Sunday, September 6th
I missed the first hour but asked what had transpired and was told that Buck was working on roping the hind foot of the black colt.
Buck was holding the black colt's left hind leg out using a rope and he had Kip, his assistant, stroking the colt's bottom. Buck said that this foot work could be done on a weanling on foot for halter breaking.
Buck pointed out the human thought/cause/effect process with a colt. "By having the foot not roped, the human approaches thinking he might be kicked. The horse sees the human as sneaking up, feels this is suspicious, predatory behavior. Then the horse is sure that he needs to kick."
Buck said that horses should be handled all over and be comfortable with the human touch. Many overlook the legs. "A lot of horses are funny about being touched on their legs, versus their feet." If the horse can't stand to have its legs handled, it may seem that it doesn't want its feet handled.
"A shoer is a horseman, so he(she) should be able to help a marginal horse. But the owner is responsible, too."
Buck noted that what he and Kip were doing was teaching the colt that it could stand on three feet. The person who handles and touches the leg doesn't touch the rope.
"You can have all kinds of control from a hind foot. Much more so than from the horse's head."
"If the horse is real impatient, pick up a hind foot first. It helps get to the mind of the horse quicker."
Buck was mounted again by this time and was spinning and backing his mare as he spoke.
"There are three ways to back with the halter rope:
1) with your thumb down and at the knot under the horse's chin
2)with a wiggle of the lead line or a coil flipped down it
3)the left hand blocks left while the right hand tugs from the
position that it would be in from the saddle (checking back from
alongside standing at the shoulder).
Buck said that all groundwork should be done from both sides, including leading left-handed.
If a horse gets ahead of you when leading (tries to run over), then lead him through, break him over behind, send him across and break him over behind to lead through and set up the correct position again.
For a suspicious horse, work on setting the head down (versus up in alarm mode) and rubbing with it down.
Buck then got the bay filly. He led her across, stepped her over behind and tossed the end of the lead on the saddle softly. He flagged her body, checking for spots that bothered her and checked the saddle cinches.
He bent the filly's neck to the left and got on half way. From there, he cupped her shoulder with his hand.
"This bothers her. We need to work it out," he said. He flopped the coils of his rope after he mounted all the way. The filly broke into a trot, bothered. Buck noted that she was holding tension in her back. He kept her busy doing things, away from the black gelding.
Buck picked up his flag and touched the filly's shoulders, right, left. Then her front end. She reared up a little. He rubbed her face. Then immediately went back to her left shoulder, which bothered her.
"When a horse says, 'Get away from there,' that's where you need to work," Buck said. He angled his flag back towards the bay filly's hindquarters, driving with the flag.
Instantly, he was riding a bucking bronc. This lasted for several minutes. Sad that video isn't allowed, because Buck made it look easy.
Buck then took his flag to the filly's right shoulder. She reared up and tried to strike it. He got her through her concern for the flag and ended up with the flag draped over her face, the filly standing calmly, accepting it. He was really whipping the flag back and forth, to get her through it. He pressed on her eyes with the flag. When he had the flag in front of her left eye, he grabbed the cantle in the right rear for balance. The nightlatch can be used, too.
"If you get the groundwork done, grandma could ride this horse," Buck commented. He repeatedly pressed on the filly's eyes, left and right, went down the nose and stroked her neck, praising her when she made it.
Someone asked a question. "If a horse bucks and you stay on, does that shut them down from bucking?" "Not necessarily," Buck replied. "Whether you're off or on, doesn't matter. What does is the frame of mind of the horse when it is over. You have to keep the horse's expression SOFT. This is the goal. Don't quit the horse when the expression is poor."
"If you get a change to aggression from the horse, then it is getting into fear. Then you ease off some, but don't quit."
Buck talked about using older horses to help younger, newer horses. "Watch the young horses with older horses when you turn them out. The older horses follow through.
Someone asked what to do if you have cranky horses in your herd. "Get them not cranky to ride. Get them to be passive with you," Buck said.
He took his coils off the saddle and rubbed the filly on her bottom, shoulder, flanks, then flopped the coils on his chaps, making noise. Then he built a loop and swung it, asking her feet to go. He let the loop settle over her hind end and let her wear it. Then he coiled and swung the loop overhead and to each side, getting her used to all angles. Buck recoiled his rope and pulled, jumping the hondo up. He let the rope touch the area of her right shoulder that had been bothersome. She was OK with it now.
He did a one rein stop, commenting that "you want the legs straight at the end of a one rein stop."
Buck was about finished with this filly. He was about to turn her over to her owner, to go for a ride. "Don't lope her any great distance. Just make sure you get there."
"On a green one, give a bit of an arc to help create the lead you're looking for."
He checked the filly out one last time, flexing her neck right and left, rubbing her face. He rubbed the top of her tail. Backed her. Stopped with two reins. Asked for a soft feel. Backed some more. Asked for forward movement. Stopped. Turned her over to her owner.
Next...the black gelding on Sunday.
Barbara & Duke
Sunday, September 6th
The black gelding
Buck remarked that it was "OK to grab the mane with the left hand when mounting. I spread my hand onto the back of the cantle. It helps if there is a cheyenne roll on the saddle, and grab the mane. Don't get on from the flank of a green colt. Always mount colts from the shoulder for safety."
Buck checked the black gelding out by cupping him with his hand. The gelding was sensitive inside its hind legs.
"If you notice a horse kicking with its hind legs at this, then it would be an ideal candidate to lead with the rope at its flank."
He added, "If you know there is a problem like this and you leave it in there, then it grows and gets more and more until it is unmanageable. Eventually, you'll get backed into a corner(and have to face it). When you let it go that long, you're in danger."
Someone asked if an older horse could be helped.
"The age of the horse doesn't matter. You can help all ages. 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'? Whoever made that up was an old dog that wasn't progressive!"
"Of course, you must judge where your experience level is versus what you can handle."
What followed was what I call "Horse Church." Never fails in the BB clinics that I've seen, that some sort of sermon gets delivered on a Sunday, just so we don't feel like heathens.
Buck began to discuss working with mustangs. There was an auditor present that had handled many and was seeking a new way. The cowboy admitted sending many he couldn't handle to the butcher. I felt the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
"Feral horses," Buck said, "can buck, strike, kick, run off with you. Only the government could give somebody a product like that as a cheap bargain and get away with it. Anybody else would be sued. The BLM slaps a halter on them and leaves it on. I've seen mustangs with sores from wearing it.The BLM squeeze shoot didn't work. The poor horse--they headed it, heeled it, let its head smack the ground. A real wreck to see. They are very dangerous." (Wasn't sure if this meant the BLM, the mustangs, or the squeeze shoots. Probably all of the above.)
"Mind you, the horses themselves are fine. As a wild animal. But look for a good ride, versus a bargain. I've never turned a horse away from any of my clinics. But if you're going to learn, learn around gentle horses. Professional horsemen can get mustangs very soft, softer than a domestic horse. But mustangs vary a lot. A one thousand pound mustang is a HUGE horse. Many desert mustangs weigh around five hundred pounds."
"Give domestic horses some credit. We've been breeding them for thousands of years. And they're better now than ever in the history of the world."
"Safety is half of my deal. Anything you get beyond that is a bonus." Buck turned and eyed the crowd.
"How many of you are here because there is an element of danger with your horse?" He chuckled at the number of unraised hands. "Those of you who didn't raise your hands, how many of you want to come and ride Blackie here?" (Blackie, for his part, was snorting and quivering in the corner, eyeing Buck.)
Buck then addressed his attentions to "Blackie," the black gelding. He asked the black gelding to drive to the right. It tried an inside turn in the opposite direction. Buck blocked it and sent it on. "This helps troubled, disrespectful horses," he said. He drew Blackie by stepping back to the right. Blackie hooked on, so Buck then stepped to the left to get the gelding's hindquarters to break over. The gelding hung in there with Buck, staying squared up and straight. He did NOT want Buck on his left side.
Buck noted that if he moved out, he could get to the left side and that Blackie wasn't using his left eye. "That could get you bucked off. Not using an eye is trouble for the horse."
Buck placed his left hand fingertips into the gelding's neck to get its hind feet to step over. He rubbed when the horse made the movement. He used the coils of his rope at the colt's eye, making it use its left eye. Blackie kept trying to switch to his right eye.
Buck placed his hand behind the gelding's cheek and flexed his neck, asking for several pivots of the hindquarters, then tipped the front end through. Then he stepped back and drew Blackie to him.
"Compare sides when you do this," he said. "One side will be better. When he moves his hindquarters, make sure you rub him and release to reward. Do this before you ever halter a horse."
"A wild horse will stand broadside to you, so it can see you. It'll never put its butt to you unless its at a high lope in the opposite direction."
Blackie was now switching eyes at a closer distance. Buck petted his head, then put his fingers on the left side of the gelding's neck to get its hindquarters to step over. "Notice I am putting my fingertips in deep and moving them back and forth. I want this to mean something to him."
"When a horse gets lost, then it is scared to move its feet." After the gelding came across, he licked his lips. Buck stroked his nose. "Once you get the hindquarters over softly, then take the head across and out the other side."
"Blinking and lip licking is a sign that he's letting down."
"I like to touch a horse lightly down the forehead. If I can do that, I know I'm getting a lot of trust, because that is a blind spot."
The amount of pressure applied by the fingertips depends on the horse's feet movements.
Blackie made a disrespectful move. Buck scuffed dirt at him, sending him off into a trot which led to a lope. He let Blackie work it out and then drew him. Blackie was slightly crooked. "If off one way or another, then they are hard to touch. If they stop square, then you can touch them."
He wanted the gelding to differentiate--make a separation--between stroking and standing and touching and moving his hindquarters.
"If he lowers his head when you move in behind, that is what you want." Buck worked the gelding, driving without reins. He would pet the gelding when it got lost or unsure.
"If he moves faster, then slow down. Driving without reins helps with bronciness. The horse has to check back with the driver and feel back."
"If a horse is hooking on and coming in with ears laid back, then it is challenging you and you should send it off again with vigor. Don't get upset, though. Do something about it and don't let it get out of hand."
Buck told how they got the shot of Pilgrim standing in the field with Robert Redford for the "Horse Whisperer" movie. The grass was tall enough that someone laid in the grass, holding a hoof, keeping him there. They would release him and he'd move towards Redford, "who looked as good as any other human." Buck's horse was used for this sequence. In the afternoon, Buck mounted the black gelding and flexed him to the right and left, getting its hindquarters to step over. He then took his rope off the saddle, built a loop and swung. He tossed the loop out and dragged it alongside the gelding, recoiled the rope, built another loop and tipped it to the right, left and flat overhead. He let the loop settle over the gelding's rear and let him wear it.
"If a horse has problems backing circles, then back him, roll him over behind, back him and roll him over behind. Roll overs are a FORWARD move. The combinations of movements can be difficult, so break it down." Buck was on the black gelding about forty-five minutes.
Buck got on the bay mare and had Kip on Blackie. Buck led Blackie across and back. He backed the mare, did one rein stops and touched Blackie's rump.
"A finished horse is a horse that makes a green person look good," he remarked.
"Don't take the reins across the mane with the bit hand."
That said, Buck grabbed his flag and flagged Kip on Blackie, first the hind end, then the front around. "When flagging the hindquarters, keep the bend in the neck for the front to come through. If you lose that bend, you will build a brace in the horse. Don't do it!"
Left rein being applied, then flag from the right hip, then get the front end across. Right rein, flag from left hip, then get the front end across.
Hold the flag like a tennis racquet. "You don't want them dead to the flag."
Second bay mare... "For a horse that runs over you, then break them over behind, bring the front across, etc. but send them back and set it up again each time."
At this point, Buck had the riders on their colts, all milling around the round pen.
"You guys can start heeling each other's horses now," he smiled. They all pulled their ropes off their saddles, built loops, and started tossing them under each other's horse's feet. Buck watched with admiration. These colts had come through so much. "Try not to dally," he smiled.
They ended up going off in the pasture on a graduation ride.
HORSEMANSHIP
"When you reach for your horse, they should melt into your hands. A soft
feel should be second nature."
"Don't let your horse stop heavy on the forehand. Do a lot of backing to get softness, if you need to."
TO GET THE FRONT END ACROSS FROM THE SADDLE:
1)Direct
2)Weight shift
3)Support
Go slow! Do not allow the horse to anticipate. The horse should go as far as you ask and no more. To move the front end across, the entire weight of the horse must shift back. Feet bearing no weight will move. Hold and wait. Do not drag the horses across. It won't work if you try to hurry the horse.
1)Bend
2)Shift(weight)back. Inside front leg becomes active.
3)Support
This helps the horse separate between its hind and front quarters.
The reins are used to rock the weight back, not to turn the horse. If its weight is back, then it can turn.
When you open up the reins, then the inside front leg goes. When you open up, then present the supporting rein. It is a type of neck reining, with proper movement.
"Greener snaffle bit horses will put their noses out. Reinforce the softness when you're done."
Both reins have equal pressure. If feet move (anticipation), go back to initial bending. Ask for nose down and in and rock back until lightness occurs after every time.
"You should do a lot of taking the horse's head around until it is given lightly."
FLAG RIDING
As the horse's inside front leg strikes the ground, then you can flag at
the inside eye to get the front end across.
On a green horse, hold the flag up. You can hold it lower on a more finished horse.
A nice back up reinforces softness.
"If you're absolutely sure your horse has rocked its weight back, then you can gently apply leg at the cinch."
"If you can back circles with one hand, then you can get a lot done with the horse.
Walk a serpentine with a loose rein. Use leg and rein.
Right leg back to move hindquarters over. Then release. Left leg back to move hindquarters over. Then release.
If the horse walks ahead, take a soft feel and maybe, a few steps back.
Pet them and sit a moment when the hindquarters move over.
Turn left, then right. Rock the horse's weight back and forth without stepping forward.
If you roll your heel into the horse's ribs he should move away from it.
If you roll your heel away, then he should move back towards it.
There are two ways to move the hindquarters:
1)get a soft feel and move with a bend of the neck or
2)use no rein and use leg only
"After your turn, get a soft feel and back them up."
Take the front quarters 90 degrees to the right.
The hindquarters 90 degrees to the left.
The hindquarters 90 degrees to the right.
The front quarters 90 degrees to the left.
"Rock them back and forth about fifteen times without moving their feet. Rocking back and forth without moving their feet gets softness to carry through the body."
"Ask for placement of the front feet, right, then left, right, then left. Open up with your hand and let your leg shift their weight across. Your leg should approximately be on the front cinch, well forward of the spot that moves the hindquarters."
Transcribed and posted with Mr. Brannaman's permission
Barbara & Duke
NOTE: No commercial use of posts without author's written permission.