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Just “Sit on Your Bucket”©
A year or so ago I was doing a clinic near Bend, OR. There was a very pleasant gentleman named Pete who came to see what I was all about. He enjoyed my teaching style and content so much that he approached me at lunch time to ask some questions. As we ate he shared with me that he had known Tom Dorrance in his younger days and how my “Observe, Analyze, Change” approach to horse training by taking the time it takes to observe your horse reminded him of a story he wanted to share.
Seems Pete was hired on at a ranch to trim about 20 head of green colts. Most were not halter broke and ranged in age from 10 mos. to long yearlings. It looked like this could be a long days work so he decided to be there early to get himself set up and ready to go when the colts started being caught.
When he arrived there was only one man there and he was sitting on a bucket in the middle of the big round pen with the colts milling around him. Pete set up his stuff, then walked over to say good mornin’. There sat Tom Dorrance on his bucket just hanging with those colts.
Pete allowed as how he was ready any time Tom was, “Yap, in a bit.” was the sum of Tom’s reply. Young Pete went back to his rig and waited. In about 30 minutes Pete was gittin’ a bit antsy to go to work, but it seemed Tom was still sittin’ on his bucket. After an hour Pete could take no more and went over to the corral. “If we don’t start this job, we are going to be here till dark Mr. Dorrance!” Tom said nothing at first, just sat on his bucket, smiled up at Pete, then said, “In a bit son” and sat for awhile longer.
In a short while Tom rose from his bucket with a halter and lead in his hand, went over to a yearling colt and put the halter on him. The colt obediently followed him out of the corral. Tom walked him over, tied him up and turned to Pete, “Now the trouble maker is out we can begin.” Pete said Tom went back in and started catching youngsters as fast as Pete could trim them. Everything went smoothly and they were done well before dark. Pete said to this day he regrets that he was so “young and dumb” that all he could think of at the time was the “Goal”, get the job done! If he had been more open at the time he could have sat on his own bucket and watched Tom and the herd to see what Tom was basing his observations on. Of course now that Pete’s hair is graying and he has worked with horses all his life he now has a clue as to what Tom was doing.
I enjoyed this story so much because it was consistent with the Tom Dorrance that I had the privilege to work with. When you take the time to “sit on your bucket” you are taking the time to educate yourself about the horse’s world. What makes them tick, how do they think, what motivates them, when are they in a learning frame of mind or not.
By determining which horse was the most dominant, Tom was able to change the herd dynamics. The dominant horse alerted the rest of the herd to be wary, he moved them around keeping them alert and stirred up. If Tom had moved to catch a colt the dominant colt would have moved it off before Tom could have walked up to it. But with that horse removed, Tom could walk up to the more quiet animals and by starting with them, showed the others that might have been a bit worried that all was well.
The difficulty for most of us is that while we are “sitting on our bucket” we have to have patience; we have to set our immediate goal aside and take the time it takes. The added pressure is that others have opinions about what we are doing and why we are just “sitting on your bucket” when we should be attending to the goal at hand. Show them who’s boss, right? Tom was not concerned with any of these outside pressures. He knew what he was about, he knew the herd mood was dominated by a horse or two and took the time to Observe, Analyze, then make a Change to the herd dynamics that made all the difference in the attainability of a smooth end result or goal.
Tom did not care that the young man waiting on him was impatient, nor did he care if the young man agreed with his tact for the day. Tom knew what he knew and he knew that without getting to the root of the herd dynamics he would not be able to communicate in an effective manner to the rest of the herd.
Think how this concept might apply to you and your horse. Maybe your new goal could be to learn more about this lovely animal you are sharing a life with. Is he trying to tell you how he feels? If you wait for the feet to be in the correct place will the task be simpler? Is he afraid? Does he just lack confidence or is he blowing you off? Is he right brained? Does he need a job he CAN do? Slow down, Observe his body language, Analyze what you are both saying with your bodies, then see what Change could be made that would lead to clear communication & understanding.
Have you ever watched a horses lips sort out sweet grasses from rank grasses or pick up a grain of oat in the dirt? Do you know why the two horses seemed to be asleep yet the one behind quickly moved out of range just before the front horse kicked? Maybe you’ve been missing another exciting aspect of owning horses. This in turn will help you both reach your goals with joy and passion. So be brave, “sit on your bucket” and enjoy the world of Observation.
Barb Apple
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