“Your horse is a mirror to your soul, sometimes you might not like what you see. . . Sometimes you will.” – Buck Brannaman

I’m about to go all hocus pocus on you.
All woooo-waaaa, weirdo, strango, lady typing in her underwear on you.

A few days ago, I took my family to see a screening of Buck. Buckshot. The movie about Buck Brannaman.

The Horse Whisperer, some might say.

I don’t have a horse.
I don’t want a horse.
Never really been around many horses.
So, I don’t even know why I wanted to see this movie.
But I did. Really bad. So badly, that I cancelled swimming, basketball, and volleyball for the day just so we could make it work.

There was a very strong energy pulling me towards the movie.

We arrived at the movie, snacks in hand, children in seats, and waited for the movie to commence. When it did, my heart dropped a little. In the first 10 seconds, it looked well, ummm. . . .boring.

But I sat, and my children sat, and we waited, and we watched.

And it WASN’T boring.
It was mesmerizing.
The landscape.
The positive energy that swept through the movie.
The docileness and the gift of the man they call Buck.
And it was funny.
Laugh out loud funny.
And dramatic, and sad, and at times suspenseful.

It was a documentary, in the truest sense. Real. Gritty. Life.

My children watched, eyes glued to the screen. Even the 1 year old, couldn’t keep her eyes off all the beautiful horses, and imagery.

Most surprising, was even though the movie was about horses, it was also about whatever thing causes the viewer or the horse handler insecurities.

For me, it was parenthood. I watched with bated breadth as Buck taught me lessons on how to be a good parent.

“If you want to be GREAT, you have to be sensitive.”

“If you treat animals like that, then how do you treat people?”

“When I started to soften on the rope, so did the horse.”

“You don’t know how unjust the treatment is, until somebody teaches you another way.”

Buck commenting to a lady with a ranch full of studs.
“What are you thinking lady? Why are you TRYING to make your life so hard?”
The lady broke down crying after he told her that.

Cindy Meehl, the director. This is NOT the crazy lady. But I thought the picture would help garner the image.

Comment from Buck’s Foster Mother.
“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not get bent out of shape.”

“Bribery doesn’t work with a horse. It just makes a spoiled contemptuous horse.”

“When you start handling horses, your own insecurities start coming out.”

Buck talking to a lady with one really crazy messed up horse.
“This horse tells me quite a bit about you.”

“Respect isn’t fear. It’s acceptance.”

This movie made me want to be a better person. A calmer person. A person who gives a little bit more.

A person more like Buck.

PS- Towards the end of the movie, I had to go run my kids to the bathroom. On the way back, Buck was standing right outside the movie doors. He smiled so kindly, and said “When they gotta go, they gotta go.” And I thought, Genius. This man is a genius.


PSS- After the screening, there was a Q&A with Buck. My Soledad (5) had a question. “Where are you from? And is it like Texas?”

I don’t really remember what he said because I was too busy making sure my 10 year old daughter didn’t pass out from embarrassment (she doesn’t like it when the 5 year old speaks in public), but I do remember him saying wherever he is people always as him if he’s from Texas, and the audience gave him a big “Whoop!” because of course, we’re from Texas, and we think that’s great.

PSSS- I don’t know Buck. And Buck doesn’t know me. Nor does the director. I received an invite to attend the screening of the movie for purposes of review. No compensation was given. All opinions are solely my own. And my kids. And my husbands, though his are not mentioned here. Because this is not his blog.

PSSSS– I’m done now.