I am confused - for a change

You know, Yann, I'm sure you're right. Horses are perfectly capable of learning words as well as voice tones, but not everyone gives them credit for it. It's amazing what a wide vocabulary they can acquire given the chance. Let's see - what words does M know?

Whoa, walk on, trot on, canter, over, back, no, up, drop (your head), put me down! Wait, tootsies, shut the gate, car coming, cows, drink, steady, stretch, good boy/clever boy, doggie, look, sniff, go on then (= OK, you can have that bit of cow parsley if you really need it that desperately)... and a few others that I'll remember in a minute :p
 
surely the main 'word' that M would know (if he is anything like our two) is the sound of the feed scoop in the feed? That is the best sounding word in the world according to Tingles and Doodlepops!
 
Horses are perfectly capable of learning words as well as voice tones
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I have one that used to do this - I'd be asking my mother, quietly, in a conversational tone "so shall we trot soon" and off we'd go ! Got the point I'd spell it out... "what about a t...r...o...t.... at the next corner..." which stopped him for a while til he started to work that one out as well !

It was not the same tone etc as "Trrrrot!" for lunging, and was often not used at the same point in time ie hear the word then do the action - I would be asking ahead of time. But he still recognised the word (not the tone) and he'd react :D ;)

Gosh I love that pony to bits. Was lunging my mare in the school today and looked up to see 32 yr old doing 20m circle in the field. I think he was trying to tell me something !
 
Yes, we get that too at times, especially when we're fired up or on the way home, the mere uttering of the t word and we're off. I've no doubt at all that horses understand words, especially when they're in a familiar context. For example Rio will usually back away from the door on command when I'm stood beside her in the stable. It's always surprised me that you're not supposed to use voice cues in dressage, after all they're the ultimate 'invisible aid':D
 
The many horses I ride will all listen to what you say{for the most part that is;) , depends a bit on whats available in their environement at that time ie:FOOD}:D
Ask nicely and they back up,walk,and trot and if needed,just say stand and they do.For canter,if there a bit half hearted...I say 'gowan' and they do:o , not much use for dressage test I guess, but it works.
And for rewards a little scratch in their favourite place:) and well done.
 
Pageant responds well to my voice- in particular on the roads- if I say 'car coming' or 'tuck in fatty' he will get closer to the hedge, and continue in what ever pace we are in (yes, even when he is bolting at canter for home!) whilst whatever vehicle is approaching passes.

If I say "D*ck head approaching" he knows exactly what I mean, tucks right in to the hedge, stands stock still and puts on his meanest face whilst bracing himself to be whizzed past by some idiot in a souped up metro with the stereo on too loud! Sadly "D*ck head approaching" doesn't work when he is in flat out canter for home mode!:o :D

edited to say.... he also responds to 'walk on', 'trot on', 'stand' 'get off you big idiot, thats my foot', 'back', 'over', 'noddy up', 'noddy down' (yes, I know, I shouldn't use baby language!!) 'tea time', 'lunch time' 'wanna sweetie sweetie' and various other things!:D
 
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just to say that our lot have us trained to vocal commands as well .:D

uhhuhhuhuh - means "more food now" and sometimes "you're late " more food now" ! They know the right times to ask too.
 
So that's how you spell it:D

It's Rio's favourite saying, to me at feed time and any other time, especially when I disappear and reappear from her sight. She also says it to whoever happens to be walking past her stable quite a lot! A very chatty girl indeed:)
 
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Murphy says that too! (although he's got quite a deep voice and sounds rather like Scooby Doo going "Shaggy?" when asking for his dinner).

It doesn't help that my locker is in direct eye-line with his stable so he can see me going in and out. He gets very, very excited, bouncing up and down, making the scoobydoo noise and licking his lips when he sees me coming across the yard - and is then completely disgusted when he realises it's just the grooming kit that I'm bringing over!

On the subject of voice commands, he definitely knows the T word - hasn't sussed out the C word yet but I've ridden plenty of school horses who do!:D

I don't reward with food in the school as he's far too grabby for that at the moment, but he gets a lovely long stroke on the side of his neck or a scratch just in front of his withers. Also "Good BOY!" in a loudly soppy voice - my instructor said the other day when he'd done his fabbest canter yet and I praised him, he lifted himself up in trot and pranced along like 'yes, I AM a clever boy, aren't I?' Very pleased with his bad self!
 
The horses I ride, especially Leon, are learning English!:rolleyes: :D

Leon understands "back" with either my hand on his nose, or (depending which box he's in) finger pointed at or resting on his chest.

He understands "Walk" usually in the context of 'And at C you will come back to a walk' (And usually being said somewhere between X and M I have to be very carefult o keep my leg on or he'll just stop dead)

He understands 'Carrot", well being as karotten and carrot are pronounced very similarly not surprised - same goes with Apple/Apfel.

He also understands "Good lad", I'm sure, 'cos when ever we get a nice transition, or a nice straight line (or anything nice at all really), I'll tell him and he gets a one finger scratch on his withers.

He doesn't as yet get "you can't eat that", "give me my glove please", "the reins are meant to go over your head, not in your mouth", "stand still I'm trying to put your rug on"...

But I'm sure it'll come in time:D
 
You are all mad. However I have taken your advice on board and started talking to my horse more.. Oh and I've tried singing too. I went out on a hack this morning on Danny, a 17hh TB x ID. He gets a little excited about quarter of a mile away from the galloping area. He starts squealing in his high pitched voice and bucks a little too. Instead of shortening my reins and just trying to cling on I tried my best 'hypnotist' voice. It went something like this.

"Calm down Danny {squeal buck buck}. You can gallop in a minute {squeal squeal buck}. Oh look at the sheep! How lovely they look. Like little fluffy clouds {squeal}. That's right just relax {snort}. What a good boy you are {huff}. Oh Danny boy the pipes the pipes are calling.....OK now we can gallop, Go on Danny! Yeeeeeee Hah".

Seemed to do the trick.
 
And you say we're mad, Tommy??:D ;)


Mind you, I was singing "I whistle a happy tune" at the top of my lungs on Saturday morning to get the Murph past the pub where he had his paddy the last time we went out - seemed to work!
 
I don't blame Murph. I think I'd throw a bit of a paddy if I was made to go past a pub without stopping to.

Mind you if I was already in the pub and I looked out of the window to see you riding past singing "I whistle a happy tune" I'd have to assume you'd been in the pub for quite sometime already.
 
I wish....:D

It was actually screaming children in the pub garden that freaked him out - or maybe he was trying to tell me something, LOL! He had a bit of a nervous start at it on the way out (it was 8am in the morning so no kids around!) so on the way back, as it's at the junction, my main concern was that he wouldn't bolt onto the main road, like he very nearly did last time (thank the Lord for wide driveways you can circle into!).

Not sure whether the singing helped or if he trundled on for home with his head down in self-defence....:p
 
:D that squeal. tell me about it Tommy.
Im not sure if the horse understood what I was thinking the 1st time I got to hear the exited squeal,anyway 'ohhh my life' is what I was thinking!
I talk to the horses often:o ,I think they understand 'steady' real well too.
;)
 
Never mind squeals, you should try riding out one of Rio's big neighs to her mates in the field whilst we're riding past along the ring road, shakes you to the core:D
 
Bebe isn't a particularly talky horse, so when she does neigh it usually comes as a shock. It's very masculine sounding too, given that she's a mare.

She does understand words though, and the odd sentence. Instead of saying no I use the word manners a lot, and the other night when I was hosing her hooves and she tried to wander past into her stable I said " Bebe, that's rude!". She stopped and stood nicely until I'd finished but a friend who overheard me now says it all the time to take the mick out of me :D She thought it was hilarious.

I often find that if she's being a bit lazy in the school, a good growl of Get on works a hundred times better than the whip or leg.
 
The horses I ride, especially Leon, are learning English!
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Yes - Fi seemed to know both Swedish and English - though some words are very similar (back - backa, over sounds the same too etc). However carrots are "morots" so not the same. Good is 'bra' - but she knew both.

Never did try her with French (she's canadian bred) but not sure she'd have learnt much as she was shipped over (to Sweden) at 2 so most of her training would be in Swedish.

But she learnt english 'trot', 'canter' etc very quickly.

The phrases are different too - when a horse is messing about the Swedes will tell it to "lay off" (in Swedish of course) - whereas I think I'd be more likely just to say "stop it" or "quit it". (Now I think about it, I can't think what I'd say - its just so automatic - but I know its not "lay off" !!).

The one universal word seems to be "WHOA!!"
 
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