Watching Buck ride and work with horses for so many hours over the last year and a half is a double edged sword. It makes me better because I have been able to see in 3D what I'm after. (And yes...I've gotten to ask him a million questions.) My results with my horses have gone through the roof. I never dreamed I'd be able to understand what I understand now and be able to do what I can do. Its torturous though, because he gets changes so quickly that I often try not to blink when he has his hands on a horse.
Its taken me a while to accept, but, getting the horse centered emotionally, physically and spiritually can still take me a while. If that's what I'm after then, it is what it is. What takes Buck 5 minutes to help the horse find, might take me 5 weeks or even 5 months depending on what the goal is and of course where the horse is at to start.
The time it takes is directly related to skill and experience. We all know that the better the horseman, the better their timing and the faster a horse can change. And I mean really change. Change on the inside. In the end that's what makes the horse's outside results consistent.
I can't magically speed up the process. The only way to do that is to study hard and to practice which takes...time! I need to just be grateful for the opportunity to learn what real quality is....what true unity looks like. Better yet, a little bit at a time, I'm getting to feel it.
The rub is that I can't settle for anything less. A canter depart is not just a canter depart. A back up is not just a back up. Standing still isn't even standing still to me anymore!! It has to feel turned loose for me to be satisfied. Thanks a lot Brannaman.
Its ok though. I'm accepting it. It takes as long as it takes. Which is longer than Buck. But I'm hunting the same feel he has and that is what is important to me.
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