I talk to my horse mainly to keep him calm in a way, just because if I talk about random stuff (doesn't even matter what I say, I know he cant understand the words) I relax more and I send out more positive energy. Same with if I ask him to stop I always think in my head "stop" because if I do I know my body and energy will automatically tell the horse to stop. He reads my body, not my words; But I need my words to give more clear signals. That's why I talk to my horse. :)
Another great video Warwick! But I have something here for you all to thing of. I have one eyed horse. When I have to lunge or work on his blind side I use word for every gait (mainly with same vocal interaction in every gait transition - faster upward voice for upward transition and slow, calm for downward transition) or signals when he is too close to my space and I don't want him close to me. Horses doesn't understand our language for sure, but in his case I can't use body language as a cue because he can't see me. So I had to teach him how to answer to every word command when he can't see me otherwise he was really afraid to move. When your horse doesn't have any special issues I believe they are primary using your body language. But when horse is blind he needs to adapt to your vocal cues, because he doesn't have any other option. I am sorry for mistakes, english is not my first language :)
Silver Lagomorpha I to am a carriage driver and we use verbal and whip commands when long lining before we ever hook because as you mentioned there are limited adds we can use when driving.
Lazy Gardens not sure where Postilions comes in as it’s definition is a person who rides the left horse of a leading or only pair of horses drawing a carriage.
@@mashley444 They guide the team. The coachman is for show or not even there if you have postilions. Look at the royal coaches: all postilions, no coachman. Their original use was to bring back the the coach or horses (or both) in "post chaise" rentals.
Your horses’ expression while you imitated the lady backing up was priceless!! 😂😂😂 My horse used to holler out to me in the pasture and come running; I knew he was saying hello and I do believe he did recognize my voice- and his name, when I called him--but it was only because he knew I was there to see him, and he would get attention, and maybe even carrots! Horses, by design of their social structure for survival are masters of body language and we can learn so much from them. If you spend time with them and learn their ways, you can see just how expressive their body language is - the many positions of the ears, swish of the tail, cocked leg, facial expressions -you name it-even the slightest things are telling and have significant purpose. When we ride together and are chatting with human friends, our horses are also busy communicating with eachother when we fail to make our own deep connection with them. Perhaps on a big trail ride they might be vying for pecking order, or excited about the new mare they just ‘met’ trotting next to them. We need to have a sound connection with our horse, so they are present with us, instead of doing their own thing. It’s hard work to get that kind of respect from a horse.....The hardest part for me has been using body language correctly and communicating back the right way, with perfect timing and temperament. We are such verbal creatures. I think many people anthromorphize horses and thus try to communicate with human language.
It must've been painful to watch that woman rocking on her horse... and then smack it. Sometimes people don't get the simple principle of body language... how would an animal understand human language? At most they get the sound. Just as we can't understand a horse's neighs and whinnies, but we get a rough idea from the tone of their sounds. I appreciate that you taught these people in a very rational - and effective - way, rather than bashing. You're a true gentleman & a pro worthy of respect :) Keep making great videos!
I think what he says is extremely true! They can understand a few basic words and different sounds but mostly because they are used to you asking. Most likely wouldn't listen if someone else asked because they wouldn't understand their body language the same. As for the calming down, I bet it calms you down to talk and they feel your emotions calming so they follow. It def. doesn't hurt and I'll always talk because it helps me know exactly what I want
Crazy the number of people who clearly didn't actually watch, listen, or pay attention in any other capacity to the video. He's not saying they WON'T respond to verbal cues, he's saying that verbal cues aren't their primary means of communication - and that unless you train in the ***specific order*** of 1. Verbal cue, 2. Physical cue, it is unlikely that your horse actually understands the words you're saying to them. If you've taught your horse to respond to verbal cues, then congratulations: you have a horse that "listens to you". If, on the other hand, you have not specifically trained your horse to respond to a verbal cue, but instead have only made a habit of talking at them while you work, then it is highly unlikely that your horse truly differentiates between the words you're saying and the ACTUAL PHYSICAL CUES you're giving them.
I usually ride my horse with just weight, but I have taught her to immediately stop when I say såja. If I say it in the middle of a trot without doing anything else, she'll stop like to a wall. While if I sit back in trot, she'll shift to walk. I taught this word to her due to safety reasons, so whenever I need her to be perfectly still, I can use it as an enforcement together with my bodylanguage. It works great in traffic too or any emergency when she must stop immediately. I found your video very useful though, very insightful.
A very good video and right on the money when it comes to verbal communication with horses. This reminds me of a beautiful show mare we used to have who while unloading off the trailer, who I would ask to "watch your head" as she passed through the trailer door. While I know without a doubt that she was more than likely responding to a subtle cue or just the fact that I only spoke when she reached the threshold, it was always quite amusing to watch a 16.3 hand horse drop her head almost between her knees as she backed out of the trailer right at the moment I said "watch your head" and continue to keep it lowered until I said "OK, your safe!"
I totally understand that they don't understand the meaning of the words and that there are a limited number of verbal cues you can really condition. However, talking impacts human emotion and horses read THAT loud and clear. For me I talk for my own benefit and allow the words and attached emotions alter my body language and behaviors which horses can understand...not the words but how you feel about those words.
I've been doing groundwork with my horse the last month or so (after years of doing nothing with him because of my illness) and he'd become really difficult to handle. Anyway, using your exercises I've been making great progress. I came across this video and thought, hey, might as well try cutting out the talking and see what happens. Well, it was like putting my reading glasses on to read! I shut my mouth and suddenly was able to focus on my body language, on his body language, on when I was putting pressure on him and when I was releasing it. Communication has become really focused and simplified. I swear my horse is paying attention in a way he never did before. Thanks for the great tip!
I talk for myself because I've found that it changes my body language in a way that the horse understands, so I don't have to think so much about my body language. It becomes a reflex.
spot on Warwick, body language is more than 85% of conversation. I started working as a disability worker in my 40's and i had amazing responses with my human clients which left my co workers wondering how I did it. When questioned about my break through s with challenging clients I just said my horses taught me, (that fell on deaf ears). I worked as a taxi driver many years doing night shifts and watching a persons body language as they come to your taxi. This tells you whether you should drive off or take the fare. Horses do the same thing ! Horse goes" no I'm not taking this fare, recall" :) my horses have taught me a lot about people, saved my life driving cabs because i know flight response
I accidentally taught my horse to think his name is Jesus Christ... whenever I say JC (in a disbelieving kind of tone) he perks his attention towards me 😅😅😅
LOL The bull headed Appaloosa I had for years thought his name was "you ugly SOB." He was both - ugly and a SOB. Strong as a front end loader, knew how to do everything, and would do everything if you could MAKE him do it. Tiring, very tiring.
I teach my pupils to speak to their horses not because the horse understands, but because they do. If the human speaks quietly and calmly, they stay calm. If they say please and thank you to the horse (for say, lifting a hoof), that shapes how the human reacts. I agree that you still have to use your hand or whatever for the horse to know you want her hoof up.
My horse does everything I tell him to do. It's the truth! When I tell him, don't bark like a dog, he gladly obeys. When I tell him don't recite the US Constitution or climb trees, he doe exactly what I tell him. And that's why I'm thoroughly convinced that stick horses are the smartest horses in the entire world! ROTFL! :0)
Thank you for the lovely video - and a funny example, too. I do talk to animals in general, but it'd be absolute nonsense and not really supposed to make them do anything. Most of the time, it's actually meant to calm myself down. Or just humming, really. My way of thinking, I suppose, is that when I hum or talk softly, I calm myself down, my muscles relax, and with that my horse does as well.
In the beginning of this video I was thinking "oh man, I thought I liked this guy and now he's on about horses not understanding voice cues". Further into the video I was glad to find that he does not really believe that. I never realized how much I talk to my horses until I started driving horses. Suddenly I was very glad that I used voice
I absolutely love your explanations and training, Warwick. I've taught my horse verbal cues like woah and walk on, trot on, but like how you said, say it first, then the physical command. Although my horse is still quite green, so he needs more work with that. I find you to be an amazing trainer!
I used to talk to my horse just to calm him, or to keep his attention on me, or to make him understand if I was pleased with him or not, never thought he was really listening to the meaning of my words, but to the tone and sound of them. And it seemed to work
And what else were you doing physically at the same time? I definetly think horses understand voice tone bur I have also have had a horse 100% mimic my body movement by asking him “ can you do this?”, and it was a “non trained” action , totally spontaneous which came out of “ play” where I initially copied the horse’s actions. I was playing and had no expectation that he would comprehend my verbal request, but he certainly perfectly observed what I did and immedietly replicated it which blew me away. He was a very intelligent, social horse, deeply connected to me during that process of play..... we looked at each other eye to eye and he did not look away....he comprehended. Amazing and thrilling.
Brilliant! Mine do walk, trot or lope with verbal command, but there is always cues I give them with it. They have been trained that way, like you showed. Never thought about it until I watched this video. Thank you, Warwick!!!
I think the talking simply calms ME down while grooming him. Its my way of bonding with him prior to riding. Does more for me than him I'm sure. However, he too has stopped when I'm talking with another rider and said "No" in our conversation. I believe he "thought" I said Whoa. I'd have to tape my mouth shut. Ha!
Horses may not understand English or words, and I agree that they focus largely on your body language, but I also think they listen a bit to your tone of voice. I was always taught that when I wanted my horse to slow down, to say whoa in a deep voice, whereas if I wanted my horse to speed up to say trot or canter as 2 syllables with the second being slightly higher pitched. I don't know if it makes a difference, but some horses seem to respond to it. I think it's more your tone of voice than the actual words though
I work with yearlings and lunging etc walk on trot on whooo along with gestures SOMETIMES n I dont use lunge whips while asking for a slower gait but I find it works perfectly well also with free schooling but I cant for the life of me get the feckers to go get me sunscreen or my drink out of my bag!!! YET😉😆love your videos short straight to the point easy explanation and understandable and you don't spend an hour on extra garbage and as for advertisements n selling products etc your videos are much more attractive direct n so educational! I've subscribes and will be recommending you well done and thank you from🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮
Watched this video and felt crazy for talking to my horses then I went out to the barn and tried what you had that lady to do. My appaloosa that my mom has had since before I was born did what I asked (he did it very half-heartedly), whereas my problem child Quarter Horse looked at me for half a second and went back to his own business. I don't know what to think haha
horses can choose to listen or not but its all about learning the task, horses arent mind readers and I think horses can learn verbal cues and act on verbal cues after they have been taught their body language what they are supposed to do, like for instance their are times when khalessi just ignores me and she clearly knows the task she typically will do this when released in a pasture but when shes paying attention if I ask her to come khalessi, she comes but i first used a lead rope and pressure, now i can just tell her to come with my voice and of course even words with humans always have body language involved even if its only subtle. Nothing means anything if it doesnt have an action or result. Like a baby or a person if they never were taught the action of hello, this would mean nothing to them so we often forget that all verbal cues come with actions used over and over again that we now actually here verbal cues and instantly relate them to that action.
lately ive been trying ot use less pressure and just use my verbal cues when leading her such if I turn i wanted to see if she could learn just by my voice and she does.
my goal is to try liberty but i want to see how many things i can teach her to do on verbal commands alone but they have to be backed up with an action first with body language otherwise how are they supposed to know what that cue means.
its the same with people we learn millions of words but they had to be linked to something visual, literal, they have to have an action, if someone is sad but they are smiling, thatd make no sense but we learned that by the body language themselves. So someone of a different language wouldnt know that cue.
like words mean nothing and horses arent mind readers, cues always have to be backed up with something. Like youll see people screaming at their horses, stand still!! Dumb why arent you standing still, that means nothing to a horse without being taught that action to the word. So driving horses often learn a lot of verbal cues because they have to learn them if they are going to be street safe, this one trainer teachers his horses to stand, stand, but he teaches them what that action is very early in age or early in training. Verbal cues for driving ahorse are more important because you want them to understand how to do something safely without that much pressure. SO verbal cues for driving horses in harness are mch more important.
You can get it done from the ground in the round pen as well. Late in your workout when they're a little fatigued, push their pace at a lope for two maybe three spins around until you see them thinking that a rest would be a real good idea about now. Say Whoa and then make a step, maybe two toward cutting them off at the pass. They'll stop. Over some reps, you won't have to make that step anymore, although I'm sure their will be some conveyance of body language even if it is the slightest bit of a lean. Over time you'll be able to say whoa and get a stop even as they pass behind you. I'm getting old and more than a little scared about coming off of one in a wreck, so I'm looking hard for ways to get things done on the ground.
Thats a great point. I am from Iceland so ride icelandic horse, its very rich in our culture to speak to the horse like a person. Probably because we relied on horses for survival, no roads, nothing. And more horses there than people too. But as for commands we dont use them much verbally. So its like we are comnunicating a lot but more as a "conversation" to a friend. I thought everyone did this but now living abroad I see they dont. But realized its an Icelander thing. The other day there is this world famous world champion Icelander (Magnus Skulason) on an interview and speakung in English to a German, his horse stands there too,the World champion actually,so as the interview continues the horse starts getting impatient. The man keeps answering questions then says to his horse in the middle of a sentence (in Icelandic) "its okay boy we are almost done" then contines speaking in English to the interviewer. Its so natural and I am pretty sure he did not think he did that it was a reflex to the horse "telling" him "thisisgetting boring,how long are we standing here?" In Sweden where I live now the horses are mostly outside now (summer) then we take them in to prepare for riding or training. Very often I hear a horse (its a big barn) and will walk and check and USUALLY ALWAYS there is a person there too. What I find so weird is how silent the Swedes are. They never talk to their horse. So I have no way of knowing if the horse is alone or with a person. When I am there people will say "oh Ithought you were on the phone" The idea that I was speaking in a conversational manner to my mare does not occur to them. I will say stuff like "I am just going to go get the X" I understand she is not understanding all the words. But to me its polite and normal behavior. Yes I know its a bit crazy now when I think of it. But I tell you, most of us do this LOL
I am completely blind, so I can’t rely on body language very much. I’ve been training my 15 hand ott pacer on my own for the last few months. In the lunge, I have taught her how to walk, trot, stop all with my voice but I did that using different sounds and saying the words as well. For example, if I say walk-on, I make a kissing noise. If I ask for a trot, I make a chewing noise, if I ask for a stop, I make a woo noise. It is all coming together really well, it will be interesting to see what happens when I get to riding her.
Excellent video. People also confuse words and tone. When I'm teaching people, I often point out the disconnect between whatever word they used and the tone and body language accompanying it. For example, a high pitched "whoa" while hanging on the reins incites "go" not stop, so getting voice to match intention helps many riders. For example, deep growling lessons can help nice ladies develop quiet yet assertive body language and speaking softly and slowly can calm.human nerves.
As usual great videos from Warwick and much respect for down to earth training. I would like to pass along that I have seen many older show horses who learn to pick up the announcer giving gait transitions before the rider really gives a cue. And we know horses certainly listen to our tone of voice when giving them a strong grumble to stop doing such and such. You can test that yourself. For under saddle - I use to say he isn’t really listening as much as he feels you getting ready for the next gait just because you know the announcer’s call is coming and in what order. However, at a show that was 100F in the shade, 90%+ humidity and showing an American Saddlebred Walk-Trot horse - I was having difficulty dealing with the heat (even though we had iced my head, neck, wrists right before going in along with ice cold rag in hat and neck). Anyway it was late afternoon and the ring was shaded by trees by that time of the day but it was one of the most unbearable days showing I had ever had. I had thought of cancelling, but it was a prelim class, had to be done to go in championship class the next evening and we had driven 4 hours to get there, etc so I thought we would just take it easy. Anyway, after the first trot, I was dizzy and feeling kinda disconnected. I briefly told a friend on the rail that I thought I needed to withdraw - she said no you’re okay - just a few more minutes, said everyone was having difficulty (20 horses). Well, I don’t remember asking for the first canter, nor really anything until I was in the lineup. The judge was coming down the line and I was really out of it and feeling sick on my stomach. He said “nice horse” and I asked if I could withdraw - he said “now” and I said “yes I was dizzy”. He said he asked if I could hold on just another minute and he sent the card to the announcer (I was the last horse to be looked at). He must have decided I was looking worse and came over to see if I was alright. I remember his hand on my left leg and that was the last thing I remember. I fainted off the horse and into his arms - woke up lying under the local funeral home’s tent (they donated it for a first aid station) and rescue guys trying to get me cooled and out of some my clothes and opened up to the air. It was probably the ice bags they were packing around me to get my body temp down that woke me up. The first sensation was the ice bag under my head and neck. I didn’t even realize I had won the class and that was why the judge wanted me to wait until he turned the card in. If I had withdraw, he couldn’t have placed me. I didn’t know this judge at all, but I’m sure he remembered me for a long time as it isn’t often a competitor faints in your arms. And yes ladies, he was good looking - I got teased quite a bit about that later on. This is a long way around to say I gave that horse no cues that I could remember. In fact someone said later, the horse looked like he was trying to stay under me - like one will do with a drunk rider. I was drunk - with near heat stroke. Years of being shown, he knew we stayed on the rail except to pass another rider, it was a large ring and he had heard the same commands for 14-15 years of show season and he just did it. They said he looked great - though a little hesitant a couple of times. Had other horses been brighter and not also droopy from the heat - we probably wouldn’t have won with me in that shape but the point is - he completed the class from the first canter, reverse, all 3 gaits second way, and going into the lineup pretty much by himself. I was basically a sack of potatoes and didn’t remember anything. A friend (on the rail) whose barn I showed out of knew something wasn’t right but she said everything was going okay. She said I had been beet red but on the line had gone really white and that was when she really realized I was not okay and she had headed to the exit gate.. Now you can ask - if the gait calls had been out of order, would he have done the same order of years of past experience or executed the gait called for. We will never know, but he was worked with simple one word cues at home and in different order whether we worked in the ring, on the driveway, on the logging roads (in fall after show shoes were pulled), or when being lined in harness. I changed up all the time to keep us from being bored. I will say I had experienced him (when at shows) in a warm up ring - occasionally pick up gaits the announcer was giving in the show ring but never really thought about it - I just bumped him back and we did what I asked for. Thus I think it is highly likely he might have picked up the gait the show ring announcer asked for even if out of order. And I’m sure when the other horses lined up, he followed the crowd. Normally the call to the lineup is more words andndifferent from announcer to announcer and has other information. The gait calls are much simpler “walk your horses, trot your horses, canter your horses” with an emphasis on the first word. I have seen many horses worked off voice cues and as Warwick mentioned, you give the command and then a physical action (position, reins, leg, etc) so is the well trained horse reacting to voice or feeling the barest (maybe unconscious) shift of the rider preparing to give the cues? However, I had an opportunity to experience a horse that had to be working off the announcer’s voice. Friends that observed the class thought something was going on -that’s for sure, they just didn’t realize what. That also makes you think about the fact that the horse did so well even though he was known to be an occasional pain at some shows - but was an absolute picture of compliance this time. It certainly makes you think that sometimes we just need to get out of their way and let them do what they are trained to do without so much interference. Many (most) times we are our own worst enemy and we have the issues, not the horse. Whatever, for years I was teased by friends on my method of “winning” a class, and on my method of picking up a new boyfriend (one of the guys working in the rescue tent had lived in my home town and still came in every couple of weeks to visit his parents and family) and we dated for a while. I also had a new respect for a horse that seemed to do his best to stay under me and take care of me. Over the years I have seen a number of horses being ridden by a new/different rider who was a fairly decent rider - being a pain or resisting in some way (that initial workout between a new rider and a top horse but one who can be more dominant if allowed). Then see the same horse with a young child or really soft but absolute beginner - the horse has quite a different attitude - no fight, no dominance - just goes along, and you will see them veere off first one way and the other trying to keep under the rider. I mentioned I had also seen this with riders who had too many cocktails before their class. I wish we could know what makes a horse do that but it certainly happens and we see it with other animals, dogs for example. They may not pay any or much attention when someone strange comes around the adults in the family, but let that happen with younger children, and they go on alert and can try to herd the youngster or become quite defensive. They seem to know or figure the adults can handle themselves even though their pack but not so with the younger or disabled members. My dog was always under my feet running and playing but my grandmother with a walker, she was so careful and would stay with her but just walked tentatively along nothing to trip or cause an issue. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could talk to them and ask questions instead of trying to guess. Years of experience with lots of different horses will give you more insight; however, until we can talk in their language or them in ours, we will never know for sure. God Bless.
Hi Warwick Lovely video and description of how to teach a que the right way. Love the comments below as horse human lived experiences are enjoyable to share. We teach by physical movement, including vocal tone all the time. Horses often learn by associated events; where we look or focus our eyes can influence movement. Repeat clearly three times and our horses get the connection. The challenge for humans is to be consistent. Sentient creatures read humans like a book! ☺
Excellent video. Of course, most of us talk to our horses (or even pet/treat them) because it's what feels good to US. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, as long as we don't forget what feels good to THEM (clear body language, etc). I did have a lesson horse years ago with whom I had to change verbal commands-- he had memorized entire sentences, and would anticipate the required circles and changes of direction before his rider asked them of him. He's the only one I can think of that was so completely tuned into verbal language though.
First at all, thaks to Warwick for sharing all this knowledge, I am learning a lot with his videos, and I would like to add my opinion to this. I do a lot of groundwork with my horse and I have noticed that many times the horse does the movement just some seconds after I am thiking to order it. Almost always since I have teached him to stop with the wow, he stops at the moment I just open my mouth to say wow. In my opinion they don't listen, it's somthing else... Regards from Spain
anuchons I believe it was Nuno Oliveira, the great Riding Master of Portugal, who said "Think the Movement, and the Horse will do it." They can read your mind!
I think some horses learn verbal commands faster and easier than others. Worked with a lesson horse who knew lunge commands so well, you could sub other words and she would still perform the expected moves--without any physical cues. Had a wonderful horse of my own that was such a gd partner. I had bronchitis, trouble breathing where couldn't walk fast. After telling my horse that, he slowed and matched his steps to mine--without physical cue!
My horse loves it when I "whisper" into his ear...he drops (he is gelded)...sometimes embarrassing...dependent on who is around...my farrier often says...he really "likes"you Pat...as he drops his head and leans into me gently as he is trimmed...very relaxed...he loves it when I sing softly whilst I am grooming him... no one loves it when I sing..except for Kobi ;) ....I respect what you are saying...I always speak in a low/gentle tone...I had heard this before..re horses not responding to voice...but then I watched John O'leary talking to his horses...and followed suit with success..but what the hell do I know...a mature woman coming back into the horse world after many years apart from horses...but Kobi and I have nutured our relationship a good 5 years now...and it seems to work...thank you for your videos and will be pursuing watching more...and I respect your knowledge...at one time after welcoming my horse into the family...was about to consider sending him back....he just didn't respect me at all...but after pursuing some good advice by a man who had a vested interest in natural horsemanship. now I feel we have a "relationship"built on mutual respect...just don't agree on the talking issue is all...thanks Warwick :)
I salvaged an abused mare via John Lyons, in time she cued nicely on the ground via vocal cues. In the saddle, it was non verbal cues except to praise her when needed
I have a very verbal horse. He "talks" to me all the time. People who own horses will tell me they've never seen anything like it. Horses are as different personality-wise as people are. My mare only whinny's at me when I come home from being gone or at feeding time. I have just always talked to my horses, it's just what I do. I am fully aware that they pick up on body language more so than anything. I'm fully aware of their body language too. It's a mutual respect & really once you gain a horses trust by becoming the leader, everything else falls into place. Horses need & crave consistency.
Since when you are driving a carriage horse you are sitting behind the horse and if, like most carriage horses, the horse will be wearing blinders and so cannot see you behind them, verbal cues can take on more importance than during ground or ridden work. Many carriage horses are taught a variety of audio cues that work without benefit of human body language. The whip and reins refine and reinforce those audio cues to which many well-trained carriage horses reliably respond.
You are right about training cues. However like you said horses vocalise their emotions, therefore talking calmly and in a low soothing voice helps to calm horses not that they understand what we are saying thats for sure. I also find whistling a little tune to stop a spooking horse works (and has saved many a disaster..) but I don't really know why. If someone could shed some light on that one I'd be glad to read what you have to say.
I never got the impression that he was saying using your voice is wrong... just that using your voice isn't necessary. And maybe giving people a wake-up call that their horses don't understand English. But you are definitely right about talking as a means to help US relay better cues. I constantly talk to my horses as I work with them because it helps me maintain a certain energy that the horses pick up on =]
Me again: This was an exceptional mare, I competed in cutting, stock horse and rail classes on her. Sold her to get my man through school. When my dad passed away she went off feed for 3 days and I know it was from my depression. I have always has a horse since but have never kept one. Have two daughters that are pro trainers. and I still train and love to work with horses
Couldn't resist that, Warwick. Another great video. I have to confess to talking to my horses for both commands & also just chattering away for the sake of it. Not easy to ride without talking to them but of course it's just for us really isn't it? :) Thanks for sharing. Your videos really are helpful .
Talk to the saddle horse while you're grooming it, communicate through touch while riding. For driving though, voice commands are used because your only contact with the animal is through the reins and the reins are mostly just applied for brakes. So...horses (and oxen, reindeer, dogs and mules) CAN and do listen to and follow verbal commands.
I accidentally taught my horse one word. Sweetheart. I call him that during meaningless chatter while I have coffee or whatever. It was unintentional but now if I say Sweetheart my horse appears right in front of me. My son tried calling him over but no way he's calling a horse Sweetheart. He tried a lot of other things, but no go. So I said Hey Sweetheart and magically the horse appeared. I have to be careful not to call anyone else Sweetheart because of that. Otherwise you're absolutely right. Our conversations are facial expressions and body language.
I have talked to my horses many times, both verbally & mentally. Every time, the things I have talked about have happened even when I am not sitting on the horse.
This is very interesting. I've always been taught that horses learn verbal commands very easily and use them often myself. However I always use them more for emphasis in conjunction with body language rather than the actual command. The only time I can remember a horse that would respond to only voice commands was a very excitable ottb who knew the word canter (and would often respond to it even if it wasn't her rider asking for it😅). And all of my coaches horses understand woah but I think it's more the tone of voice they're listening to rather that the word itself.
+Sean Hazelwood Sean , which is exactly what I said in the video. if you watched it until the end, you would see that I started to teach this horse a voice cue.
when my dad was a kid, he broke a team of drafts himself and his family couldn't afford a tractor to feed animals with that had a front end loader, so he voice trained the horses. Obvious cue was whoa, but he liked his horses to wait for him. So he would load up their wagon with the hay, unload them by hand but not yet cut the twine off. He would say "go home" and the team walked themselves home three miles and waited at the other barn to be unhitched. They waited there for three hours twice a day for my dad to unhitch them and turn them out.
All of my horses work off of verbal cues ( walk, trot, canter) and body cues (Clinton Anderson) in the round pen...my mare knows her name (or my tone of voice) and when she stops on the hot walker and I say her name (very sternly) she starts walking again.
So true, horses need a que, as humans our main method of communicating is vocal. So even though we use que's, we automatically also verbalize. If you pay attention you CAN tell that the horse reacts from the que, not necessarily the verbalization...
My horse evolved in the middle east, not Europe. I communicate with body language but my horse is reasured when spoken to softly. He is the most communicative horse I've ever met but if I say my horse said one thing or another I don't mean he used words. He does know a very few verbal commands. Very few.
+WarwickSchiller I've heard a lot of people say they don't start horses under saddle until they're at least three years old. You seem like such a knowledgable horse person so I'd be curious to hear your reasoning at starting them a full year earlier at two. Do you worry about the impact that might have on their musculoskeletal development? No disrespect intended, just curious to hear another opinion :)
I agree with your concern. I commented on this very point. I prefer to keep a horse in a herd setting to learn good horse life lessons. Horses are the best teachers of horses. I start horses at 5 years old. They should have stopped growing by about that time. Then I do lots and lots of ground work before I ever think of getting in the saddle.
Hannah Bodner I started my current horse at 7. He was still growing. Arabians are slow reaching maturity and I like to make sure all growth plates are closed including the spine which is the last to close. Between 7 and 8 he has still grown another inch. I hope he doesn't get any taller.
yeah it's weird there's no anwser here. Maybe some people just want to exploite horses as much as it's possible when they're young and strong and they don't care how much the animals will suffer afterwards
Great to hear other people letting their horses mature and just 'be' horses before starting them under saddle. Every book I read stated not to ride them before 3 (with the exception of racehorses, but that's a different story) I've acquired a lovely Arab, nearly 7 and unridden as yet. I think it's a perfect age to start.
It's actually illegal in some countries to ride under 4 year old horses because they're still growing and it's basically treated as cruelty. So 2 seems very young but maybe there's differences between breeds or something, anyhow 2 does seem young.
I have a stallion that will give me, from the ground, mounted on his back, or behind him in harness, "walk", "jog"(slow trot), "trot"(working trot), "strong"(strong trot), "lope"(slow western gate), "canter"(faster English gate), and "up,up"(speed this gate up
when riding bareback i've noticed my voice doesn't' do anything hes right,. i relaxed my body and my horse relaxed his. he gets so hyper and antsy when its time to canter. i'm gonna remember this
I'm a ray hunt student and I talk to all my horses. You're right about how they communicate, but words are powerful tools: check out Dr. Masaru Emoto's work on words. My horses listen - they're not anthropomorphic, but they come when I call them, etc. You are right about visual cues - not disagreeing.
Thoughts about verbal communication with blind horses? I have a blind mare that I rescued last year. Much of my talking is to let her know where I am but I do also want to train her to ride eventually.
Ha ha it's funny when horse people get on their high horse. I talk to my horse constantly - tell him stories HA HA but it's only because it makes me happy. He responds better (than without voice cues) with voice cues, but I can't imagine him working with only voice cues. It's a helpful training tip! As always, thanks Warwick :)
Body language is so subconscious sometimes. Honestly when I think about it only 2 of my dogs could be considered "voice command" trained. My horse was on the way to learning voice command but I just found it unnecessary so I dropped it and stuck to my other cues. He's so good for body language cues I really put the time in on - feet stand lunge/lead... under saddle needs a polish but we were really good at reading each other before I had to stop riding. I want to work on it but that is not possible at the moment and perhaps not practical for our situation Occasionally you ask for suggestions of what the viewers want to see I suggest a video on how our often subconscious body language can cause an issue / trouble shooting our communication with our equine partners
hey Warwick, just a question, wont the horse associate you " whoh" command with the action of turning rather than stopping? thanks for all your great videos and look fwd to seeing you in Caboulture QLD mate.
You confirm what I learned so many years ago. They want someone in control. Someone in charge. The alpha. It's either by sense of smell or sense of thought. A combination of both. ESP. That is what they trust. When they trust that you are the leader, the protector, the provider, all else is possible. Although sound matters, the spoken word is nonsense to your horse.
I sing to mine a lot if theres a lot of other noises going on n we're in strange places. they don't know what im singing, (and I am a rubbish singer)lol, but if I can hear a lunatic motorcyclist or sirens heading my way I sing. maybe it calms me! we also have a partial blind horse who is happy to be ridden where she knows, but we have to talk to her before approach so she knows we are heading her way.
"The best horsemen I've ever seen do not communicate with their horses verbally". I would have agreed with this up until I started driving. I've now seen a lot of extremely good horsemen whose horses understand quite a few words, "whoa, stand, back, gee, haw (or right, left), steady, walk, trot, canter, over, etc.". You can't get good performance out of a draft or driving horse with out some verbal commands. As a rider whose mare works nearly completely off of my seat and legs, this has been like like learning Martian with neither of us understanding it to begin with. Yes, touch and body language is best and most natural to horses, but you can only barely use the first and cannot use the second at all if the horse is directly in front of you and likely wearing blinders.
I totally agree, I have seen some driving horses trained like that, and they were amazing. But I was talking about the average person, like the lady i referenced in the video.
The story about that particular rider was funny. I just discovered your videos. I like what I see and I'm impressed by how you express things so clearly.
@@WarwickSchiller I don't know "driving" horses but I can vouch for experienced draft horses and mules knowing several verbal commands. On the other hand, the good ones know their jobs so well they don't need any direction at all.
So as you say, at the end, Warwick, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with using words, or making sounds to train your horse as long as you teach him/her the right way. Which is why plow horses, go and stop by words or noises (of course the words need to be distinct and somewhat different to casual speech so the horse can differentiate) and the old milkman's horse, from my childhood, would go by words (he could not see the milkman for hand cues, as he, the milkman was delivering the milk bottles to the door) no one was in the milk van to steer or stop. Soothing words/sounds to a very fractious horse, in a terrifying situation like a kangaroo attack (in his mind) as well as you siting heavy in the saddle, not gripping the reins and counteracting with turning if necessary, distracts or reminds him you are up there, or at the very least it calms you down : - ) .
horses can learn verbal cues those , once they understand what a cue means, like if I tell khalessi to come she comes over, or a combination, but eventually after using body language they eventually learn to respond to verbal cues.
if you were too have a conversation with a dog they wouldnt understand it, but if you used a cue that involved an action theyd learn the combination and eventually you could do the verbal cue by itself just like a horse could, accept even with simple verbal cues you still have subtle body language even people communicate with body language they just dont realize it.
People and dogs are really good at voice commands. Because of this it is almost impossible for most people to accept that horses are not good at voice commands. I have never seen a horse respond to voice alone in any significant way.
I have owned many horses for many years because of one horse I had that understood English. I have never kept one after that I just buy, train and sell. I quit showing her in rail classes because she would instantly do what the announcer said! I trained her to bring me what I asked for an old blanket, old hat, and her grain pan. I could drop a glove while riding, she would pick it up. She would always bring what I asked for. When I rode out, day rides I would always unsaddle, be away from her and ask her to bring me the saddle blanket which I would pour the grain on so she could when I had my lunch,. 7 of us gals went on a 3 day ride up on the face of Timp. in Utah. We stayed in an old cabin. Mine was the only horse that was not tied at night. Before dawn I woke and went out to start a fire. The twigs were damp and I could not get it going. My mare walked up behind me, scrambled my hair. I did not get up, point, or look at her. I just said Gyp go get your blanket and I'll give you some grain! She walked off was gone a long time I thought she had gone down to the other horses. I could not get a fire going. Then I heard her walking, she swung my her saddle blanket and bumped me with it. The fire pit was out in front of the cabin and the saddles and blankets were all behind the cabin. I have no Idea what took her so long, I would not think the memory would be so long. So I know she understood English.
We go out on the trail , my horse or mule and i.we rarely ride with others. I sing and chat to let wildlife know we are coming. If I hear an animal I'll get quiet and come to a stop using as little rein and seat as possible.then I whisper....shhhhh dont move....and together we get quiet and both listen. We do these things together. Everything is in unison. He understands. It's an agreement.
I really don't want to be offensive because I love these videos but horses do listen to you. They don't understand words human language but they listen to the tone of your voice. Anyway, I have seen some people just use their voice to get a horse to walk or back up it whatever. Like they do in the Paralympics. But they are using their tone of voice to tell a horse what to do. My horse listens to me. If he is trotting too fast and I say whoa, he will slow down. My horse doesn't understand me but he listens Nd reads me. Some people also like to just have a chat with a horse. Horses can tell what emotions a human is feeling, like if I was riding my horse feeling nervous, he would know and take advantage of it. Horses are very clever. Don't underestimate them. Nobody knows everything abot horses. Some may know more Han others, but never EVERTHING. Again, don't want to seem offensive but I am never going I stop talking to my horse.
You didn’t watch the video at all did you. Horses can’t read human emotions, they can’t even read horse emotions, there’s no such thing, they just have stimuli-response behaviours.
The horses I ride one will trot when the voice command is used without any aid, and stand with a voice command. but that's all. The trotting is because he loves to trot and is always just waiting for that and the stand is through it being used so often.
so you're talking about "horses won't listen to the words you say" but while youre saying that, you cluck at your horse to get him to trot :D don't get me wrong, you're absolutely right with what you're saying. i just found it funny that you're doing what you try to teach us not to do ;) and to my point of view about talking to horses: i personally like to talk to my horses. not because i think they will understand what i say, but talking to them will increase my own body language. i talk to my horses, so i get my body language right. it's for me, not for the horse. i tend to be a little clumsy with my own body :D
If you watched until the end you'd also see I was teaching the horse to stop off the word whoa. i didnt say they dont listen to what you say, I did say that most people think they have trained the horse to do so when they havent
its the same with dogs though, if i hold my leash to snuggles and tell him to go in his cage that would confuse them and of course he'd think we are going on a car ride somewhere so he wouldnt go in his cage. My aunt would say a bunch of different words, because her dogs would bark any time sandy said that someone is here, so she wanted to see if they actually knew the persons name that was here or if they just recognized here, and she would say sock is here, they would bark, shoe is here, toe is here, sally is here, the sky is here and to them it all was the samething because the only thing they recognized was here, whatever else came with it meant that someone was here outside. Horses are the same, khalessi does learn lots of verbal cues but even with people verbal cues mean nothing if they dont match up what you are saying, if I told my grandma i was brushing my teeth while brushing my hair instead, thatd confuse her shed be like what your brushing your hair. Like if I ask khalessi to back or lower her head, if I havent done that thing in awhile when I ask for it through a bit of pressure she will pause for a minute when i use the same word everytime somtimes after using the word she realizes the task I am asking. So verbal cues only mean something if they have an action or a body cue, even people, if you told a person bye as you were walking in the room, it wouldnt be the same. If I told khalessi to come while i was trying to back her uup shed be like what the heck is this crazy person doing, so they learn verbal cues when it has an action to it, if used consistently then you can eventually use it alone but its always added to a subtle body language, technically we use body language with peple all the time, horses are differently smarter then dogs. Khalessi learns more tasks then a dog could ever learn. Dogs tend to learn by verbal cues faster, their learning abiltiy is the highest of almost all animals but horses are more body language communication and emotionally they are much smarter.
I talk to my horse about my dog and I talk to my dog about my horse. They may not understand what I am saying but I guarantee they are listening. I wouldn’t have anybody to talk to some days if it wasn’t for them two.
What do you think about saying "good boy" instead of giving a soft stroke on the neck while riding for praise? do you prefer the soft stroke? or do you not do either? This would be for say a nice relaxed forward trot. Verbal is easier then interrupting the trot or do you just wait till you stop and then give the pat or stroke. Thanks Warwick!
I disagree with this I work with an Amish trained mule and she was taught to turn right, left, go, and stop all verbally an I can still do this with her with no contact on the reins and no leg cues. I have also taught her myself to yield her hindquarters with only saying yield and walking towards her hindquarters there is no pressure on her nose which is what most horses move off of
He demonstrates how to verbally train a horse at the end of the video. It's a simple process really, and essential in driving horses, especially draft breeds that work in large teams. That said, a horse learning a verbal cue is not the same as a horse 'understanding' when you talk. That's the point.
I do include voice commands, but agree in how you suggest they should be taught. Try checking out barryhook2 channel on UA-cam. He drives horses in the UK and uses his tone of voice and verbal commands as aid to communication. The horses do seem to be listening and responding vs him using the reins all the time (for calming and speed control).
I talk to my horse mainly to keep him calm in a way, just because if I talk about random stuff (doesn't even matter what I say, I know he cant understand the words) I relax more and I send out more positive energy. Same with if I ask him to stop I always think in my head "stop" because if I do I know my body and energy will automatically tell the horse to stop. He reads my body, not my words; But I need my words to give more clear signals. That's why I talk to my horse. :)
i know it is quite off topic but do anybody know a good place to watch new movies online?
Another great video Warwick! But I have something here for you all to thing of. I have one eyed horse. When I have to lunge or work on his blind side I use word for every gait (mainly with same vocal interaction in every gait transition - faster upward voice for upward transition and slow, calm for downward transition) or signals when he is too close to my space and I don't want him close to me. Horses doesn't understand our language for sure, but in his case I can't use body language as a cue because he can't see me. So I had to teach him how to answer to every word command when he can't see me otherwise he was really afraid to move. When your horse doesn't have any special issues I believe they are primary using your body language. But when horse is blind he needs to adapt to your vocal cues, because he doesn't have any other option.
I am sorry for mistakes, english is not my first language :)
As a carriage driver, I need voice commands. I cant use leg, seat is limited, and the horse can't see me. This is helpful.
Silver Lagomorpha I to am a carriage driver and we use verbal and whip commands when long lining before we ever hook because as you mentioned there are limited adds we can use when driving.
@@mashley444 That's why postilions existed.
Lazy Gardens not sure where Postilions comes in as it’s definition is a person who rides the left horse of a leading or only pair of horses drawing a carriage.
@@mashley444 They guide the team. The coachman is for show or not even there if you have postilions.
Look at the royal coaches: all postilions, no coachman.
Their original use was to bring back the the coach or horses (or both) in "post chaise" rentals.
Yes but you probably use a stick
Couldn't help but laugh when the backup alarm went off as Warwick went, "Back, Back, BACK!"
+Whomever You Please took me a minute - when i heard the BEEP i thought he was imitating the woman cursing her horse and they bleeped the word out lol
Katie B Same. At first I thought it was intentional.😂😂😂
Your horses’ expression while you imitated the lady backing up was priceless!! 😂😂😂
My horse used to holler out to me in the pasture and come running; I knew he was saying hello and I do believe he did recognize my voice- and his name, when I called him--but it was only because he knew I was there to see him, and he would get attention, and maybe even carrots!
Horses, by design of their social structure for survival are masters of body language and we can learn so much from them. If you spend time with them and learn their ways, you can see just how expressive their body language is - the many positions of the ears, swish of the tail, cocked leg, facial expressions -you name it-even the slightest things are telling and have significant purpose.
When we ride together and are chatting with human friends, our horses are also busy communicating with eachother when we fail to make our own deep connection with them. Perhaps on a big trail ride they might be vying for pecking order, or excited about the new mare they just ‘met’ trotting next to them. We need to have a sound connection with our horse, so they are present with us, instead of doing their own thing.
It’s hard work to get that kind of respect from a horse.....The hardest part for me has been using body language correctly and communicating back the right way, with perfect timing and temperament. We are such verbal creatures. I think many people anthromorphize horses and thus try to communicate with human language.
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It must've been painful to watch that woman rocking on her horse... and then smack it. Sometimes people don't get the simple principle of body language... how would an animal understand human language? At most they get the sound. Just as we can't understand a horse's neighs and whinnies, but we get a rough idea from the tone of their sounds. I appreciate that you taught these people in a very rational - and effective - way, rather than bashing. You're a true gentleman & a pro worthy of respect :) Keep making great videos!
Warwick, your videos are addictive. The information you teach is so valuable. I walk away each time enriched with horse knowledge. Thank you.
I think what he says is extremely true! They can understand a few basic words and different sounds but mostly because they are used to you asking. Most likely wouldn't listen if someone else asked because they wouldn't understand their body language the same. As for the calming down, I bet it calms you down to talk and they feel your emotions calming so they follow.
It def. doesn't hurt and I'll always talk because it helps me know exactly what I want
Crazy the number of people who clearly didn't actually watch, listen, or pay attention in any other capacity to the video. He's not saying they WON'T respond to verbal cues, he's saying that verbal cues aren't their primary means of communication - and that unless you train in the ***specific order*** of 1. Verbal cue, 2. Physical cue, it is unlikely that your horse actually understands the words you're saying to them. If you've taught your horse to respond to verbal cues, then congratulations: you have a horse that "listens to you". If, on the other hand, you have not specifically trained your horse to respond to a verbal cue, but instead have only made a habit of talking at them while you work, then it is highly unlikely that your horse truly differentiates between the words you're saying and the ACTUAL PHYSICAL CUES you're giving them.
:) We like to think that our voice has almost magical influence over our horses, and we resent it when someone bursts that bubble. Cheers!
Right.
I usually ride my horse with just weight, but I have taught her to immediately stop when I say såja. If I say it in the middle of a trot without doing anything else, she'll stop like to a wall. While if I sit back in trot, she'll shift to walk. I taught this word to her due to safety reasons, so whenever I need her to be perfectly still, I can use it as an enforcement together with my bodylanguage. It works great in traffic too or any emergency when she must stop immediately. I found your video very useful though, very insightful.
A very good video and right on the money when it comes to verbal communication with horses. This reminds me of a beautiful show mare we used to have who while unloading off the trailer, who I would ask to "watch your head" as she passed through the trailer door.
While I know without a doubt that she was more than likely responding to a subtle cue or just the fact that I only spoke when she reached the threshold, it was always quite amusing to watch a 16.3 hand horse drop her head almost between her knees as she backed out of the trailer right at the moment I said "watch your head" and continue to keep it lowered until I said "OK, your safe!"
I knew a lady who taught all her horses to look at the ground in front of them when she said 'careful'.
I totally understand that they don't understand the meaning of the words and that there are a limited number of verbal cues you can really condition. However, talking impacts human emotion and horses read THAT loud and clear. For me I talk for my own benefit and allow the words and attached emotions alter my body language and behaviors which horses can understand...not the words but how you feel about those words.
completely agree
I've been doing groundwork with my horse the last month or so (after years of doing nothing with him because of my illness) and he'd become really difficult to handle. Anyway, using your exercises I've been making great progress. I came across this video and thought, hey, might as well try cutting out the talking and see what happens. Well, it was like putting my reading glasses on to read! I shut my mouth and suddenly was able to focus on my body language, on his body language, on when I was putting pressure on him and when I was releasing it. Communication has become really focused and simplified. I swear my horse is paying attention in a way he never did before. Thanks for the great tip!
I talk for myself because I've found that it changes my body language in a way that the horse understands, so I don't have to think so much about my body language. It becomes a reflex.
spot on Warwick, body language is more than 85% of conversation. I started working as a disability worker in my 40's and i had amazing responses with my human clients which left my co workers wondering how I did it. When questioned about my break through s with challenging clients I just said my horses taught me, (that fell on deaf ears). I worked as a taxi driver many years doing night shifts and watching a persons body language as they come to your taxi. This tells you whether you should drive off or take the fare. Horses do the same thing ! Horse goes" no I'm not taking this fare, recall" :) my horses have taught me a lot about people, saved my life driving cabs because i know flight response
I accidentally taught my horse to think his name is Jesus Christ... whenever I say JC (in a disbelieving kind of tone) he perks his attention towards me 😅😅😅
LOL The bull headed Appaloosa I had for years thought his name was "you ugly SOB." He was both - ugly and a SOB. Strong as a front end loader, knew how to do everything, and would do everything if you could MAKE him do it. Tiring, very tiring.
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Try having a horse that came named Pearl 😐
hes the horse that carried Michael the arc angel when he was at war with lucifer
😂
Agree totally. I only praise verbally because it makes me feel good!
I teach my pupils to speak to their horses not because the horse understands, but because they do. If the human speaks quietly and calmly, they stay calm. If they say please and thank you to the horse (for say, lifting a hoof), that shapes how the human reacts. I agree that you still have to use your hand or whatever for the horse to know you want her hoof up.
:) Laughing, enjoyed it!
Not as easy teaching humans as it is horses. They complicate things with their intelligence!
Bill Campanelli I'm pretty sure my arabian stallion is at least as intelligent as I am. Just in a different way. And he's much better looking.
Let's run college kids around in circle and see if it works. It worked for us in Ranger School in the hand to hand pit.
My horse does everything I tell him to do. It's the truth! When I tell him, don't
bark like a dog, he gladly obeys. When I tell him don't recite the US Constitution
or climb trees, he doe exactly what I tell him. And that's why I'm thoroughly
convinced that stick horses are the smartest horses in the entire world!
ROTFL! :0)
Thank you for the lovely video - and a funny example, too. I do talk to animals in general, but it'd be absolute nonsense and not really supposed to make them do anything. Most of the time, it's actually meant to calm myself down. Or just humming, really. My way of thinking, I suppose, is that when I hum or talk softly, I calm myself down, my muscles relax, and with that my horse does as well.
In the beginning of this video I was thinking "oh man, I thought I liked this guy and now he's on about horses not understanding voice cues". Further into the video I was glad to find that he does not really believe that. I never realized how much I talk to my horses until I started driving horses. Suddenly I was very glad that I used voice
Yes, folk should listen to the whole video!
I absolutely love your explanations and training, Warwick. I've taught my horse verbal cues like woah and walk on, trot on, but like how you said, say it first, then the physical command. Although my horse is still quite green, so he needs more work with that. I find you to be an amazing trainer!
I used to talk to my horse just to calm him, or to keep his attention on me, or to make him understand if I was pleased with him or not, never thought he was really listening to the meaning of my words, but to the tone and sound of them. And it seemed to work
And what else were you doing physically at the same time? I definetly think horses understand voice tone bur I have also have had a horse 100% mimic my body movement by asking him “ can you do this?”, and it was a “non trained” action , totally spontaneous which came out of “ play” where I initially copied the horse’s actions. I was playing and had no expectation that he would comprehend my verbal request, but he certainly perfectly observed what I did and immedietly replicated it which blew me away. He was a very intelligent, social horse, deeply connected to me during that process of play..... we looked at each other eye to eye and he did not look away....he comprehended. Amazing and thrilling.
Brilliant! Mine do walk, trot or lope with verbal command, but there is always cues I give them with it. They have been trained that way, like you showed. Never thought about it until I watched this video. Thank you, Warwick!!!
I think the talking simply calms ME down while grooming him. Its my way of bonding with him prior to riding. Does more for me than him I'm sure. However, he too has stopped when I'm talking with another rider and said "No" in our conversation. I believe he "thought" I said Whoa. I'd have to tape my mouth shut. Ha!
Horses may not understand English or words, and I agree that they focus largely on your body language, but I also think they listen a bit to your tone of voice. I was always taught that when I wanted my horse to slow down, to say whoa in a deep voice, whereas if I wanted my horse to speed up to say trot or canter as 2 syllables with the second being slightly higher pitched. I don't know if it makes a difference, but some horses seem to respond to it. I think it's more your tone of voice than the actual words though
Thourobred hunter.u have a pretty face..
I work with yearlings and lunging etc walk on trot on whooo along with gestures SOMETIMES n I dont use lunge whips while asking for a slower gait but I find it works perfectly well also with free schooling but I cant for the life of me get the feckers to go get me sunscreen or my drink out of my bag!!! YET😉😆love your videos short straight to the point easy explanation and understandable and you don't spend an hour on extra garbage and as for advertisements n selling products etc your videos are much more attractive direct n so educational! I've subscribes and will be recommending you well done and thank you from🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮
After watching this video I’ll be more aware of how and when I use language with my horses. I like his way of teaching voice commands.
Watched this video and felt crazy for talking to my horses then I went out to the barn and tried what you had that lady to do. My appaloosa that my mom has had since before I was born did what I asked (he did it very half-heartedly), whereas my problem child Quarter Horse looked at me for half a second and went back to his own business. I don't know what to think haha
horses can choose to listen or not but its all about learning the task, horses arent mind readers and I think horses can learn verbal cues and act on verbal cues after they have been taught their body language what they are supposed to do, like for instance their are times when khalessi just ignores me and she clearly knows the task she typically will do this when released in a pasture but when shes paying attention if I ask her to come khalessi, she comes but i first used a lead rope and pressure, now i can just tell her to come with my voice and of course even words with humans always have body language involved even if its only subtle. Nothing means anything if it doesnt have an action or result. Like a baby or a person if they never were taught the action of hello, this would mean nothing to them so we often forget that all verbal cues come with actions used over and over again that we now actually here verbal cues and instantly relate them to that action.
lately ive been trying ot use less pressure and just use my verbal cues when leading her such if I turn i wanted to see if she could learn just by my voice and she does.
my goal is to try liberty but i want to see how many things i can teach her to do on verbal commands alone but they have to be backed up with an action first with body language otherwise how are they supposed to know what that cue means.
its the same with people we learn millions of words but they had to be linked to something visual, literal, they have to have an action, if someone is sad but they are smiling, thatd make no sense but we learned that by the body language themselves. So someone of a different language wouldnt know that cue.
like words mean nothing and horses arent mind readers, cues always have to be backed up with something. Like youll see people screaming at their horses, stand still!! Dumb why arent you standing still, that means nothing to a horse without being taught that action to the word. So driving horses often learn a lot of verbal cues because they have to learn them if they are going to be street safe, this one trainer teachers his horses to stand, stand, but he teaches them what that action is very early in age or early in training. Verbal cues for driving ahorse are more important because you want them to understand how to do something safely without that much pressure. SO verbal cues for driving horses in harness are mch more important.
You can get it done from the ground in the round pen as well. Late in your workout when they're a little fatigued, push their pace at a lope for two maybe three spins around until you see them thinking that a rest would be a real good idea about now. Say Whoa and then make a step, maybe two toward cutting them off at the pass. They'll stop. Over some reps, you won't have to make that step anymore, although I'm sure their will be some conveyance of body language even if it is the slightest bit of a lean. Over time you'll be able to say whoa and get a stop even as they pass behind you. I'm getting old and more than a little scared about coming off of one in a wreck, so I'm looking hard for ways to get things done on the ground.
Charles Wilhelm's videos convinced me to have them trained to death from the ground before you ever even put weight in the stirrup.
Thats a great point. I am from Iceland so ride icelandic horse, its very rich in our culture to speak to the horse like a person. Probably because we relied on horses for survival, no roads, nothing. And more horses there than people too.
But as for commands we dont use them much verbally. So its like we are comnunicating a lot but more as a "conversation" to a friend. I thought everyone did this but now living abroad I see they dont. But realized its an Icelander thing.
The other day there is this world famous world champion Icelander (Magnus Skulason) on an interview and speakung in English to a German, his horse stands there too,the World champion actually,so as the interview continues the horse starts getting impatient. The man keeps answering questions then says to his horse in the middle of a sentence (in Icelandic) "its okay boy we are almost done" then contines speaking in English to the interviewer.
Its so natural and I am pretty sure he did not think he did that it was a reflex to the horse "telling" him "thisisgetting boring,how long are we standing here?"
In Sweden where I live now the horses are mostly outside now (summer) then we take them in to prepare for riding or training. Very often I hear a horse (its a big barn) and will walk and check and USUALLY ALWAYS there is a person there too. What I find so weird is how silent the Swedes are. They never talk to their horse. So I have no way of knowing if the horse is alone or with a person. When I am there people will say "oh Ithought you were on the phone" The idea that I was speaking in a conversational manner to my mare does not occur to them. I will say stuff like "I am just going to go get the X" I understand she is not understanding all the words. But to me its polite and normal behavior. Yes I know its a bit crazy now when I think of it. But I tell you, most of us do this LOL
I am completely blind, so I can’t rely on body language very much. I’ve been training my 15 hand ott pacer on my own for the last few months. In the lunge, I have taught her how to walk, trot, stop all with my voice but I did that using different sounds and saying the words as well. For example, if I say walk-on, I make a kissing noise. If I ask for a trot, I make a chewing noise, if I ask for a stop, I make a woo noise. It is all coming together really well, it will be interesting to see what happens when I get to riding her.
Excellent video. People also confuse words and tone. When I'm teaching people, I often point out the disconnect between whatever word they used and the tone and body language accompanying it. For example, a high pitched "whoa" while hanging on the reins incites "go" not stop, so getting voice to match intention helps many riders. For example, deep growling lessons can help nice ladies develop quiet yet assertive body language and speaking softly and slowly can calm.human nerves.
As usual great videos from Warwick and much respect for down to earth training. I would like to pass along that I have seen many older show horses who learn to pick up the announcer giving gait transitions before the rider really gives a cue. And we know horses certainly listen to our tone of voice when giving them a strong grumble to stop doing such and such. You can test that yourself. For under saddle - I use to say he isn’t really listening as much as he feels you getting ready for the next gait just because you know the announcer’s call is coming and in what order. However, at a show that was 100F in the shade, 90%+ humidity and showing an American Saddlebred Walk-Trot horse - I was having difficulty dealing with the heat (even though we had iced my head, neck, wrists right before going in along with ice cold rag in hat and neck). Anyway it was late afternoon and the ring was shaded by trees by that time of the day but it was one of the most unbearable days showing I had ever had. I had thought of cancelling, but it was a prelim class, had to be done to go in championship class the next evening and we had driven 4 hours to get there, etc so I thought we would just take it easy. Anyway, after the first trot, I was dizzy and feeling kinda disconnected. I briefly told a friend on the rail that I thought I needed to withdraw - she said no you’re okay - just a few more minutes, said everyone was having difficulty (20 horses). Well, I don’t remember asking for the first canter, nor really anything until I was in the lineup. The judge was coming down the line and I was really out of it and feeling sick on my stomach. He said “nice horse” and I asked if I could withdraw - he said “now” and I said “yes I was dizzy”. He said he asked if I could hold on just another minute and he sent the card to the announcer (I was the last horse to be looked at). He must have decided I was looking worse and came over to see if I was alright. I remember his hand on my left leg and that was the last thing I remember. I fainted off the horse and into his arms - woke up lying under the local funeral home’s tent (they donated it for a first aid station) and rescue guys trying to get me cooled and out of some my clothes and opened up to the air. It was probably the ice bags they were packing around me to get my body temp down that woke me up. The first sensation was the ice bag under my head and neck. I didn’t even realize I had won the class and that was why the judge wanted me to wait until he turned the card in. If I had withdraw, he couldn’t have placed me. I didn’t know this judge at all, but I’m sure he remembered me for a long time as it isn’t often a competitor faints in your arms. And yes ladies, he was good looking - I got teased quite a bit about that later on.
This is a long way around to say I gave that horse no cues that I could remember. In fact someone said later, the horse looked like he was trying to stay under me - like one will do with a drunk rider. I was drunk - with near heat stroke. Years of being shown, he knew we stayed on the rail except to pass another rider, it was a large ring and he had heard the same commands for 14-15 years of show season and he just did it. They said he looked great - though a little hesitant a couple of times. Had other horses been brighter and not also droopy from the heat - we probably wouldn’t have won with me in that shape but the point is - he completed the class from the first canter, reverse, all 3 gaits second way, and going into the lineup pretty much by himself. I was basically a sack of potatoes and didn’t remember anything. A friend (on the rail) whose barn I showed out of knew something wasn’t right but she said everything was going okay. She said I had been beet red but on the line had gone really white and that was when she really realized I was not okay and she had headed to the exit gate..
Now you can ask - if the gait calls had been out of order, would he have done the same order of years of past experience or executed the gait called for. We will never know, but he was worked with simple one word cues at home and in different order whether we worked in the ring, on the driveway, on the logging roads (in fall after show shoes were pulled), or when being lined in harness. I changed up all the time to keep us from being bored. I will say I had experienced him (when at shows) in a warm up ring - occasionally pick up gaits the announcer was giving in the show ring but never really thought about it - I just bumped him back and we did what I asked for. Thus I think it is highly likely he might have picked up the gait the show ring announcer asked for even if out of order. And I’m sure when the other horses lined up, he followed the crowd. Normally the call to the lineup is more words andndifferent from announcer to announcer and has other information. The gait calls are much simpler “walk your horses, trot your horses, canter your horses” with an emphasis on the first word. I have seen many horses worked off voice cues and as Warwick mentioned, you give the command and then a physical action (position, reins, leg, etc) so is the well trained horse reacting to voice or feeling the barest (maybe unconscious) shift of the rider preparing to give the cues? However, I had an opportunity to experience a horse that had to be working off the announcer’s voice. Friends that observed the class thought something was going on -that’s for sure, they just didn’t realize what. That also makes you think about the fact that the horse did so well even though he was known to be an occasional pain at some shows - but was an absolute picture of compliance this time. It certainly makes you think that sometimes we just need to get out of their way and let them do what they are trained to do without so much interference. Many (most) times we are our own worst enemy and we have the issues, not the horse.
Whatever, for years I was teased by friends on my method of “winning” a class, and on my method of picking up a new boyfriend (one of the guys working in the rescue tent had lived in my home town and still came in every couple of weeks to visit his parents and family) and we dated for a while.
I also had a new respect for a horse that seemed to do his best to stay under me and take care of me. Over the years I have seen a number of horses being ridden by a new/different rider who was a fairly decent rider - being a pain or resisting in some way (that initial workout between a new rider and a top horse but one who can be more dominant if allowed). Then see the same horse with a young child or really soft but absolute beginner - the horse has quite a different attitude - no fight, no dominance - just goes along, and you will see them veere off first one way and the other trying to keep under the rider. I mentioned I had also seen this with riders who had too many cocktails before their class. I wish we could know what makes a horse do that but it certainly happens and we see it with other animals, dogs for example. They may not pay any or much attention when someone strange comes around the adults in the family, but let that happen with younger children, and they go on alert and can try to herd the youngster or become quite defensive. They seem to know or figure the adults can handle themselves even though their pack but not so with the younger or disabled members. My dog was always under my feet running and playing but my grandmother with a walker, she was so careful and would stay with her but just walked tentatively along nothing to trip or cause an issue. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could talk to them and ask questions instead of trying to guess. Years of experience with lots of different horses will give you more insight; however, until we can talk in their language or them in ours, we will never know for sure. God Bless.
gracious thats a long story
I speak to my horse all the time. I'm sure he doesn't understand but I enjoy it. I think it helps keep my energy where it needs to be lol
Hi Warwick
Lovely video and description of how to teach a que the right way. Love the comments below as horse human lived experiences are enjoyable to share. We teach by physical movement, including vocal tone all the time. Horses often learn by associated events; where we look or focus our eyes can influence movement. Repeat clearly three times and our horses get the connection. The challenge for humans is to be consistent. Sentient creatures read humans like a book! ☺
I love this guy. Good stuff and its simple
Dogs can learn up to 165 words. I know nothing about horses but both dogs and horses understands body language. I think horses are beautiful animals.
Excellent video. Of course, most of us talk to our horses (or even pet/treat them) because it's what feels good to US. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, as long as we don't forget what feels good to THEM (clear body language, etc). I did have a lesson horse years ago with whom I had to change verbal commands-- he had memorized entire sentences, and would anticipate the required circles and changes of direction before his rider asked them of him. He's the only one I can think of that was so completely tuned into verbal language though.
First at all, thaks to Warwick for sharing all this knowledge, I am learning a lot with his videos, and I would like to add my opinion to this. I do a lot of groundwork with my horse and I have noticed that many times the horse does the movement just some seconds after I am thiking to order it. Almost always since I have teached him to stop with the wow, he stops at the moment I just open my mouth to say wow. In my opinion they don't listen, it's somthing else...
Regards from Spain
anuchons
I believe it was Nuno Oliveira, the great Riding Master of Portugal, who said "Think the Movement, and the Horse will do it." They can read your mind!
I think some horses learn verbal commands faster and easier than others. Worked with a lesson horse who knew lunge commands so well, you could sub other words and she would still perform the expected moves--without any physical cues. Had a wonderful horse of my own that was such a gd partner. I had bronchitis, trouble breathing where couldn't walk fast. After telling my horse that, he slowed and matched his steps to mine--without physical cue!
My horse loves it when I "whisper" into his ear...he drops (he is gelded)...sometimes embarrassing...dependent on who is around...my farrier often says...he really "likes"you Pat...as he drops his head and leans into me gently as he is trimmed...very relaxed...he loves it when I sing softly whilst I am grooming him... no one loves it when I sing..except for Kobi ;) ....I respect what you are saying...I always speak in a low/gentle tone...I had heard this before..re horses not responding to voice...but then I watched John O'leary talking to his horses...and followed suit with success..but what the hell do I know...a mature woman coming back into the horse world after many years apart from horses...but Kobi and I have nutured our relationship a good 5 years now...and it seems to work...thank you for your videos and will be pursuing watching more...and I respect your knowledge...at one time after welcoming my horse into the family...was about to consider sending him back....he just didn't respect me at all...but after pursuing some good advice by a man who had a vested interest in natural horsemanship. now I feel we have a "relationship"built on mutual respect...just don't agree on the talking issue is all...thanks Warwick :)
I salvaged an abused mare via John Lyons, in time she cued nicely on the ground via vocal cues. In the saddle, it was non verbal cues except to praise her when needed
I have a very verbal horse. He "talks" to me all the time. People who own horses will tell me they've never seen anything like it. Horses are as different personality-wise as people are. My mare only whinny's at me when I come home from being gone or at feeding time. I have just always talked to my horses, it's just what I do. I am fully aware that they pick up on body language more so than anything. I'm fully aware of their body language too. It's a mutual respect & really once you gain a horses trust by becoming the leader, everything else falls into place. Horses need & crave consistency.
Since when you are driving a carriage horse you are sitting behind the horse and if, like most carriage horses, the horse will be wearing blinders and so cannot see you behind them, verbal cues can take on more importance than during ground or ridden work. Many carriage horses are taught a variety of audio cues that work without benefit of human body language. The whip and reins refine and reinforce those audio cues to which many well-trained carriage horses reliably respond.
As I said in the video, you can teach horses to respond to verbal cues, but the people I was referring to think they have, but havent
I talk to chipmunks. Lol I talk to all the animals. I think the deserve to be acknowledged. Warwick is great. I'm learning so much.
I have added on clicker training to Warwick work. In that they say get the behaviour established first then add a cue if you want to.
You are right about training cues. However like you said horses vocalise their emotions, therefore talking calmly and in a low soothing voice helps to calm horses not that they understand what we are saying thats for sure.
I also find whistling a little tune to stop a spooking horse works (and has saved many a disaster..) but I don't really know why. If someone could shed some light on that one I'd be glad to read what you have to say.
I never got the impression that he was saying using your voice is wrong... just that using your voice isn't necessary. And maybe giving people a wake-up call that their horses don't understand English. But you are definitely right about talking as a means to help US relay better cues. I constantly talk to my horses as I work with them because it helps me maintain a certain energy that the horses pick up on =]
I believe people listen to body language more than spoken words also
Body-language sure! :)
But part of our body is also our voice!
So use it!
Perhaps not in words, but your tone en level is comforting and stimulating!
Me again: This was an exceptional mare, I competed in cutting, stock horse and rail classes on her. Sold her to get my man through school. When my dad passed away she went off feed for 3 days and I know it was from my depression. I have always has a horse since but have never kept one. Have two daughters that are pro trainers. and I still train and love to work with horses
Couldn't resist that, Warwick. Another great video. I have to confess to talking to my horses for both commands & also just chattering away for the sake of it. Not easy to ride without talking to them but of course it's just for us really isn't it? :) Thanks for sharing. Your videos really are helpful .
Talk to the saddle horse while you're grooming it, communicate through touch while riding.
For driving though, voice commands are used because your only contact with the animal is through the reins and the reins are mostly just applied for brakes. So...horses (and oxen, reindeer, dogs and mules) CAN and do listen to and follow verbal commands.
Really well put!
I agree! It’s all about tone and body language. They don’t care if you say trot, they care about how you say it
I accidentally taught my horse one word. Sweetheart. I call him that during meaningless chatter while I have coffee or whatever. It was unintentional but now if I say Sweetheart my horse appears right in front of me. My son tried calling him over but no way he's calling a horse Sweetheart. He tried a lot of other things, but no go. So I said Hey Sweetheart and magically the horse appeared. I have to be careful not to call anyone else Sweetheart because of that. Otherwise you're absolutely right. Our conversations are facial expressions and body language.
Well, my horse learned a few more words in the past year. All quite by accident.
I have talked to my horses many times, both verbally & mentally. Every time, the things I have talked about have happened even when I am not sitting on the horse.
This is very interesting. I've always been taught that horses learn verbal commands very easily and use them often myself. However I always use them more for emphasis in conjunction with body language rather than the actual command. The only time I can remember a horse that would respond to only voice commands was a very excitable ottb who knew the word canter (and would often respond to it even if it wasn't her rider asking for it😅). And all of my coaches horses understand woah but I think it's more the tone of voice they're listening to rather that the word itself.
If you associate a word or noise with a movement such as a click or wistle with say the act of moving forward than with repition then it will work
Many draft/farm and logging horses work off of voice cues. But, it takes a lot of time and repetition to get there.
+Sean Hazelwood Sean , which is exactly what I said in the video. if you watched it until the end, you would see that I started to teach this horse a voice cue.
I did, i just added that actual voice cues take a lot of time and effort
when my dad was a kid, he broke a team of drafts himself and his family couldn't afford a tractor to feed animals with that had a front end loader, so he voice trained the horses. Obvious cue was whoa, but he liked his horses to wait for him. So he would load up their wagon with the hay, unload them by hand but not yet cut the twine off. He would say "go home" and the team walked themselves home three miles and waited at the other barn to be unhitched. They waited there for three hours twice a day for my dad to unhitch them and turn them out.
All good logging horses are trained the same way.
Thanks Warwick great explanation mate.
I just realized how ironic "Horse whisperer" sounds now haha
All of my horses work off of verbal cues ( walk, trot, canter) and body cues (Clinton Anderson) in the round pen...my mare knows her name (or my tone of voice) and when she stops on the hot walker and I say her name (very sternly) she starts walking again.
So true, horses need a que, as humans our main method of communicating is vocal. So even though we use que's, we automatically also verbalize. If you pay attention you CAN tell that the horse reacts from the que, not necessarily the verbalization...
My horse evolved in the middle east, not Europe. I communicate with body language but my horse is reasured when spoken to softly. He is the most communicative horse I've ever met but if I say my horse said one thing or another I don't mean he used words. He does know a very few verbal commands. Very few.
+WarwickSchiller I've heard a lot of people say they don't start horses under saddle until they're at least three years old. You seem like such a knowledgable horse person so I'd be curious to hear your reasoning at starting them a full year earlier at two. Do you worry about the impact that might have on their musculoskeletal development? No disrespect intended, just curious to hear another opinion :)
I agree with your concern. I commented on this very point. I prefer to keep a horse in a herd setting to learn good horse life lessons. Horses are the best teachers of horses. I start horses at 5 years old. They should have stopped growing by about that time. Then I do lots and lots of ground work before I ever think of getting in the saddle.
Hannah Bodner I started my current horse at 7. He was still growing. Arabians are slow reaching maturity and I like to make sure all growth plates are closed including the spine which is the last to close. Between 7 and 8 he has still grown another inch. I hope he doesn't get any taller.
yeah it's weird there's no anwser here. Maybe some people just want to exploite horses as much as it's possible when they're young and strong and they don't care how much the animals will suffer afterwards
Great to hear other people letting their horses mature and just 'be' horses before starting them under saddle. Every book I read stated not to ride them before 3 (with the exception of racehorses, but that's a different story) I've acquired a lovely Arab, nearly 7 and unridden as yet. I think it's a perfect age to start.
It's actually illegal in some countries to ride under 4 year old horses because they're still growing and it's basically treated as cruelty. So 2 seems very young but maybe there's differences between breeds or something, anyhow 2 does seem young.
I have a stallion that will give me, from the ground, mounted on his back, or behind him in harness, "walk", "jog"(slow trot), "trot"(working trot), "strong"(strong trot), "lope"(slow western gate), "canter"(faster English gate), and "up,up"(speed this gate up
when riding bareback i've noticed my voice doesn't' do anything
hes right,. i relaxed my body and my horse relaxed his. he gets so hyper and antsy when its time to canter.
i'm gonna remember this
I'm a ray hunt student and I talk to all my horses. You're right about how they communicate, but words are powerful tools: check out Dr. Masaru Emoto's work on words. My horses listen - they're not anthropomorphic, but they come when I call them, etc. You are right about visual cues - not disagreeing.
This video is over 8 years old, take a look at my latest video on Talking to your horse released in the past month.
Thoughts about verbal communication with blind horses? I have a blind mare that I rescued last year. Much of my talking is to let her know where I am but I do also want to train her to ride eventually.
Ha ha it's funny when horse people get on their high horse. I talk to my horse constantly - tell him stories HA HA but it's only because it makes me happy. He responds better (than without voice cues) with voice cues, but I can't imagine him working with only voice cues. It's a helpful training tip! As always, thanks Warwick :)
So true, horses couldn't care less what you say. Donkeys though!
Body language is so subconscious sometimes. Honestly when I think about it only 2 of my dogs could be considered "voice command" trained. My horse was on the way to learning voice command but I just found it unnecessary so I dropped it and stuck to my other cues.
He's so good for body language cues I really put the time in on - feet stand lunge/lead... under saddle needs a polish but we were really good at reading each other before I had to stop riding.
I want to work on it but that is not possible at the moment and perhaps not practical for our situation
Occasionally you ask for suggestions of what the viewers want to see I suggest a video on how our often subconscious body language can cause an issue / trouble shooting our communication with our equine partners
SOME GREAT INFORMATION VERY EDUCATIONAL
hey Warwick, just a question, wont the horse associate you " whoh" command with the action of turning rather than stopping?
thanks for all your great videos and look fwd to seeing you in Caboulture QLD mate.
You confirm what I learned so many years ago. They want someone in control. Someone in charge. The alpha. It's either by sense of smell or sense of thought. A combination of both. ESP. That is what they trust. When they trust that you are the leader, the protector, the provider, all else is possible. Although sound matters, the spoken word is nonsense to your horse.
I sing to mine a lot if theres a lot of other noises going on n we're in strange places. they don't know what im singing, (and I am a rubbish singer)lol, but if I can hear a lunatic motorcyclist or sirens heading my way I sing. maybe it calms me! we also have a partial blind horse who is happy to be ridden where she knows, but we have to talk to her before approach so she knows we are heading her way.
"The best horsemen I've ever seen do not communicate with their horses verbally".
I would have agreed with this up until I started driving. I've now seen a lot of extremely good horsemen whose horses understand quite a few words, "whoa, stand, back, gee, haw (or right, left), steady, walk, trot, canter, over, etc.". You can't get good performance out of a draft or driving horse with out some verbal commands. As a rider whose mare works nearly completely off of my seat and legs, this has been like like learning Martian with neither of us understanding it to begin with.
Yes, touch and body language is best and most natural to horses, but you can only barely use the first and cannot use the second at all if the horse is directly in front of you and likely wearing blinders.
I totally agree, I have seen some driving horses trained like that, and they were amazing. But I was talking about the average person, like the lady i referenced in the video.
The story about that particular rider was funny. I just discovered your videos. I like what I see and I'm impressed by how you express things so clearly.
@@WarwickSchiller I don't know "driving" horses but I can vouch for experienced draft horses and mules knowing several verbal commands. On the other hand, the good ones know their jobs so well they don't need any direction at all.
Haha, I was getting a bit hot under the collar there for a while. 😂 Good point, mate.
So as you say, at the end, Warwick, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with using words, or making sounds to train your horse as long as you teach him/her the right way. Which is why plow horses, go and stop by words or noises (of course the words need to be distinct and somewhat different to casual speech so the horse can differentiate) and the old milkman's horse, from my childhood, would go by words (he could not see the milkman for hand cues, as he, the milkman was delivering the milk bottles to the door) no one was in the milk van to steer or stop. Soothing words/sounds to a very fractious horse, in a terrifying situation like a kangaroo attack (in his mind) as well as you siting heavy in the saddle, not gripping the reins and counteracting with turning if necessary, distracts or reminds him you are up there, or at the very least it calms you down : - ) .
horses can learn verbal cues those , once they understand what a cue means, like if I tell khalessi to come she comes over, or a combination, but eventually after using body language they eventually learn to respond to verbal cues.
if you were too have a conversation with a dog they wouldnt understand it, but if you used a cue that involved an action theyd learn the combination and eventually you could do the verbal cue by itself just like a horse could, accept even with simple verbal cues you still have subtle body language even people communicate with body language they just dont realize it.
People and dogs are really good at voice commands. Because of this it is almost impossible for most people to accept that horses are not good at voice commands. I have never seen a horse respond to voice alone in any significant way.
This makes 100% sense! Glad I watched!
I would love to see a video of your horse working off entirely voice cues.
WarwickSchiller ua-cam.com/video/Jwrwxvt8dR8/v-deo.html Its not my horse, but my grandfather did the same work, and his horses also obeyed voice only.
So many fascinating comments on here. It is worth remembering that as a species, humans generally talk too much!
I have owned many horses for many years because of one horse I had that understood English. I have never kept one after that I just buy, train and sell. I quit showing her in rail classes because she would instantly do what the announcer said! I trained her to bring me what I asked for an old blanket, old hat, and her grain pan. I could drop a glove while riding, she would pick it up. She would always bring what I asked for. When I rode out, day rides I would always unsaddle, be away from her and ask her to bring me the saddle blanket which I would pour the grain on so she could when I had my lunch,. 7 of us gals went on a 3 day ride up on the face of Timp. in Utah. We stayed in an old cabin. Mine was the only horse that was not tied at night. Before dawn I woke and went out to start a fire. The twigs were damp and I could not get it going. My mare walked up behind me, scrambled my hair. I did not get up, point, or look at her. I just said Gyp go get your blanket and I'll give you some grain! She walked off was gone a long time I thought she had gone down to the other horses. I could not get a fire going. Then I heard her walking, she swung my her saddle blanket and bumped me with it. The fire pit was out in front of the cabin and the saddles and blankets were all behind the cabin. I have no Idea what took her so long, I would not think the memory would be so long. So I know she understood English.
So good.
We go out on the trail , my horse or mule and i.we rarely ride with others. I sing and chat to let wildlife know we are coming. If I hear an animal I'll get quiet and come to a stop using as little rein and seat as possible.then I whisper....shhhhh dont move....and together we get quiet and both listen. We do these things together. Everything is in unison. He understands. It's an agreement.
My horse listens perfectly to me. Once I wasn't even on my horse, and he backed up when I said "back".
I really don't want to be offensive because I love these videos but horses do listen to you. They don't understand words human language but they listen to the tone of your voice. Anyway, I have seen some people just use their voice to get a horse to walk or back up it whatever. Like they do in the Paralympics. But they are using their tone of voice to tell a horse what to do.
My horse listens to me. If he is trotting too fast and I say whoa, he will slow down. My horse doesn't understand me but he listens Nd reads me. Some people also like to just have a chat with a horse. Horses can tell what emotions a human is feeling, like if I was riding my horse feeling nervous, he would know and take advantage of it. Horses are very clever. Don't underestimate them. Nobody knows everything abot horses. Some may know more Han others, but never EVERTHING.
Again, don't want to seem offensive but I am never going I stop talking to my horse.
I'm with you Morgyy Linley...and I will never stop talking to mine...hell...I can sing and clear a room...but my boy seems to like it :)
Haha thanks :) Pat Woldt
Did you actually watch the video
You didn’t watch the video at all did you.
Horses can’t read human emotions, they can’t even read horse emotions, there’s no such thing, they just have stimuli-response behaviours.
The horses I ride one will trot when the voice command is used without any aid, and stand with a voice command. but that's all. The trotting is because he loves to trot and is always just waiting for that and the stand is through it being used so often.
so you're talking about "horses won't listen to the words you say" but while youre saying that, you cluck at your horse to get him to trot :D
don't get me wrong, you're absolutely right with what you're saying. i just found it funny that you're doing what you try to teach us not to do ;)
and to my point of view about talking to horses: i personally like to talk to my horses. not because i think they will understand what i say, but talking to them will increase my own body language. i talk to my horses, so i get my body language right. it's for me, not for the horse. i tend to be a little clumsy with my own body :D
If you watched until the end you'd also see I was teaching the horse to stop off the word whoa.
i didnt say they dont listen to what you say, I did say that most people think they have trained the horse to do so when they havent
its the same with dogs though, if i hold my leash to snuggles and tell him to go in his cage that would confuse them and of course he'd think we are going on a car ride somewhere so he wouldnt go in his cage. My aunt would say a bunch of different words, because her dogs would bark any time sandy said that someone is here, so she wanted to see if they actually knew the persons name that was here or if they just recognized here, and she would say sock is here, they would bark, shoe is here, toe is here, sally is here, the sky is here and to them it all was the samething because the only thing they recognized was here, whatever else came with it meant that someone was here outside. Horses are the same, khalessi does learn lots of verbal cues but even with people verbal cues mean nothing if they dont match up what you are saying, if I told my grandma i was brushing my teeth while brushing my hair instead, thatd confuse her shed be like what your brushing your hair. Like if I ask khalessi to back or lower her head, if I havent done that thing in awhile when I ask for it through a bit of pressure she will pause for a minute when i use the same word everytime somtimes after using the word she realizes the task I am asking. So verbal cues only mean something if they have an action or a body cue, even people, if you told a person bye as you were walking in the room, it wouldnt be the same. If I told khalessi to come while i was trying to back her uup shed be like what the heck is this crazy person doing, so they learn verbal cues when it has an action to it, if used consistently then you can eventually use it alone but its always added to a subtle body language, technically we use body language with peple all the time, horses are differently smarter then dogs. Khalessi learns more tasks then a dog could ever learn. Dogs tend to learn by verbal cues faster, their learning abiltiy is the highest of almost all animals but horses are more body language communication and emotionally they are much smarter.
Love your videos
I talk to my horse about my dog and I talk to my dog about my horse. They may not understand what I am saying but I guarantee they are listening. I wouldn’t have anybody to talk to some days if it wasn’t for them two.
What do you think about saying "good boy" instead of giving a soft stroke on the neck while riding for praise? do you prefer the soft stroke? or do you not do either? This would be for say a nice relaxed forward trot. Verbal is easier then interrupting the trot or do you just wait till you stop and then give the pat or stroke. Thanks Warwick!
i love this video. i'm going to try it on my boyfriend.
Thale Lorentzen ?
I disagree with this I work with an Amish trained mule and she was taught to turn right, left, go, and stop all verbally an I can still do this with her with no contact on the reins and no leg cues. I have also taught her myself to yield her hindquarters with only saying yield and walking towards her hindquarters there is no pressure on her nose which is what most horses move off of
Leslie, I didnt say you cant do it, you have, but what i said was most poeple dont do it correctly so it doesnt work.
Leslie Garber I talk to my Arabian when I am riding. She understands.
He demonstrates how to verbally train a horse at the end of the video. It's a simple process really, and essential in driving horses, especially draft breeds that work in large teams. That said, a horse learning a verbal cue is not the same as a horse 'understanding' when you talk. That's the point.
Yes harness horses verbal commands are essential.
Good video ! Very enlightening
Your horses are beautiful
I do include voice commands, but agree in how you suggest they should be taught. Try checking out barryhook2 channel on UA-cam. He drives horses in the UK and uses his tone of voice and verbal commands as aid to communication. The horses do seem to be listening and responding vs him using the reins all the time (for calming and speed control).