Chetak Horses

Chetak

I want to use the post to explain exactly what the name Chetak means to me.

Chetak is the name of a warhorse from India, more specifically the region that my family is from.  The original Chetak gave his life for his rider, carrying him safely through the battle and then to safety after before succumbing to his own fatal battle wound.

My dad told me this story several years before I got a horse and I classified it away with all the other miscellaneous information in my head.  I didn’t give it anymore weight at the time and definitely never considered the role it would play in my future.

Years passed and I ended up getting Achates.  Shortly after purchasing him my family and I started to brainstorm ideas about what his show name should be.  And there were many acceptable names thrown around things that would have been perfectly satisfying, but none of them felt quite right.  We decided to sit on it for a while and see if anything came to us.

So I started to think about what kind of relationship I wanted with this horse (who at the time could have cared less about me), and a name that would do it justice.  I wanted Achates and I to have a partnership that was complete, I wanted him to be able to trust me completely and know that I would not give up on anything we wanted to accomplish.

With these thoughts the idea of a “warrior” horse started to enter my mind.  A horse that would be happy to work, brave, and always with me every step of the way.  My mind bounced back to the story of Chetak and I knew that was the name I wanted Achates to have every time he went down the centerline.  I wanted him to be battle ready, disciplined, brave, and ready for whatever came his way.  More than anything I wanted and still want to be a rider that’s deserving of such a horse.

Achates is slowly becoming all that the name Chetak encompasses.  He works hard every training session and is very focused on the tasks at hand.  I can tell when I go out to see him that he is ready and happy to work.  Over the past 3 years he as become the most trustworthy horse I have ever worked with.  I’m so proud of the horse he becoming and the rider that he is pushing me to be.

And come what may, I’m happy to have my warrior with me every step of the way.  Ready to conquer any obstacles we may encounter.