The Art of Natural Dressage

I am not sure if there has been another topic on this, but I was wondering what everyone thinks of incorporating verbal commands into training? For instance, "pick up" for the feet, "halt" for the halt, etc. Do you think this is beneficial or not? I was thinking it might be a good way to give horses an opportunity to respond before hands on pressure.

Does anyone use verbal commands with their horses, and for what? Have you noticed it's benefits?

_________________

Words from: "Love of Horses" by Unknown

Hi again, Laura!

I talk to my guys all the time. I don't tend to think of it as commands but instead as cues, reinforcing or adding nuance to what I'm asking for with body language.

Research suggests that horses can comprehend about the same amount of language as young human children, and my experience with my guys suggests that they understand a fair amount. They understand tone and emotion as much as words, I think. I have, for example, a big happy CIR-CEEEEE! call that I give when I'm inviting Circe to come and find me -- she hears that and her head pops up immediately, looking for me. I stand with my arms wide and call again, big happy light energy, and she will gallop to me, almost without fail.

And, as other examples, Circe knows what "HO" means (our version of 'whoa') and 'lift" -- leg lift or neck lift, depending on what I'm pointing to, 'teerot!' for trot, and 'waaaaalk' as a slowdown. Again, I work hard to combine these with pretty clear energetic intent to reinforce what I'masking.

I also use "yes!' as a verbal click, so they know that as well. (And they understsand "No!" even though they don't always chose to comply with it!)

Is this helpful?

Best,
Leigh

_________________
"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

leigh the talker
I have to confince that i do the same always talking to my pony's.

What i have learned is this. If you talk to much ( and yes i do so, because otherwise i did not have found the difference)
the verbal cues become less important then when you work in silence and use only words when it is needed.

For example you have to take care of the horses feet. You dont talk to your horse until the exact moment that he have to lift his foot for you and you say "foot" or what ever. The you get a quicker reaction then when you talk all the time to your horse and said between your babbelfish the words "foot" The reaction is much later or slower.

This works the same with dogs, the more you speak the later the reaction of the dog from what you asked.
Or even ignored by the dog.

I use several cues during riding and driving and groundwork.
The reward cue is "gooooood"
and sometimes i use a yes in a form as the human game warmer and warmer colder and colder. To stimulate the horse.
And sometimes it works sometimes not.

That's very true...thanks for all of your answers! I think verbal cues are useful in some situations, especially if you are to be driving your horse, or if your horse is mainly a trail horse in which it may be helpful. I'm sure there's a place for them in every horse owners life, it just depends whether you choose to use them!

I understand that talking is not allowed in a competitive dressage setting, so that would be a place you may not want to use voice commands, if I understand.

_________________

Words from: "Love of Horses" by Unknown

One of the many things I don't get about competitive dressage, I fear... I truly don't understand why anyone should care if the goal is to really demonstrate a fluency between horse and person...

(and until the FEI allows competitions without bits, we're out of the game anyway at my house... but the farther away I walk from the competitive dressage world, the happier I am to dispense with all of that stuff...just not interesting to me!)




Best,
Leigh

_________________
"Ours is the portal of hope. Come as you are." -- Rumi
www.imaginalinstitute.com

I understand it completly Leigh. Even now they wanted to have intro a new "blod rule". But i will not discus that over here
We have lucky but in the Netherland you may compete the first three levels in bitless.
So you can compete over here just a joke

You can wisper the cues so the jury can not hear you.
My horses and dog know even the words turn left and turn right. Not that they do it without any other signals. But it helps to minimise the rest of the signals.

I find verbal communication with Mucki to be invaluable to me. Not so much as verbal cues, but as means to bridge from cue to reward. To tell Mucki that he´s indeed on the right track. Especially in exercises where I´m further away from him.
Or to get more effort into the exercise. He likes verbal praise! He gets big, with big shiny eyes when I scream out my clicker word if everything was just perfect!

_________________
Volker

The horse owes us nothing.

Though I didn't plan it in the beginning, it has turned out that most of my cues for Ronja (and Vaim) are verbal. Though some of them are still followed by a cue from my body. Some not, though, and not always.
The main verbal cue I use is halt. And my mare knows it so well that even if she is totally freaked out by something (happens rarely), she halts on verbal cue. Helps a lot also now, when we are starting to ride...cause I can just say the verbal cues, accompany them with body cues and she easely learns my ridden cues that way. (:
I have also noticed that it is really important what kind of energy you put behind your (verbal) cue. When the energy behind the cue is calm and centred (focused), the cue works much better and precisely when you planned.

_________________
flow

I never thought of not talking to my horse, as they, like any other animal, obviously respond so well to it. Most stallions and gelding love squeaky high humans (female) voices I have noticed in particular. Next that horses often seem to understand every word I am saying

_________________
www.equusuniversalis.com

Do horses understand when we talk with them?

Ask a child.

_________________
Love is Trust, trust is All
~~~~~~~~~
So say Don, Altea, and Bonnie the Wonder Filly.

Oh yeah... the cues are cues but other than that - my babe ( ) also understands everything i say and even reads my thoughts. For sure. And communicates back. If I could understand half as good what she is saying as she understands me...well... I am working on that. I truly am.

_________________
flow

I believe that if I feel bad and I do not tell my horse he tends to look at me strangely and not really cooperate untill I have spoken with him about it. He will not do as much for me when I am quiet... but that has to do much with me obviously getting very quiet when I feel ill or tired or unhappy

He gets happy because I rattle on like an idiot and feel happy

When I do want him to pay attention to what I am saying, when I do use a cue, I will first say his name and then give my cue... as I do to with my dog

I do shut up more when I ride because of the simple thing that I have a lot of times that my body does not tell him the same thing I would say to him and I want him to react to my body, so I am quiet unless I am sure I am giving the right physical cue, than I could use the same verbal one, otherwise I am just confusing him

I do tell him how good he is!!! even if he does not do what I would have wanted him to, I know he does what I ask him with my very uncontrolled body

_________________
Horseriding is an art

My horse is a beautiful living sculpture