I shared this with a friend of mine, but thought, you know.  This is really how I feel..  So here you go..


In discussing people who ride, and talk everything they have read out of book, or seen in a video, but have not yet started down the journey, but pontificate on their expansive knowledge...



Well, the issue here is the same thing I see when we go the Buck Clinics or up to Montana, people spending money on the saddle, the hat, the chaps, the bit, the bridle the blanket,a and even in some rare occasions a well trained horse. And then they sit on them, and ride them, just the way you would think.. Without any feeling or appreciation for the heritage, time and effort that goes into earning that gear... honestly, if I was a true cowgirl, I would feel angered and upset, because to me, it is a mocking of the history, and the humanity that has and is dedicating their life to the journey...


 To me, you can watch all the videos you want, you can learn Buck-Speak, or Ray-Speak or even Bonnie-Speak... But unless you know how to tie those words...

softness...

    feel...   timing .... release.... forward motion ....

Unity .... direction .... motion .... pressure ....

then you know what... it does not mean a thing...

You will still look to a practiced eye  green and inept ...

Earning the respect of your horse should be first, and I could care less if you were wearing shorts and flip flops...

There is a story in one of Ray's books about a young rider and it goes something like this..

" This young girl was riding around on her horse, and you could tell she didn't have much feel. The horse was bouncing around, the saddle did not fit right... you name it.. yet, wherever she wanted to go, the horse went, without any fuss, and they both looked like they were moving together, with a sense of eagerness and happiness... "

Now my friends, that is the essence of everything we are doing... So that your idea becomes your horses idea... and you are working from where the horse is, and you are moving together... with ease and respect...

Silly rabbits..

HiHo
L