Yvette Grant - The Little Red Book of Horse Wisdom

For my family, who showed me Icelandic horses with the same generosity and enthusiasm they apply to all things. And for Jesse, who may one day add horseback riding to the list of his many incredible talents. Copyright 2012 by Yvette Grant Introduction copyright 2012 by Buck Brannaman All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes.

Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or . Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. ISBN 978-1-61608-707-4 Printed in China

P eople often say the American West was tamed by brave pioneers. Thats partly true, but without their horses, those pioneers might still be on their way! As the only available form of transportation on land in America for hundreds of years, the horse formed an ancient bond and a fragile alliance with the human, and the human with the horse.

That human was often the Cowboy. His role developed out of the need for skilled horsemen and stockmen to tend the vast herds of cattle in North America. There have been Cowboys all around the world who have honed their skills despite great danger to themselves. Nowadays, Cowboy is a term thats often used derisively. But its a shame everyone doesnt have a chance to experience the thrill of a newborn calf taking its first breath because a Cowboy had the skill to pen the cow and pull the calfor even do a caesarean in a pasture with only a horse, a saddle, a rope, and some primitive operating instruments, managing to save two lives at the risk of his own. Anyway, I hope you see how ignorant it is to use the term Cowboy with contempt.

Looking around today, we see that the horse is used for many purposes, including ranch work, dressage, jumping, reining, cutting, pleasure riding, and driving. Work with horses is therapeutic to kids who come from troubled homes. When you care for a horse and work with a horse, it can you help you find yourself and make progress as a person. There is so much diversity in the horse world today that it often seems as though there are a multitude of cliques to be a member of! My dear departed friend Ray Harmon once said, I hate those cliques unless, of course, Im included in one! But all these groups, whether they are from the city or the country, the desert or the mountains, are attracted to the noble creature, the horse. He can make you feel secure or insecure, safe or worried, confident or doubtful, cared about or not! All depending on how the horse feels about you and how you work with him. In this book you will enjoy quips and quotes from many people youve heard of and many you havent.

You may find yourself thinking, I wish Id said that! The wisdom, humor, and wit in these pages will entertain, and as you read, I bet you will hope, as I do, that the bond between people and horses will always be a part of the human condition. Buck Brannaman
July 2007

Who would have thought that the horse, long ago replaced at its original jobs by machines, would return as one of the countrys most important sport and recreational interests? A century ago, people had horses in order to live; today many people live to have horses. ROBERT M. MILLER, D.V.M., AND RICK LAMB Working with [horses] can be a very revealing time for the owner any fear that was there to start with is greatly magnified. And I dont know anyone who wants the things below the surface of their psyches to be revealed publicly. Surprise! Around horses, it all comes to the surface.

BUCK BRANNAMAN A good horse has justice in his heart. Ive seen it. CORMAC MCCARTHY Despite our best efforts, horses and accidents are, unfortunately, related subjects. According to one source, [horseback] riding, motorcycling, and automobile racing are the three most dangerous sports. JAMES CLARK-DAWE, ESQ. The extraordinary and thrilling affinity between the radically different minds of humans and horses has rewarded both humans and horses for thousands of years.

SIMON BARNES Nothing brings such innocent joy or such profound awareness that I am not invincible as the horseback experience. MELISSA SOVEY-NELSON, IF I HAD A HORSE Of course horses can be wrong in their truthfulnessthey may report a tiger in the laundry basket or a brace of dragons flying overheadbut this wrongness isnt deception. Horses do not lie. HELEN HUSHER, CONVERSATIONS WITH A PRINCE My mom used to say, Winnie Willis, in the beginning God created heaven and earth and horses. And sometimes I have to wonder if the good Lord shouldnt have quit while he was ahead. DANDI DALEY MACKALL Like human beings, horses are all individuals with singular personalities, their own virtues and their own faults.

We become bound to them for their beauty, their eccentricities, their heart and the love they so often return to us. LANA SLATON The horsethe noblest, bravest, proudest, most courageous, and certainly the most perverse and infuriating animal that humans ever domesticated. ANNE MCCAFFREY Think of the horse as a pure survivor. Hes an animal other animals eat; therefore, by nature, hes afraid. This instinct has kept him alive for fifty million years. CRAIG CAMERON [My mother] told me the better I behaved, the better I should be treated But, said she, there are a great many kinds of men I hope you will fall into good hands; but a horse never knows who may buy him, or who may drive him; it is all a chance for us.

ANNA SEWELL, BLACK BEAUTY: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A HORSE You cannot remain unmoved by the gentleness and conformation of a well-bred and well-trained horsemore than a thousand pounds of big-boned, well-muscled animal, slick coat and sweet of smell, obedient and mannerly, and yet forever a menace ALBERT BORGMANN, CROSSING THE POSTMODERN DIVIDE

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