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Buck Brannaman

Buck Brannaman Quotes

Horse trainer

Buck Brannaman is a renowned horse trainer known for his gentle and effective methods. Born on January 29, 1962, he has a deep passion for horses since childhood. Brannaman's training philosophy emphasizes building trust and communication with horses, which is applicable not only to horse racing but also to the daily care and training of horses.

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All Horse Ifs People Humans Thinking Way Littles Might Needs Wells Done Trying Want Knows Feels Helping Matter Mean Sometimes Able

Famous Buck Brannaman Quotes

“Everything you do with a horse is a dance.”

Author:Buck Brannaman

“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.”

Way Trying Mind May Whole Body Figures Horse Train Good Things Whole Life Chasing

Author:Buck Brannaman

“I help horses with people problems”

People Helping Problem Horse

Author: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.”

Feels Care Animal Powerful Rich Horse Looking Good Not Caring Horsemen Equalizer Equestrian He Doesn't Care

Author: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.”

People Might Able Overcoming Horse Vehicle

Author: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.”

Thinking Needs Wells Leader Shots Horse Partners Dirty Dirty Words

Author:Buck Brannaman

“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.”

Knows Body Language Bits Animal Knowing Clear Expression Horse Ems Arena Referring Body Language Your Presence Keenness

Author:Buck Brannaman

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

People Needs Sometimes Horse

Author: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.”

Ifs I Can Humanity Can Do Responsibility Horse Best Things

Author: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.”

Needs Mind Firsts Humans Attitude Horse Responding Fixing Frame Of Mind Good Attitude

Author:Buck Brannaman

“There are things that the horse did for me that a human couldn't have done.”

Humans Done Horse

Author:Buck Brannaman

“The horse is so honest.... they live in the moment. And what they do, whether they need to protect themselves or whether they need to accept you really is directly relative to how you make them feel.”

Needs Feels Moments Accepting Honest Protect Horse Relative Live In The Moment

Author: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.”

Ifs Want Whole Training Horse Notion Legs Extensions Finite Exceed

Author: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.”

Knows Kind Littles Two Important Real Ends Lasts Guy Bits Deals Minutes Little Bit Dating Horse Notes Quitting

Author:Buck Brannaman

“The horse saved my life, so that's kind of why I'll spend the rest of mine trying to help them.”

Trying Kind Helping Mines Horse Saved

Author: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.”

Shows Might Fit Comfortable Horse Fundamentals Suits Jumpers Physically Fit Dressage

Author: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.”

Art Soul Horse Your Soul

Author:Buck Brannaman

“Nobody has to lose for me to succeed and that is a unique job. Everybody wins, horse wins, people win, I win.”

People Jobs Winning Loses Succeed Unique Horse

Author:Buck Brannaman

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

People Helping Problem Horse Helping People

Author: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.”

People Want Firsts Different Kids Parent Horse Warm Cosmic Fuzzy

Author: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.”

Ifs Trying Matter Helping Age Can Do Quality Offers Capacity Horse No Matter What Gentle Exposed Making Changes Dependable Horsemanship

Author: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.”

Humans Wells Might Kids Healing Effects Horse Bridges Gaps

Author: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.”

Ifs Humans Easy Walks Doors Wall Beats Horse Right Thing

Author: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.”

Ifs Matter Done Chance Quality Communication Horse Quantity Riders Interacting Mailboxes

Author: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.”

Needs Made Next Opportunity Given Quiet Behavior Horse Response Next Time Positive Change Quiet Time

Book:Faraway Horses: The Adventures and Wisdom of One of America's Most Renowned Horsemen

Source: Faraway Horses: The Adventures and Wisdom of One of America's Most Renowned Horsemen

“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.”

Ifs World Littles Ends Used Lost Trouble Source Pride Horse Shame Used To Be Disappointed End Of The World Bucks

Author:Buck Brannaman

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

Trying I Can Done Horse

Author: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.”

Ifs Thinking Mind Littles Made Stills Ends Sometimes Matter Might Order Bits Process Understanding Sides Middle Projects Little Bit Horse Scared Dawn

Author: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.”

Way Feels Wells Mean Stills Asks Fit Horse Sorry Behave

Author: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.”

Humans Doe Different Happens Mistake Horse Making Mistakes Dread Learning From Mistakes

Author: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.”

Ifs Humans Wells Given Situation Roles Fit Horse Responsible Bills Meetings Human Relations Human Relationships

Author: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.”

Thinking Want Needs Enough Energy Attention Movement Quiet Draws Negative Direct Horse Trade Checks Fidgeting

Author:Buck Brannaman

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

Author:Buck Brannaman

“Most people don't realize how little it takes to get a horse to move.”

People Littles Moving Realizing Horse

Author:Buck Brannaman

“On a horse there is a perfect position of balance where he doesn't feel like he's pushing you along with him or dragging you along with him. It's like two converging currents in a river, where those currents converge, there is a point where there is no movement, no energy; and that's what you're thinking when you're on the back of a horse.”

Thinking Feels Two Energy Perfect Movement Position Balance Rivers Horse Currents Pushing No Energy

Author: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.”

Humans Kind Real Past Special Connections Horse Evolve Human Psyche

Author: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.”

Ifs Littles Done Too Much Horse Down And Patient Little Time

Author: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.”

Believe Facts Together Waiting Can Do Behavior Negative Horse Don't Believe Wrong Things Just Say No Negative Behavior

Author: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.”

People Thinking Knows Way Enough Passion Can Do Approach Horse Cosmic Mystical Enough Time Fooled Horsemen

Author:Buck Brannaman

About the Author

Born: January 29, 1962
Known for: Horse trainer
Quotes: 125

Related Topics

Horse Ifs People Humans Thinking Way Littles Might Needs Wells Done Trying Want Knows Feels Helping Matter Mean Sometimes Able

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Books & Sources

Faraway Horses: The Adventures and Wisdom of One of America's Most Renowned HorsemenRelated source material

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