“Gentle in what you do, Firm in how you do it.”
— Buck Brannaman
“Timing is everything.”
“Your Horse is a mirror to your soul.”
“Well you learn from making mistakes. It’s that simple.”
“When you find that the horse is compelled and interested in you, something in you changes. That can be healing or move you deeply.”
“I’m still on the move, I’m getting better because I’m still studying. I still want to be a better horseman.”
“My work is my play. I found a way to make my passion to be the same as how I make a living.”
“There are things that the horse did for me that a human couldn’t have done.”
“Someone might steal your childhood, but they can’t steal your will. There is a point where you’re given the opportunity in life to stop blaming everyone else and start taking responsibility for your life.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Like Tom Dorrance said, ‘It boiled down to one thing: observe, remember, and compare.’ Do something, observe what you did, remember what you did, compare it to what you were doing before, and adjust.”
“They say nerves heal real slowly. Lots of things about us heal real slowly.”
“Nobody has to lose for me to succeed and that is a unique job. Everybody wins, horse wins, people win, I win.”
“It is all about the quality of the communication, not the quantity.”
“You can’t make something happen with a horse, but you can fix things up and let it happen.”
“You’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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.””
“It’s a matter of timing and of patience. Although it may seem nothing is happening on the surface, there may yet be profound changes occurring a little deeper. Waiting isn’t bad.”
“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.”
“Most people think of a feel as when you touch something or someone and what it feels like to your fingers but, a feel can have a thousand different definitions. Sometimes feel is a mental thing. Sometimes feel can happen clear ’cross the arena. Sort of an invitation from the horse to come to you.”
“A lot of times, rather than helping people with horse problems, I’m helping horses with people problems.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“That absolute pure honesty of the horse, man that’s just the greatest thing there is.”
“Controlling your emotions is the biggest challenge for a horseman.”
“If I had a horse buck with me now, I’m a little disappointed. It’s not the end of the world, but I’m a little disappointed if I couldn’t keep the horse out of trouble, whereas it used to be a source of pride, and now it’s sort of source of shame if I let the horse get lost.”
“The horse saved my life, so that’s kind of why I’ll spend the rest of mine trying to help them.”
“Whether one was going to have a horse, or a dog, or a child, with that comes a great responsibility to raise them.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“All your horse looks for is the thing that matters most, peace and contentment. Give it to him.”
“It’s not about how much pressure you put on, it’s how good you are at taking it off.”
“If you miss the beginning, the basics, then you are destined to go back and visit the basics.”
“Horses are very keen on body language, and what I refer to as “presence”, and expression. They know quite a bit about you before you ever get to ’em. They can read things about you clear across an arena.”
“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.”
“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.”
“The road may bend out of sight at times, but I know what lies ahead: the faraway horses.”
“Whether it’s horses or whatever it is you do, it doesn’t become an art until your soul goes into what you do.”
“Horses are very sensitive and perceptive. You don’t have to be physical with them.”
“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.”
“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.”
“I help horses with people problems.”
“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.”
“Horses and life, it’s all the same to me.”
“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.”
“There are things that change all through your life the way you deal with people, the way you approach problems.”
“My 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“One of the biggest challenges of a horsemen is to be able tot control your emotions.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“There are no problem horses, only problem riders.”
“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!”
“Every time you interact with a horse, you are teaching the horse.”
“Solutions to problems often come from knowing when to ask for help.”
“I just spend my life driving down the road, training horses and helping people.”
“Theoretically the human is supposed to be the smart one so as you get acquainted with the horse, you explore what it’s going to take for him to understand what you would like him do, with as little trouble as possible. You’re trying to avoid conflict, not trying to create it.”
“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.”
“Most people don’t realize how little it takes to get a horse to move.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Don’t get on a horse that’s moving.”
“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.”
“You might measure your approach to a horse the same way as your approach to people because there are going to be some horses, like some people, who might be inclined to tune you out.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Simply put; I’m trying to see what I can get done with the horse without him being troubled about doing it.”
“I take the horsemanship very seriously and I treat it with the same integrity that one would any of the fine arts.”
“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.””
“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.”
“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.”
“Horses are incredibly forgiving. They fill in places we’re not capable of filling ourselves.”
“Doing something right once in a while will far surpass anything done wrong more often.”
We're on a mission of turning inspiring quotes into beautiful wallpapers. Start your week with a motivational kick. Don't miss out on our next weekly batch.
Join 48,000+ other people and subscribe to Quotefancy Weekly Digest.
