I've started horses since I was 12 years old and have been bit, kicked, bucked off and run over. I've tried every physical means to contain my horse in an effort to keep from getting myself killed. I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does.
Buck BrannamanAnytime you are with a horse, no matter if you are a daily rider or one who just gets a chance to ride to the mailbox, you are interacting with your horse. It is all about the quality of the communication, not the quantity. Doing something right once in a while will far surpass anything done wrong more often.
Buck BrannamanMy teachers used to tell me you need to learn to adjust to fit the situation. Don't just do what you've always done because it might not always work.
Buck BrannamanYou're trying to figure out a way to meet a horse to where he can understand. And to me, it's not to train a horse, it's to try to get the horse with you where it's one mind and one body. You may spend your whole life chasing that, but it's a good thing to chase.
Buck BrannamanTheoretically, the human is supposed to be the smart one. Well, if we are, then we need to be able to adjust to fit the situation rather than just think "Well this is how you work with horses. I've done this on 500 just like you."
Buck BrannamanI realized that there are some things about all of us, no matter where we're from, that we are connected and we are all still humans, and we are all still looking for the same sort of contentment in our life in one way or another. Some people are searching a little harder than others, granted. But we're not so different.
Buck BrannamanThere'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 werenโt for the horse theyโd probably be only a couple hundred miles from where they started. A lot of people donโt realize how much they owe the horse because itโs not so much a part of our culture right now as it used to be.
Buck Brannaman