When dealing with a braced, pushy horse, the breakthrough usually comes when we confront the brace and simply hang in there--in some cases, "no matter what"--until the horse yields.
A few years ago, I saw one of these classic, no-matter-what moments unfold in California while attending one of Buck Brannaman's clinics.
It took place back when Buck was starting every horse in the colt class himself.
Confronting a Brace Buck was in the arena aboard a very pushy warmblood gelding he was restarting.
The big, attractive colt wore no halter or bridle.
Instead, Buck was using his coiled lass rope to guide the horse.
When Buck asked him to yield to the coils and turn, the pushy colt simply braced his neck and took off at a gallop, straight for the fence at the other end of the arena.
Not the least bit impressed, Buck maintained his hold on the cantle of the saddle, leaned well up the horse's neck, and redoubled his efforts to turn the colt with his coiled rope.
It soon became obvious to the spectators seated in lawn chairs outside the fence at the end of the arena, that neither the human nor the horse barreling down on them was about to weaken.
Wisely, the group jumped up from their chairs and scattered.
Just as the horse gathered himself to jump the fence, he had a change of heart and yielded to Buck's coils instead.
"It was a good thing you guys vacated the area," Buck said afterwards.
"If this horse was going over that fence, I was going over with him.
And I'd be insisting that he make that turn the whole time.
And when we landed, I'd keep on insisting until I got it.
" While this example highlights the importance of following through with a request until we get a change, hanging in there to this degree is beyond what many of us are up for.
For the Rest of Us Consequently, if we do find ourselves in a situation beyond what we feel comfortable dealing with, it's really safest for us to back off, break things down, and address the horse's braced tendency over an issue that better fits our ability.
Granted, backing off will cause the process to take longer.
However, given our circumstances, focusing on something we're sure we can follow through on is best for the horse--and us--in the long run.