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The horse responds to comfort, they respond to peace better than about anything else you could do. All he wants you to do is just leave him alone. So if the horse responds to you and you give him a little peace and comfort that means more to him than anything.
Buck Brannaman -
There's an ancient bond that still exists today between horses and humans, it is even there with people that have never ridden a horse or been around horses. The horse is what settled the entire west. If it weren’t for the horse they’d probably be only a couple hundred miles from where they started. A lot of people don’t realize how much they owe the horse because it’s not so much a part of our culture right now as it used to be.
Buck Brannaman
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Horses are consistent and logical. The horse will do what is easiest for him. If you make it easy for him to buck you off, kick you, and run away, that’s just what he’s going to do. And more power to him. But if you make it easy for the horse to be relaxed and calm and accurate — and also have it be a beautiful dance between you and the horse — it won’t be too long before he’ll be hunting for that just as hard as you are. Whatever you make easy for the horse, that’s what he’s going to get good at.
Buck Brannaman -
When you find that the horse is compelled and interested in you, something in you changes. That can be healing or move you deeply.
Buck Brannaman -
Simply put; I'm trying to see what I can get done with the horse without him being troubled about doing it.
Buck Brannaman -
You allow a horse to make mistakes, the horse will learn from mistakes no different than the human. But you can't get him to where he dreads making mistakes for fear of what's going to happen after he does.
Buck Brannaman -
Some guys make their careers off one horse; kind of a trick horse, a wonder horse. I'm not knocking that, but for me I'm trying to get better and study. That means taking out new horses. It's a life study. When I've finished a horse, I turn him out and basically stop riding him, except taking him to the occasional branding so I can enjoy him.
Buck Brannaman -
The horse needs to respect you, but sometimes people confuse respect and fear. And they're not the same at all.
Buck Brannaman
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That absolute pure honesty of the horse, man that's just the greatest thing there is....
Buck Brannaman -
Like Tom Dorrance said, ‘It boiled down to one thing: observe, remember, and compare.’ Do something, observe what you did, remember what you did, compare it to what you were doing before, and adjust.
Buck Brannaman -
When you're younger, you ride with 90% physical and 10% mental. But if you could learn how to use 90% mental and 10% physical you'd be better off.
Buck Brannaman -
There are no problem horses, only problem riders.
Buck Brannaman -
Nobody has to lose for me to succeed and that is a unique job. Everybody wins, horse wins, people win, I win.
Buck Brannaman -
On a horse there is a perfect position of balance where he doesn't feel like he's pushing you along with him or dragging you along with him. It's like two converging currents in a river, where those currents converge, there is a point where there is no movement, no energy; and that's what you're thinking when you're on the back of a horse.
Buck Brannaman
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I've often told people who ask if there is a God: Get around enough people with horses and see what happens. See how they survive in spite of all the things they do, and you'll become a believer!
Buck Brannaman -
There are things that the horse did for me that a human couldn't have done.
Buck Brannaman -
My horse needs to be quiet enough not to draw my attention. You want your horse always aware of you. Be aware of your horse! Fidgeting? Direct that! Think of it as a gift. Do something with that energy; redirect it or it will be a negative. Don't let your horse check-out. A horse wants peace. Trade movement for peace.
Buck Brannaman -
A lot of times, rather than helping people with horse problems, I'm helping horses with people problems.
Buck Brannaman -
You try to do as little as you can, but you need to do as much as is necessary to get a result. When you get a result, you do less.
Buck Brannaman -
If I had a horse buck with me now, I’m a little disappointed. It’s not the end of the world, but I’m a little disappointed if I couldn’t keep the horse out of trouble, whereas it used to be a source of pride, and now it’s sort of source of shame if I let the horse get lost.
Buck Brannaman
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You can't make something happen with a horse, but you can fix things up and let it happen.
Buck Brannaman -
The horse is a gift to us, to humanity. And for that, there comes responsibility. If the horse is gonna work for you and work with you, then the best thing I can do for the horse is to make it as good a life possible.
Buck Brannaman -
The horse seems to wanna please the human and so many times if the human isn’t much of a leader well then the horse has gotta do it’s own thinking. The horse isn’t really designed very well to be the leader but just because the horse is responding to ya, I don’t really think of it as it succumbing to you. I think it’s more of the horse sort of joining you, being more of a partner.
Buck Brannaman -
Most people don't realize how little it takes to get a horse to move.
Buck Brannaman