Busy Livin Life......

Last spring, a good friend sent me the Buck Movie and asked me to "watch it".  It was fascinating and you can see the movie trailer here.  I'm always challenged and awed when I get the opportunity to step into a top trainer's mind and see a glimpse of what they are seeing.  What they see, what they think about.....just darn right amazing.  So when Buck Brannaman made a stop just 45 minutes from me...I had to go. 

25 riders and 25 horses were out in the arena and Buck talked and watched.  I watched closely...horses and riders...interactions and reactions.  I also took notes and here are a few of the quotes I took away....

"Anything that goes wrong on the back, can start to be addressed on the ground"

"If you ever get to be credible with your horse, you will be careful where you take them.  Trust: be careful not to betray it"

"You  have to learn to interact in a way congruent with their nature.  The less you can be human.....the better off you will be"

"There is a difference between being particular and being picky"

"I can't make you stay, but I'm going to make it difficult for you to go"

"All you are doing is making it difficult to be where they are...you are not making them"

"Do less sooner vs. more latter"

"When do you discipline a horse?  After they do something wrong?  When I see something going wrong, I try to head if off"

"Until the basics are right, you can't go on"

"It is never a democracy: on a bad day it is a dictatorship, on a good day it is an enlightened monarchy"

My all time favorite:
One of the participants that was having issues with her horse asked Buck, "Is she spoiled or is she frightened?"
Buck: "I don't care"
He did not care why the horse was doing what it was doing....he just needed to help the horse stop that behavior.

Most of what Buck talked about was RESPECT and TRUST.  He said both had to be earned and once earned, to be careful not to betray them. 

Its funny how much of what went "wrong" was because of the human...the horse was just doing what was allowed.  The human not seeing the horse's intent and/or not being consistent.  Buck also did some riding and confessed: it takes him a whole lot of time and dedication to get his horse to be the partnership that we saw that day. 

I did not really go out to watch Buck Brannaman to learn much about the specifics of training dogs....it was more a life experience.  I'm thinking if I can work on my skills of observation, reading what is going on with accuracy and learning a little bit of self discipline on the way.....I to can have a deeply rewarding relationship with each of my dogs....but it is going to take some work on my end.  I am the weak link.

I also made a brief list of what I felt the differences were in training up a horse (prey) and a dog (predator).....there are similarities but one has to face the prey drive and natural instinct that the border collie brings to the shepherding.  Those thoughts are worthy of morning discussions around the kitchen table with pots and pots of coffee.

So what did I learn......well, I trialed this weekend at a really fabulous place.  Good, strong sheep.....sheep that are worked well and are smart...they require being moved around, especially on hot afternoons when shade beckons.  I found myself at a hard drive ending at the top of a hill to hit panels with a tractor beam draw to my right that increased, squared by the distance from that top of that darn hill.  The draw, terrain, grass, and suave sheep were all cottoned up in my dog's ears, that and her desire to believe I was very wrong.  I found myself getting angry at her, yelling and creating a huge mass of reactionary craziness....I called my run. How is that for true confessions, JP?  I called my run because of ME!!!!  This journey is more about me.....me getting a hold of myself and finding...well, never mind, it is about me and I'll end it with that.  How can I ever earn my dog's trust when I am not trustworthy??  How can I be respected when I demean?  The journey continues.....my way being molded by opportunities to see how other's have conquered their demons. Thank God for those who share with authenticity and transparency to allow us to conquer our own.

Seize the Day!