, like one of those old couples you see that have been together for 60 plus years. Stretch is a very tall horse, absolutely huge, and I think he might be a Holstein. I am always in awe when I see him. But sadly, my friend Stretch is getting old and his age is starting to show. I cried a little when I saw him last, but that was quickly replaced with a laugh when he came over to use me as his scratching post. He's another old friend I hadn't seen in a while who made me feel as though we had never been apart. On this day, Jill asked me to move Stretch to another pasture where he would get extra special feed. He is about 27 and he has reached a time in his life were he needs extra care. I was happy to move him to Granite's pasture (Granite is on the move to the big boy pasture). Stretch was nervous so we gave him a nice brush, some worming medicine and we started over to his new digs. It was windy, and as we rounded the corner, he spooked. I think it's been a while since he has been out and about. Its a little intimidating when a 1,600 lb horse starts to freak out, but you know what, I was proud of myself. I handled him and settled him down, all the while nervously looking over my shoulder to see if Jill was coming.
Speaking of friendships, Jill is a new, amazing friend. Jill has been around horses all her life and she knows what she's doing. She immediately took charge of my freaked out steed and marched him to his new pasture with me in tow. Stretch was nervous meeting his new friends, he ran around, up and down the fence. I think he was anxious to get back to his old friends, but for him now this pasture is better. He will make new friends and I hope be feeling a bit better.
My next task was to move Granite. He had watched as I brought in Stretch and he was standoffish and kept his distance. Stretch is a really big horse. Granite is not a little guy, but Stretch is really tall. Granite was moving that day too. He's getting way too fat in his old pasture and needed to go to the big boy pasture. I haltered him up (after turning the halter fifty times to figure out which way it went. What is up with that? It's crafts. I don't do well at crafts) and off Granite and I went on his new journey to meet new friends. In he went with no hesitation, unlike Stretch, who panicked and sort of ran around, Granite purposely meandered to each of the horses and introduced himself. He arched his neck and raised his tail, looking just fine. I watched for awhile and he was accepted by all he choose to meet.
New Friends. Old Friends. All friends are great.
Here's to all friends.
Cheers.
