Riding using your voice ??

Shysmum

Shysmum

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I realised today how much I use my voice to ride, (and how lucky I am to have a pony that understands what I say and reacts,lol) - just curious how many peeps use their voice as a main aid really ??

i use "walk up" "trot" "can-ter" and "hup" ( for jumping, obviously), together with the obvious expletives when it all goes wrong *gasp* but not really met many others who ride like this.

Glass of white wine on offer tonight :)
 
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Both our ponies go to the voice...so much easier in my opinion. Our 14.2 hh was dead to the leg aids when we got her and use to run into canter. I asked my daughter when she asked for canter to use the 'word canter' every time. It worked a treat and her trot to canter transition is great now as she does it literally when my daughter 'asks' her to.
 
I chat and sing (badly) all the time except for in lessons ! Even competing I chatter away. I assume I must be concentrating in lessons as I also forget to breath !
 
It was one of the first things I taught my daughter, spend a long time reading to the pony so he knows your voice, then give very clear commands from the ground, then put those into action from on top. If you use your voice when lunging and longreining a youngster - or any horse - it is already conditioned to understand your voice aids and will therefore learn that your voice aid, combined with a leg / seat / rein aid means the same.

then you have to remember not to talk to your horse when you are doing a dressage test!
 
it does work so well - he has mastered stand to canter just by me standing him, and saying "canter" - he knows exactly what we are going to do, and off he goes.

I used to baby walk him before I broke him, so he learnt a lot of the words then. Shame a lot of peeps don't use the voice really.

My instructor did suggest I lower the "hup" when she was teaching me, so now he gets a whisper, and he still responds.
 
Yes, I babble on all the time.

I even had my instructor in stitches when I said 'blue jump next' to my mare as we did our practice course. Of course I know that horses don't see colour quite as we do and even if they did I'm not sure that she could follow that instruction, but I can't help it. I blame the fact that I mostly ride on my own, plus she seems calmer when I talk to her and saying 'walk on' really does help if she's having a nappy moment.
 
I used to be able to control Blobby with my voice. A few clicks would send him up a gait, and "WoooOOOOooohhh" would bring him back down. I could have ridden him bridleless, you could steer him with your legs :P
 
I also discuss gates with him, as in how we are going to tackle them, and blow me, he seems to understand....or he has worked it out for himself and I'm just lagging along behind :confused:
 
Our ponies stop to a whistle, as they've all spent time on large polo yard where they've been out on sets of 5 or more ponies, and they need to learn to stop on verbal command.

I talk to them all the time when I'm playing...lots of "steady steady steady!" and " go go go"!
 
oooh yes! i dont say hup but i do say good boy if he was going to stop and jumped it etc... always woah, walk, trott, canter, clicking etc.... he ;loves it
 
I do, but it has a down-side. My poor instructor sometimes has to spell out the word or just use the first letter or else a certain pony will just ignore the fact that I'm up there at all giving the aids :D
 
I have had on and off issues with my legs so really handy that mine respond well. I'm very small and 1 of my horses is over 16.1 but wouldn't stand still to measure lol. He's an ex racer, recent. When he gets excited no pulling tiny little me can manage will stop him. A gentle 'and woo' brings him back to earth!
 
Dex understands walk, trot, canter, whoa and careful - careful is actually really useful if he is hurtling on in his own special way and there is something he needs to think about !

Very useful on lunge and also loose schooling - I get him to trot round and when approaching fence call canter and he pops into canter and over jump !! bless

It is a nusiance occasionally though as when riding with others and I ask if they want to canter we are in canter as I speak if not careful.
 
Mrs B said:
I do, but it has a down-side. My poor instructor sometimes has to spell out the word or just use the first letter or else a certain pony will just ignore the fact that I'm up there at all giving the aids :D
Click to expand...

Apparently, on the set of Lord of the Rings, they had to start using different words for "Action" when the horses were about. They'd all get so wound up! They ended up saying things like "Aaaaand flowers..."
 
Nah said:
Apparently, on the set of Lord of the Rings, they had to start using different words for "Action" when the horses were about. They'd all get so wound up! They ended up saying things like "Aaaaand flowers..."
Click to expand...

Lol, Nah! :D
 
Haha good fact Nah! I chat away all the time to all horses i ride, they all respond well, must learn to do without for dressage tests when the day comes :-)
 
Love it !!

If I say "stand" at any gait, obviously the urge to conserve energy means it's responded to within a millisecond - so fast is the response that I have gone out of the front door :eek:

I was helping a friend in the school yesterday on her new pony, and he was being cheeky - I used my voice with Shy and the other pony responded too, so that's the plan of attack.
 
I love using my voice, I use it more than anything else on my boy!
I broke him myself and due to the fact that he was such a sensitive ride (ANY leg movement meant go faster!) I found it much better for him to use my voice and very light leg signals. Now I rarely need my legs on him as he responds so much from the voice, it's great! :D
 
I was chatting to my lad this morning as I limped in without my crutch hanging on his neck instead. Telling him all about the mares field move when the new livery and very non horsey parent turned up to ask me how to get to the field. :$ beetle looked so embarrassed! Big pony should be used to me by now!
 
"Steady" and "Woah" if brakes aren't that good and "GET ON!" only comes out if I'm p****d off with not going forward or I feel they got could give a bit more effort (particulary when jumping!). Clicking to them is my worst habit - riding instructor always tells me "No Clicking!" - just can't help but to click to them :p
 
V-man was taught when he was backed that a low hum of "mmmmm" means slow down you keep humming till he stops or just do a short hum to get him to slow in a gait.

I yabber away all the time when I am riding and will often apologuise to him for being a "numpty Mother"
 
I use my voice initially with youngsters as its easily transferable to basic aids when starting them off, but really like them to do either/or when they progress. My 23 year old knows loads now, as well as handy stuff like transistions within a pace on the lunge, we have a range of non traditional ones she only responds to if its me. Halting followed by 'on your marks' means prepare to gallop. Then 'get set go' to launch into gallop. Result of having her in my teens. 'go on then' is licence to do as she pleases, whether that's having a good buck/bronc or graze if in hand. Can also make it look like she has a voice command for everything, but really its just because she's a schoolmistress who goes from very light leg aids. Have had great fun riding with no contact whilst shouting random commands like 'spread next' or 'cut the corner'. Daughters is only 5 & listening mainly to leg aids, but definitely understands 'shall we canter?' when daughters riding!
 
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