Buck Page #5

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to kind of mention?

He runs me over.

He runs you over?

Okay, lovely.

Well, a baby like that,

they're not trying to be pushy.

They might be sort of

crowding you just a little bit

because they still might

be scared.

They kind of think that maybe

if they get real close to you,

they'll get some comfort.

And the big thing, you guys, is,

don't be overly critical

of them,

'cause they're just babies.

If he feels like you're angry

at him at all,

he will shut down.

I don't know where Buck draws

his real personal strength from,

because he's lived

through a lot.

I mean, it...

He came out of such dire straits

and, you know, was virtually,

I think, plucked from his home

in the middle of the night

sort of a thing.

It's a real hard story

to tell, 'cause, you know,

you see him now,

and, you know,

I don't even think about that.

Ace was real hard on those boys.

You knew there was

something wrong there maybe,

but you weren't for sure what.

You know, he kept it hid

pretty well, I guess,

until the point

when Coach Cleverly...

You know, seen his back.

Ah, that's a hard story

to think about.

Bob Cleverly was a typical

football coach that you loved

but feared too, you know,

and he'd actually made Buck

shower in PE,

and when he didn't want

to shower, you know,

and he told him to,

you know, get undressed

and get in the shower,

you know, as soon as Buck

started taking his shirt off,

he seen the whip marks,

and the thing of it is,

is, you know,

he just basically told him,

he said, "Your dad

will never beat you again.

I'll make sure of that,"

you know.

And then that's

when Johnny France

kind of started the ball rolling

to get Buck and Smokie

to a safe place.

I was present when the boys

were forced to disrobe,

and on their legs

and their little buttocks

were these big whip marks

where their dad had beat them.

When I looked at these

little boys, I said,

"No, we'll have

none of that."

I took them to the Shirleys.

They were two frightened

little boys,

but it wasn't too long

before the two boys were just...

they just turned

into Shirleys.

My mom had...

had just died.

And she was very loving,

wasn't she?

- Yeah.

- She was a very loving lady.

So she became my new mom,

and, boy, that was something

I really needed.

Sleep good?

I did.

They have

a wonderful relationship,

and she's a guiding force.

May God bless you

and watch over you.

There's no sense that,

"Okay, you're raised.

You're gone."

I mean, she's their mother.

She's truly their mother,

and I think Betsy raised

something like 23 foster sons.

I mean, all boys, all boys.

When our kids were little,

it was like a zoo,

and it was every man

for himself

and survival of the fittest.

My motto that's stood me

in good stead is,

"Blessed are the flexible,

for they shall not get

bent out of shape."

[Laughs]

My foster dad taught me

how to shoe horses.

I was 12 years old.

When I first went to live

with them,

he told me, "Kid, you might not

ever amount to much,

"but you better learn how

to ride a colt and shoe a horse.

"And then you'll always

be able to eat.

"Even if you can't

get much of a job,

you'll always be able to eat."

So he taught me how to shoe

a horse over a period of time.

There were so many things

that I learned

while I was with

my foster parents.

When I first got dropped off

at the Shirley ranch,

I was so terrified of men,

and my foster-dad-to-be,

he pulled in in the truck,

and, gee, he was tall, 6'4",

just looked like he was made

out of rawhide and barbwire.

But he walked right up to me,

and he said,

"You must be Buck,"

and I shook his hand,

but I couldn't even speak.

It's real; you can be so scared

that you can't say anything.

No words come out.

I just sat there,

and my little knees were

just about knocking together.

I was a little guy.

And then he spun around,

walked back to the truck,

and opened the door,

and my heart just stopped.

Because it's almost like a colt

that's had some trouble.

You don't have to do too much

to make them suspicious,

just even move

in a little bit of a way

that they don't understand

or can't comprehend,

and that quick, they...

they think they need

to save themselves.

So when he went back to

that truck and opened the door,

I didn't know what to do.

Scared me to death.

He came back, and he threw me

a pair of buckskin gloves.

He said, "Here."

He said,

"You're gonna need them,"

and, gee,

they were just beautiful,

and they fit me perfect.

I was so proud of them.

And he looked over

at the ranch truck,

and he said, "Get in."

So we got in,

and he always had fencing tools

in the truck.

So we took off,

and we built fence

all afternoon,

pounding steel posts into rocks

and pulling wire,

but I wouldn't wear

those gloves.

There was just that...

that token act of kindness,

just giving me

something like that.

Oh, gee, it meant so much.

I didn't want to get them

all tore up,

so I kept them in my pocket,

and I just worked with

the barbwire with my bare hands.

And he realized

that I didn't need someone

to just pity me

for what I'd been through.

He knew I just needed

something to do.

I needed a job to do.

And that's when things

started to head

in the right direction for me.

So I learned that

about the horses years later.

I thought, "Oh, yeah.

"That's kind of what Forrest did

with me, come to think of it."

[Horse neighs]

You see the expression

on that horse?

It moves, but he's crabby.

Flagging the tail,

it's annoyed.

It's like asking your kid

to go take the garbage out.

They take the garbage out,

but they flip you the bird

on the way out of the room.

It's without respect,

and respect isn't fear.

It's acceptance.

He bucks

whenever I saddle him...

not when I saddle him

but when I get him

to go through transitions.

I've never started a colt

ever in my life.

I've always been around

really well-broke ones.

So this is my first shot at it.

And he's got a little bit

of Buck in him.

So you must be Bill.

I am Bill.

That's why I asked Bill Seaton

to ride him,

'cause Chief needs a confident

rider for that first ride.

I bought Chief

about a year and a half ago.

He was one.

He had never had

any human contact.

Born out in the field,

wasn't touched, handled,

nothing.

It's just a rodeo and disaster

waiting to happen.

It's not his fault.

He's like a kid that just didn't

have any good parenting.

He just doesn't know

what's to be expected of him.

I want to check your horse out.

If you're gonna do

anything shocking,

I'd rather you did

the shocking stuff right here

than when you're on their back.

Right here.

Step over.

He says, "Well, I prefer

you beg me."

Not a chance.

There's the good deal offered.

There's not so good a deal.

That's the thing with a horse.

You can't just love on them

and buy lots of carrots.

Bribery doesn't work

with horses.

No different than trying

to bribe a kid.

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