teaching whoa voice command

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amycamycamyc

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anybody got any good tips for teaching the 'slowing down to walk' bit of free schooling/lunging! we're very good at the speeding up, fantastic in fact, and coming down from canter to trot is perfect, but coming down from trot to walk takes, well, quite a lot longer, and about ten repetitions of 'whoooa-ooooa'/'waaaaa-aaalk' before she figures it out. Have tried turning away, dropping eye contact, really accentuating the lower, slower voice but we're still struggling with it. She's so good at all other transitions I really think its a case of her not understanding... any tips?!
 
high pitch going up and low pitch coming down...

and REPEAT :D followed by a 'good booooooooy' when he finally does as he's told. I also say the word 'aaaaand' when asking him to change the gait, it acts as a half halt and he then knows that I am going to ask him to do something

My horse would wait until I'd said it the umpteenth time too.
 
Teach it in hand first.
I always put , "and" before any command.
Aaaannd whoa oa, and walk on.
If you say" and" first, it warns the horse that you are going to ask him to do something.
 
I second the 'Waaaalllllk' high at the start and then low at the 'lk' end. I have always found that really differentiating the sounds helps. And if you need it, get someone to lead whilst lunging to help with pacing - they slow down/speed up as you give the commands so the horse can associate the commands
 
If your lunging in the school you can always aim them towards the wall while saying whoa.

Or tbh what i always do if they don't listen is walk up the lunge line towards their head until they stop!
 
Could also try (so long as you are not lunging off the bit) a quick pull if ignored the first time, pair "an...d wal....k" with a quick pull on the lunge line, if that is ignored repeat but a slightly harder tug. Sometimes they have so much energy they just don't want to come out of trot until they have burnt some of it. I would also drop the whip or hide it behid my back and get slightly forwards so you are level with the head more thus not behind driving forwards.

It's just what works for me.
 
Agree - teach in hand first.

Constantly repeat 'Walk' while walking and then when you want to go to Halt, use the rope and only when the horse has halted say 'And Halt' .

I found my youngster very confused with wosh - as he didn't relate it to the action of halting.

Changed tactics and worked on him using the and Halt command when I actually halted him - lesson learned really quick and is now great at halting.

Progress from leading in hand to on th elunge before free schooling.

Try to allow the horse to have his play before trying to 'work' him. Make the most of times he stops on his own accord and use the command and praise when he does. Find a spot where he tends to slow down of his own accord and use it to your advantage. Often the gate or doors are the favourite spot.
 
thank you everybody for your replies! i haven't tried teaching it in-hand yet - i think this may well be the key, otherwise I like the idea of letting her get energy out first and only working on walk transitions towards the end of the session when (hopefully) she's more likely to want to slow down!
 
What can help is getting in front of the horse's movement, and blocking them. You want to move up to the horses shoulder line, if she doesnt stop, move toward her head and ask for a stop. Be careful not to do it too firmly as she might try to turn around.

By blocking the movement from a distance, and asking Whoa at the same time, she should learn it ok. Also, use your body language too. If you want her to go forward, increase your energy, walk faster, look toward the horse. If you want her to go slowly, lower your energy, stop walking, look down and allow her to learn that that means slow. Hopefully this will help somewhat.
 
Too many 'ands' can confuse the horse, especially if they are used to go up and down the gaits.

Saying the horse's name on the way up, before the command is given, will signal to the horse that it must increase the pace, for example, go from stop to walk, from walk to trot, and so on.

Using the word 'and' to come back down will ensure that the horse is prepared for the command and anticipating a decrease in pace before the command is given, ie, 'and trot', 'and walk', 'and whoa', 'and stand'.
 
Couldn't edit the above post after five minutes (daft rule), so had to make another post.

Also, 'whoa', and 'walk', are two entirely different commands. Giving them together when asking for a downward transition from trot to walk will only confuse the horse. 'Whoa' should be used to bring the horse down from walk to stop, and the command given to 'stand' immediately thereafter, so that the horse learns that he must stop and wait for the next command.

If loose-schooling, you may have to be very animated and agile to use your body position/language/energy to signal to the horse what you want of him, and to help him understand what his correct response will be.

Using long reins with a longe cavesson will allow you to give definite rein signals along with the commands, and will not affect the horse's mouth. Remember, if you take a rein and voice action in such a way as to slow/check/stop the horse, you must give the reins immediately he answers with the correct response. This prevents him resisting your action, and also confirms for him that his response was the correct/desired one. Should he decide to go on of his own accord, simply repeat the action and the giving of the rein till he learns that the last command he heard is the one which applies until he is asked to do something else. Learned rein aids can then be refined to voice aids onl.

That, along with repetition and compassion is how horses are taught to respond instantly and reliably to voice aids.
 
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