Friday, February 11, 2011

Verbal Commands


I find that when drivers use specific words and know those words, it makes driving and training much easier to perform. These are the words that I use routinely when driving and are words that are often used by drivers. Having a "universal" language helps horses to understand what is being asked of them.


My List of Verbal Commands for the Driving Horse


"Walk" - Start walking or Come down into a walk


"Walk on" - Don't even THINK about it! Walk only!


"Gee" - Turn right


"Haw" - Turn left


"Whoa ... Gee" - Fan to the right


"Whoa ... Haw" - Fan to the left


“Gee (or) Haw Over" - To continue fanning


"Steady on" or "easy"- Ignore that distraction and keep doing what you're doing

(used to reassure)


"Trot" -Start trotting


"Trot on" - I see you thinking about slowing down... keep trotting!


"Back" - Go backward


"Step up" - Take one step forward


"Step up" - Step up in the traces (for the horse in a pair, that is being a slacker)


"Step back" - Take one step back


"Whoa" - Stop right there and don't move


"Stand" (often combined with whoa) - Stand still - but we'll be here a while, so relax


“Canter” – Start cantering (I always use a high voice with this word and pair this word with a specific flick of the whip to the shoulder -I want them to be very sure I mean to canter when I ask for it). I give them no excuses for breaking from a trot to a canter.


"Cluck, cluck" - Move a little faster without breaking gait. I will often combine this with the word of the gait they are in. For instance "cluck, cluck trot"


"Quit!" - "Stop messing around!"


Other thoughts about verbal commands:

Most of my horses know their names and their partner's names.

That means...if I am driving a pair -I use the command when I want both horses to do something. When I just want one horse to do a command, I pair it with their name (name first). I might say "Soleil step-up," and generally her partner will ignore the command.

Be consistent with your words and your commands. If you do this, they will learn very rapidly.


I use the same words for all my horses, if I get a trained horse -they have to learn my words (which they do very rapidly) because I am too stupid to learn different commands for the same driving commands for multiple horses. It confuses me too much.










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