In the movie, it shows how Buck is able communicate with horses and observe the smallest things in them that most people do not observe. Through his closeness and ability to understand the horse, he is able to be one of them and accomplish so much. I am seeing the same thing in Unified Therapy that I have experienced and am using to learn to heal others. It is those subtle moments that most people do not see, but if you can notice them and work with that, you will find a way to unlock so much trauma in a person and release it. It is life changing, just like what Buck does with horses.
It was interesting to note throughout the movie how Buck identified the horse being a mirror of the horse's owner. Whatever was going on in the life of the human, was often reflected in the horse. In order to help the horse change, the person had to take serious inventory of their own life and make necessary changes. While I realize from my own experience just what animals can pick up in humans, it was nice to see this so obvious in the movie.
The parts that really connected with me though, was when Buck talked and shared his experiences growing up. If you have lived through abuse of any kind, you will quickly understand what I mean. There were just so many parts of the movie that fit me and I could really feel the pain that Buck lived through.
In one example, Buck told the story of when he was 5 years old. He had an Angus bull that he had tamed and was able to ride with a saddle on its back just as if it was a horse. He so loved the animal and spent so much of his time with it. One day without warning, his father decided that they needed to kill and butcher this animal, making Buck participate. Buck wondered how any human, especially a father could do that to his child, taking away something he loved in such a brutal way.
I remember experiences that Buck describes with animals that still haunt me to this day. The abuser doesn't do it for any other reason then they need to control the child. Killing something the child loves, leaves the child disillusioned for the rest of their life, knowing that whatever they love is going to be taken away from them. It is a horror no kid should ever have to face. (To read more about my experiences with pets, click this link)
In the end of the movie, I thought it was important that Buck talked about moving on from his life and healing from those terrible moments. He is doing it through his horse clinics as he gets in touch with his emotions and vulnerability. Something he said struck me as so true, that we can choose what we do with our life and what we make of it.
Yes, bad things happen to many people, but if we let it overtake us and ruin our life from that point forward, that is our choice. It took me a long time as I am sure it did for Buck, to be able to say those words, but they are true. There was a time in my life when I never thought I would make it this far, and yet I had to make the choice to go in and heal and transform the ugliness of my past, just like Buck did in his life.
This is a must see movie if you love horses and animals or if you have experienced any type of abuse and trauma in your life. To check the movie out on Amazon, click this link.
Blog Post And Images (c) 4/26/12 Don Shetterly - use and reprint by permission only http://www.donshetterly.com You are welcomed to share the link to this blog post, but ask for for permission before reprinting this article. Thanks!
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I've never heard of this movie, but it does sound good. I've always been intrigued by the relationship between humans and domesticated animals. It's amazing how true it is that an animal is really the reflection of the owner - working for a vet for a number of years, it often painfully obvious who mistreated their animals and who treated them with respect...
ReplyDeleteWhen I managed farms, you could tell the temperament of the person who ran the farm by the way the animals reacted. One farm, the animals would almost stand at attention. Another farm, I saw a guy try to kick a hog to get it up and he almost didn't come out of the barn in an upright manner. I never tolerated any abuse on farms that I managed and I'm a fierce protector of animals.
DeleteI have always enjoyed watching the interaction of animals and humans, even wild animals. They pick up so much more than most humans will ever think of.