What do you love?

It's time to get back to what this blog is about:  Horses.  I love 'em.  I know that whole "student of the horse" thing is a little corny, but heck, it's true and it's just how I feel.

I just got done watching the Buck movie again (because it's a brilliant way to put off packing!).

There's a part of the movie that I really loved. 

Buck is standing there with a mecate (a twisted horsehair rope) strung from his hand to the hand of a volunteer.

He starts by telling the guy that's he's going to put about 20 pounds of pressure on the rope, like you would do to take a hold on a horse's bridle rein.  "Don't let me pull it out of your hands," he says.

He starts by taking a firm, tactful hold on his end of the rope, and applying steady pressure until he reaches 20 pounds.  The volunteer reacts by calmly adjusting to the pressure.

Buck does this a couple of times, both parties are calm, and no one is upset.

Then Buck jerks his end of the rope to get up to the same amount of pressure.  The poor guy flinches, braces, and is almost pulled off his feet.

After just a couple times of this, the volunteer is really on edge.  After just a couple of times of Buck yanking the rope, the guy is flinching every time Buck even picks up the other end of the rope.

He just can't help himself.

And for God's sakes, neither can your horse!

I remember I had a trainer back when I was young who had a huge impact on me.

She was a highly skilled woman, with a Dressage background and an understanding of the nonverbal.

She was always telling me to "tactfully take up the reins".

I heard that so many times that it became entirely engrained in me.  I think every time I take hold of the reins, I hear her in the back of my head.

The demonstration Buck gave illustrates her point exactly.  There are always a lot of ways to get something done, but it should always be done with tact.

If you need to take hold of the reins (and we all do, sometimes in less-than-ideal circumstances), you have a choice.

You can do it tactfully, or not.

And boy, you can sure tell a horse who hasn't been handled tactfully!  Just like the poor guy in the demonstration, it only takes a couple of hard yanks to change the whole body and attitude of the horse.