How valuable is your voice as an aid?

[sandpiper]

I've taught all my youngsters to go from my voice aids in ground work, so the transition to ridden work is so much easier!  I carry on using them all the time and if I'm competing in dressage I just talk quietly through my teeth or when I'm facing away from the judge  . A vocal aid has to be much kinder than a physical one so I don't know why they are frowned upon ... 

My hot horse Pip was a real fidget when he was young and if you asked him to stay still for more than a few seconds he would often start to rear, which meant a hack including gates was something of a mission  .  He'd faff and prance and once was so on his toes I bellowed at the top of my voice 'STAAAAND!!!!!!'.  He was so surprised he stood stock still and didn't move a muscle while I opened the gate, and never was so bad again  .  Not sure how that would go down in a dressage class though ... 

[Fiona]

I use my voice a lot, although it's often sounds rather than words.  My mare Stjarna will leap forward like you'd just whipped her if you blow a kiss    I tend to kiss at her when I want some speed within a gait rather than use a lot of leg.

There are drawbacks to using the voice like this though - if they hear another rider making the noise they still react 

Fiona

[1 morejump]

Voice aids are very important and I wish we could use them in tests, Lance responds to them amazingly well. Actually, too well.  I can be squeezing my legs off trying to get him to stop and he won't until I ask him to.

Here, the police dogs are often trained in German.  If you are searching for someone and you are yelling in a foreign language they won't know you are sending a dog after them.

[Flocklhouse]

Just noticed this, but reading Training The Horse In Hand by Alfons J Dietz just now, and he states that the voice is the most important aid in training the horse. I cannot find the page though but I did read it!! 
I think Richard Hinrich also states this in his videos as well saying there is so much research to prove that the human voice helps to calm the the horse. If I am on the right one, I think he said this was found back in the 13th Century!
Also, having a psychologist in the family she has access to loads of research proving how critical voice aids are for horses! 

[visconde]

to me its invaluable-I amused my instructor once by doing canter transitions purely off of voice (we use 'hup'), but 'back', 'over', 'hup' and 'out',walk on etc (actually my last dog was taught to pee on command inadvertently by then, aussie, bf-command was 'get a wriggle on'  ).perhaps even more important than that, on occasions where we've had a 'moment' he will stand on command or go down a gait on command,came in useful when he was a 4yo!

[cirocco]

Because I came from a dog training background when I got really into horses it seemed so sensable to carry on talking.

My first real experience was when I broke my pony to drive.  He 'learned' left and right as well as whoooo, and all the transitions upwards and downwards just from spoken commands, it was so simple.

I like to talk to my horses I feel that they respond very well to words, and soon 'pick up' the words we need to use.

And this gets better as the horse gets to know you better, my welshie knows ''do you want a sweetie''    [ he stops dead]
 

Spotty 'knows'  ''and canter''   and ''come, come, come''  for sideways.

and sadly yes he too knows ''sweetie''..... [ im such a bad mother!]   

[Heather]

Well, I think Jenny or I, would need duct tape to compete in a dressage test, without being disqualified!! I think it is HUGELY important, especially with very sensitive horses like my Sudi, who, now he trusts me, practically wags his tail when told he is a 'good boy'!!

Heather

[cirocco]

Yes I agree, happy ''good boy'' then ''yehhhh good boy'' and ''I love you'! 

He is so so sensative that he NEEDS to be constantly reassured, couldn't possibly do anything silently.   

And I learned to do the ventriloquist speak too, gottle of geer isnt needed in dressage