Buck Clinic Thoughts 2

Buck Brannaman Clinic Thoughts 2
Its been a couple days since the clinic and I have had a chance to dwell on things. Chew on things and determine if I was really understanding what I was seeing or if I was like so many others, just accepting what I was seeing but not really internalizing it. I know it’s hard to really see. To see beyond what we want to see the artistry that is going on between the horse and human. It is a quiet thing when it happens, no more than a hand movement, no more than a thought and the horse is executing the will of the human, in harmony.
Now I get it. Now I understand. Harmony between the horse and the human. Well at least I am now seeing some light. The human has to develop a relationship based on respect with the horse and then go forward from there. If the horse respects the human, and knows where to find release, the horse will willingingly do what the human requests, in harmony with the human. As the human moves, the horse moves. Not out of fear, not out of anger, but out of the desire of the horse to be safe. Safe with the human. Safe without fear, safe without anger, safe without getting beat on, or yelled at, or pulled on, or pried on.
The horse should move without pressure, without weight. The horse should be a light extension of our will, our thoughts and our desires. They should be with us, within our range of will. They should be weightless.
Some people drive their horses to weigh, a lot. They drag these anchors around and the horses show resentment for it. They are constantly fighting the horse, and they call this horsemanship.
It takes dedication to get your horse weightless. It takes skill and understanding. It takes being particular, without being picky. Picky drives a horse crazy, particular drives a horse closer to you.
I think that is a nugget I forget, how to help the horse prepare himself. How to help the horse and give the horse enough time ( without being soft and not getting what you need ), and then when the horse has gathered himself together, going with unity and feel.
Prepare yourself, in doing so, you prepare the horse, ask, then follow through.
I think sometimes we get ahead of ourselves, we lose track of what we are trying to do, we have so many things going on we forget to fix up the 10 or 20 things we should have been working on simultaneously. We are reaching for softness, while getting impulsion, while driving in being particular, while looking for give, while working on shape and form… all these things fall together.
Its art my friends, of the highest caliber. Yet once you start to mix colors, and see results, well then, you are hooked.