Buck Brannaman Quotes & Sayings

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 see a horse that's troubled, you sort of feel sorry for them, yet that doesn't mean that you wouldn't still ask the horse to behave and find a way to fit in and respond to you as well. — Buck Brannaman

Not all horses are going to be show jumpers, not all horses are going to be dressage horses. So you have to sort of find where the horse physically fits into what might suit him, but all horses can be comfortable and all horses can have good, solid fundamentals. — Buck Brannaman

I'm just trying to get people to understand horses. You have to be consistent and logical, use your brain, and not be emotional and not lose your temper. — Buck Brannaman

The horse is a mirror to your soul ... and sometimes you might not like what you see in the mirror. — Buck Brannaman

The comforting thing to the horse is, is as you become more and more accurate, he knows you're aware of him, and pretty soon because of that he's aware of you more and more of the time. — Buck Brannaman

You want your kids to feel happy and good about themselves. The rest they'll work out on their own. You never know what your kids will be drawn to. — Buck Brannaman

My expertise lies in what I've devoted my life to. I wouldn't pretend to be a great gift to any other animal. My interest has always been in the horses. — Buck Brannaman

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

The road may bend out of sight at times, but I know what lies ahead: the faraway horses. — Buck Brannaman

My daughter's all grown up now compared to what she was, but I used to say, I've got to have my horse to where if she's leading my horse somewhere, and she's got a big armload of Barbies and drops something out of her hand, that son of a buck ought to stop and respect her while she's gathering up all her dolls and not to walk on her or take advantage of her. And if I've done my work right, by gosh, that's what they'll do. — Buck Brannaman

I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does. This method works well for me because of the kinship that develops between horse and rider. — Buck Brannaman

Horses aren't lazy and they're not greedy and they're not jealous and they're not spiteful, they're not hateful. They're not that way. But the human can sometimes only describe a horse in the way that they view other human beings. — Buck Brannaman

It's not about how much pressure you put on, it's how good you are at taking it off. — 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

There is something in the human psyche that there is a connection between horses and humans, a real special kind of a thing, and I guess it's always been there. I hope it will always be there, I hope we don't evolve past that. — Buck Brannaman

Horses don't think the same as humans. Something that's most unique about the horse, that I love, is not what he possesses but what he doesn't possess. And that is greed, spite, hate, jealousy, envy, prejudice. The horse doesn't possess any of those things. If you think about people, the least desirable people to be around usually possess some or all of those things. And the way God made the horse, he left that out. — Buck Brannaman

Think of the horse as your partner.and it's all one great dance.
That's not to say it's always going to be easy or you won't have to work through issues.
But when a horse is troubled or uncomfortable in our world, rather than show contempt for him, you must demonstrate empathy and work to convince him that you mean him no harm.
You have some things that you'd like him to do 'with you', as opposed to 'for you'- and the best way to do that is as partners. — Buck Brannaman

One of the biggest challenges of a horsemen is to be able tot control your emotions. — Buck Brannaman

I just spend my life driving down the road, training horses and helping people. — 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 is a great equalizer, he doesn't care how good looking you are, or how rich you are or how powerful you are
he takes you for how you make him feel. — Buck Brannaman

It's amazing what a healing effect horses can have on kids, particularly troubled kids, that might bridge the gap that a well-intended human just can't do. — Buck Brannaman

That's my credo - My work is play. I don't complain about work. I enjoy it. I like the feeling of being able to lay down at night and you're so doggone tired, you're just hoping to get undressed before you fall asleep. — Buck Brannaman

There's a difference between mastering something physical and working with an animal. There's a spiritual component to working with a horse. You're dealing with the spirit of a live animal that thinks and makes decisions. — Buck Brannaman

Whether one was going to have a horse, or a dog, or a child, with that comes a great responsibility to raise them. — Buck Brannaman

Your Horse is a mirror to your soul. — Buck Brannaman

I often tell people that I truly want the horse to be my feet and legs. I want to be an extension of the horse and him to be an extension of me. That's what I'm always working toward when I'm on a horse. — Buck Brannaman

You can't make something happen with a horse, but you can fix things up and let it happen. — Buck Brannaman

I don't want the horse to get trained, because training the horse is absolutely finite. But if you get the horse to where he operates as if to be your legs, an extension of you, you've far-exceeded that whole training notion. — Buck Brannaman

If you miss the beginning, the basics, then you are destined to go back and visit the basics. — Buck Brannaman

You get that horse to really operate as if he's your legs and you can take that anywhere you want. You can dress up in any kind of clothes you like. You can be a jumper, dressage rider, trail rider, cowboy, anything. — Buck Brannaman

Kind of where you end up your ride on a horse is so important. It's a little bit like when you guys were younger & you were dating, that last two minutes of the date can be a real deal breaker. With these horses it's the same thing you know? You got to quit on a good note. — Buck Brannaman

With the horses, you can't let them call the shot part of the time and then you call the shot part of the time. They're not really designed to be your leader, but they can be a great partner, but you need to lead, and they need to respect you and respond with respect. Don't think of respect as a dirty word. You need to respect them as well. — Buck Brannaman

In nature this animal would have nothing to do with you. "Natural horsemanship" is just words. It's not natural at all. There's an abundance of trust that must be developed for you. Imagine if humans were that pliable. — Buck Brannaman

That absolute pure honesty of the horse, man that's just the greatest thing there is — Buck Brannaman

Once you have seen quality horsemanship and are exposed to the things you can do to help a horse be gentle and dependable, then why wouldn't you do those things? No matter what your horse's age, you are going to try to offer him the best that you can. If you adjust what you are doing, he will adjust too; horses have an amazing capacity to make changes. There is always hope. — Buck Brannaman

I'm not trying to turn you into cowboys, I'm just trying to get you better coordinated, get your horse used to things, get your horse comfortable.
Heck, on the first ride you should be swinging a rope off a horse. You should be doing this not so you can rope a cow, but just to get him (your horse) gentle.
You can't think of everything in life your horse might encounter that might make him afraid so you'd better prepare em for it in other ways. — Buck Brannaman

Anytime 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 Brannaman

When riding, ask yourself what will my horse get out of it if I get what I want? Many times, human nature is to take and to not give anything back. — Buck Brannaman

Timing is everything. — Buck Brannaman

Don't be a victim. Be busy with your horse so you stay out of trouble - otherwise, trouble will come and find you", Brannaman would say. "Be assertive but don't be aggressive, if you are aggressive you'll make the horse flighty. The horse needs perimeters like anyone else. Give them guidance, support, rules. The same rules. Don't change the game. Don't let them have excuses just cause of their past. And love them. — Buck Brannaman

Solutions to problems often come from knowing when to ask for help. — Buck Brannaman

I realized that there are some things about all of us, no matter where we're from, that connects us as humans. We're looking for the same sorts of contentment in our lives and while some people are searching a little harder than others, we're not all that different. — Buck Brannaman

Once I get the horse where he's responding and working for ya and has a good frame of mind and a good attitude, it's not just the horse that needs fixing. It's the human that needs fixing and it's the human that created that in the first place. — Buck Brannaman

I've always wanted to do the right thing by a horse, that's never changed, its just that as my knowledge grew I've been able to offer the horse a better human being, as time has gone on. — Buck Brannaman

In life, we don't know why things happen. I believe God is not responsible for the bad things that happen to you. Sometimes I think He's responsible for the good things, but sometimes it's something you shape up for yourself. — Buck Brannaman

If the human isn't responsible for their role in the horse human relationship, horses just don't get along very well. So that's why I say it's all about the human meeting the bill to fit the horse in any given situation. But don't expect the horse to always fit the human. — Buck Brannaman

You can accomplish amazing things with this if you have a passion and you work hard - I just think it's a cop out to say 'I wasn't born with this, so it's OK if I fail'. You can make up the difference with hard work and devotion. — Buck Brannaman

Gentle in what you do, Firm in how you do it — Buck Brannaman

Horses and life, it's all the same to me. — Buck Brannaman

If I heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times from Ray Hunt. He said 'make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy'. Then he said 'but don't make the wrong thing impossible'. Well ... you learn from making mistakes. It's that simple. — Buck Brannaman

I'm still on the move, I'm getting better because I'm still studying. I still want to be a better horseman. — Buck Brannaman

With a horse, if you make it easy for him to do the right thing, that's what he will logically do, but it's not necessarily true with the human. You will see humans that will beat their heads against the wall rather than open the door and walk through it. — Buck Brannaman

A lot of times, rather than helping people with horse problems, I'm helping horses with people problems. — 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

With the horse I always consider that if I do too much in too little time and I'm not patient, he's gonna shut down and I won't get anything done. — 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

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

When you first get started, you're the only one with a vision. When you become creative and use your imagination, pretty soon the things you imagined, you can get done. If you got a taste of it, if you got a taste of what I'm talking about, you'd rather do that than eat. You couldn't get enough of it. You'll hunger for it the rest of your life. — Buck Brannaman

Everything you do with a horse is a dance, — Buck Brannaman

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 Brannaman

The horse saved my life, so that's kind of why I'll spend the rest of mine trying to help them. — 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 horse can have a job and not be a slave. He can look forward to it and enjoy it. That's the same for me. — Buck Brannaman

I don't believe in waiting for a horse to do the wrong thing and then punishing him after the fact. You can't just say no to a horse. You have to redirect a negative behavior with a positive one, something that works for both of you. It's as though you're saying - instead of doing that, we can do this together. — Buck Brannaman

I take the horsemanship very seriously and I treat it with the same integrity that one would any of the fine arts. — 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

Simply put; I'm trying to see what I can get done with the horse without him being troubled about doing it. — Buck Brannaman

Discipline isn't a dirty word. Far from it. Discipline is the one thing that separates us from chaos and anarchy. Discipline implies timing. It's the precursor to good behavior, and it never comes from bad behavior. People who associate discipline with punishment are wrong: with discipline, punishment is unnecessary. — Buck Brannaman

The horse needs to respect you, but sometimes people confuse respect & fear. And they're not the same at all. — Buck Brannaman

It is all about the quality of the communication, not the quantity. — Buck Brannaman

Controlling your emotions is the biggest challenge for a horseman. — Buck Brannaman

Horses are incredibly forgiving. They fill in places we're not capable of filling ourselves. — Buck Brannaman

You have to plan ahead so that rather then seek revenge for the horse's misbehavior, you see his aggressive behavior shaping up and can redirect it. You change his mind before he's acted and move on to something else. — Buck Brannaman

The horse can just be a great vehicle for some people to overcome things in their life that they might not be able to overcome otherwise. — 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

There are things that the horse did for me that a human couldn't have done. — Buck Brannaman

All your horse looks for is the thing that matters most, peace and contentment. Give it to him. — Buck Brannaman

Don't get on a horse that's moving. — Buck Brannaman

There have been so many times over the years where people have said "Man, I thought I was just coming to this deal to get a little handier with my horse" and I'll say "Well, in the beginning, I thought that's all you were coming for too. But it turns out it's about something else." — Buck Brannaman

They say nerves heal real slowly. Lots of things about us heal real slowly. — Buck Brannaman

And for a lot of people, they want it all to be fuzzy and warm and cosmic, but it's no different with a horse than with a kid ... You can't always be the kid's best friend. First you have to be the parent. — Buck Brannaman

There are things that change all through your life the way you deal with people, the way you approach problems. — Buck Brannaman

It's a process and it's a matter of understanding the horse and through any of these little projects you have a beginning, a middle and an end. And if you made up your mind early when he's still scared, you'd think that wasn't working at all. Sometimes it might get darker, before it gets dawn. You might have to work at it a little bit in order for it to come out the other side. — Buck Brannaman

By the time you've had a relationship with a horse for a while, there are characteristics in the way the horse behaves with you and around you and responds to you that are directly (related) to some of your traits as a human being ... whether it's insecurity or aggression or fear or hate. — Buck Brannaman

That's the cool thing about horses - they don't have prejudice. They don't care if you're tall or thin or if you're dark or if you're light, or if you're rich or you're poor, if you're handsome or not so handsome. — Buck Brannaman

As far as horses go, people will ask about one breed versus another. I have to tell you, I really don't have any prejudice one way or another. I treat every horse at face value, how he/she is as an individual. — Buck Brannaman

As a rider, you must slowly and methodically show your horse what is appropriate. You also have to discourage what's inappropriate, not by making the inappropriate impossible, but by making it difficult so that the horse himself chooses appropriate behavior. You can't choose it for him; you can only make it difficult for him to make the wrong choices. If, however, you make it impossible for him to make the wrong choices, you're making war. — 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

My work is my play. I found a way to make my passion to be the same as how I make a living. — Buck Brannaman

I often tell people in the clinics, the human possesses the one thing that means more to the horse than anything in the world, and that is peace and comfort, — Buck Brannaman

Theoretically, 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 Brannaman

You don't have contempt for a horse that's troubled. Everybody has baggage, everybody has things that they've had to deal with in their life, and it can be something positive depending on how you use it. — Buck Brannaman

Someone who doesn't know anything about the ways of the horse could be fooled into thinking the approach is all cosmic or mystical. It's not. Anybody can do it who has a passion to do it and has put in enough time. These people are horsemen and horsewomen, not whisperers. — Buck Brannaman

Every time you interact with a horse, you are teaching the horse. — 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

A horse that has made a positive change in his behavior needs an opportunity to 'soak', to concentrate on & digest what he has learned. He needs his quiet time. Given this opportunity, his response will be better the next time you work with him. — Buck Brannaman

Whether it's horses or whatever it is you do, it doesn't become an art until your soul goes into what you do. — Buck Brannaman

Horses are very sensitive and perceptive. You don't have to be physical with them. — Buck Brannaman