the message

How do you like to hear the message about what is true with horses?  Do you like to hear from the famous?  The one who wins the most?  The cutest?  The one with the foreign accent?  The one who charges the most?  The one who charges the least?  The one who compliments and strokes your ego?...OK, you get the picture. 

 I have come to the conclusion that the great horse men and women all arrive at horse truths from different roads, but are basically the same truths.  There is really nothing new in horse training only new human language.  Equipment may be new with a different little twist, but someone, somewhere in time, figured out a similar thing that makes it all basically the same.   Methods were used that suited the time and place, but only the real horsemen and women crossed into the rare zone where understanding is real between the two species.  All horse people want to be knowledgeable and expert about the animals they care for, compete, and use for work; but, there comes a time when they realize they have only scratched the surface when they see what true horsemen and women can do with the horse. 

The movie"The Horse Whisperer" was based on one of the modern true horsemen, Buck Brannaman.  He also consulted with the movie team.  Whatever you may think of the movie and it's storyline, it showed a glimpse of what can be accomplished with communication between the two species.  

Cindy Meehl's 2011 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary film "Buck" is due out next month.  It follows Buck  through the eyes of the Sundance Institue filmaker who just happened to be a horse person and attend one of Buck's clinics eight years ago.  It took her two years, 300 hours of film, and working with talented people to cut to documentary length of 84 minutes.   

Here is the link to the story of how the movie came about and a video of the trailer to see a bit of Buck and his horse logic.  http://www.indiewire.com/article/meet_the_2011_sundance_filmmakers_buck_director_cindy_meehl/ 

I see so much similarity in philosophy to my true horseman and friend, Tom Simmons, that it confirms my conclusion that the great horse men and women are rare but come to know the horse as it truly is.  

Buck says two things in the movie trailer that I have heard before but makes powerful sense.

"A lot of the time, rather than helping people with horse problems, I am helping horses with people problems."

"All your horses are a mirror to your soul; and sometimes, you might not like what you see in the mirror.  You can't hold it against him for how his life has been.  Maybe there are some things for you to learn about you; and, maybe the horse is going to be the only damn way you're gonna learn it."