Getting Bucked Off
Getting Bucked Off
Getting bucked off is a phrase we use to describe being disrupted or upended in the course of living. The term has a violent connotation, yet it is an unavoidable part of life. We talk about getting on the horse, getting bucked off, and then getting back on, to portray trying something new, having it not go well, and then trying again. The recent reflections from the ranch in Oregon caused me to think about how being bucked off metaphorically matches up with the actual reality of getting thrown from a half-ton animal.
The first horse that bucked me off happened after a request by a neighbor to help gather cattle from a nearby pasture. The horse I caught that morning to ride was a buckskin mare that I had never ridden because its reputation for being cranky. I was a confident guy in a hurry, and eager to help my friend. What could go wrong? Thirty minutes later, we were crossing a creek when the horse began to buck. I managed to hang on until we got away from the rocks but ultimately got launched into the air before landing safely on the grass. Since we didn’t have time for lessons that morning, my neighbor, Cy, suggested we change horses. We swapped out saddles and finished the ride, Cy combatting the buckskin’s orneriness in a technique I was soon to learn. While I did not get back up on the horse that threw me that day, I did come away adequately spooked. Getting bucked off a horse is scary proposition.
A couple of weeks later, I was breaking a young colt because we were running low on trained horses. I got some coaching from my friend, Dave, the horse whisperer, and started in. One morning, the colt began to buck, seemingly out of the blue. I hung on for a while but soon ended up in the air and then the dirt. I was not any worse for the wear and so immediately hopped up on the saddle, knowing this to be part of the process. Pretty soon I was on the ground again and was starting to get frustrated. Once more I got back up on the horse and again, the colt sent me skyward. He seemed to be enjoying the process and was bucking harder with each new episode.
Dave was watching from a distance, and I yelled over to him, “The plan isn’t working. Any ideas?” He came over to explain the mechanics of how a horse bucks: “He gets his leverage by putting his nose down first and his butt up next. Your job is to stop him at the beginning of it all. When you see him putting the nose down, take one of the reins and pull it around as hard as you can. He won’t like that and will want to quit his foolishness once he learns the consequences.” This is what I watched Cy do the week before with the buckskin mare so I was ready to give it a try.
Still, the idea of picking a fight with an animal five times my size was not too alluring. The guy who could do it in his sleep was in my corner. But that didn’t really help. This was something I had to face on my own. I mustered up what confidence I could on my way to deal with the self-assured colt when I heard Dave say calmly from behind: “You’ve got this!”
I was watching the colt’s nose when I climbed back up on the saddle. In an instant, he dropped his head, and I yanked on the reins. We spun in circles before I let him have his head back and pushed him into a lope. We galloped for a few minutes and then he tried me again, kicking up a cloud of dust before conceding. He didn’t like the new rules where every time he bucked, I hurt him back. Soon, he stopped bucking altogether and became a good, working ranch horse.
The horse, which is life, starts bucking from the time we show up and stops when they turn out the lights. The ride changes but doesn’t get easier as we age. There are different ways we get bucked off and new adjustments made to counter and stay on longer. We discover these things mostly from the older people who have gotten bucked off and have the battle scars to prove it. When I have complained in the past to these mentors about the difficulty of the ride, they listen and smile. Then they remind me who I am and what I’m capable of. With a few adjustments, I hop back up and ride. Like Cy and Dave, who had my back years ago, I have been blessed by my wife, friends, and mentors who keep telling me that I have what it takes to hang on. Time and again, I’ve heard them say, “You’ve got this.”
Last week, I had lunch with a talented young entrepreneur. He is trying to change the world and I honestly think he will succeed. He’s got a great idea, is really smart, and is as gritty as they come. The business is on a great trajectory, but you wouldn’t have guessed it to hear him talk that day. The week before he had been punched, kicked, and left for dead, a requisite for all entrepreneurs trying to do something great. He was tired and discouraged. If he had been riding colts, the image would have been of him getting dragged around with his boot hung up in the stirrups. Still, he was nowhere near quitting. He had come to see if he needed to adjust his approach and also to be encouraged. We talked about some specifics in business strategies before I said to him: “You’re uniquely built for this. Go home and get a good night’s sleep. In the morning, once you’re rested up, get back up on the horse and start riding.”
His body language improved as he headed towards his car. “Hey!” I said, as he turned. “You’ve got this.”
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