Training Theory: Cues

What is a A Cue? Anything said or done that is followed by a specific action. A hint, intimation or guiding suggestion. Anything that excites to action. A stimulus.

Horses have innate understanding of certain visual cues in their environment. They are prepared to see danger and react immediately. Natural Horsemanship training takes advantage of their visual acuity (as well as instinctive reactions to visual cues) and shapes it into new actions that suit our own needs. We harness his instinctive reactions to get him to perform some maneuver that was previously undefined but now becomes a predictable reaction to our cue. He already knew how to do it. We just have to adopt the stance, look or feel that he reacts to instinctively and turn it into a reaction-on-demand.

In our training process, horses generally cue to visual stimuli first. Therefore your body language and your use of your hands is the first thing they notice. They identify and stay away from your threatening stance. They avoid a swinging rope. They learn to come to a bucket.

By understanding that some human-specific visual cues have predictable outcomes, they learn to anticipate and react to our cues in a predictable manner. ie: When you feed grain from a vehicle, they learn to come toward the vehicle when they see it. That is predictable and very simple.

Pairing Cues

If those visual cues are also paired with other situational stimuli such as your calling him from the pasture, he will begin to come to the call. This is purely Pavlovian Psychology. What happens consistently and simultaneously with a visual cue will be substituted for the visual and act in its stead.

After we push and pull him through the exercises using his own language, we begin to pair his pre-programmed cues with our own language.

Verbal Comprehension
My mother used to tell me , “It is not what you say but how you say it.” She was, of course explaining to me that no matter how “nice” my choice of words, my tone, inflection, and demeanor would expose the true unpleasant nature of my thoughts if they were there. I used that premise when I named an obnoxious Shetland pony Please when what I wanted to name her was Damnit. When I said, “Whoa, Please”, my tone meant, “Whoa Damnit!”

Animals that we train using voice commands are, obviously, not native English speakers. They hear how you say something, not what you say. They hear mostly vowels, syllables, and intensity. Therefore, “whoa”, “go”, and “no” are nearly identical to a horse though much different in meaning to us.

Anytime you can use cues that are unique in syllables, vowels and intensity from any other word, your job will be easier. In the case of “whoa” vs. “hoe” it really matters not. However, if you choose “whoa” to mean stop and stand, but you are in the habit of saying, “No” or “go” during your sessions and expecting an outcome other than stop and stand, you should examine your choice of verbiage.

Many English riding instructors use TEE-ROTT for the word trot. It is longer (has two syllables), so is easier to distinguish from most other cues. And it is frequently said in a lilting tone that is a little musical, distinguishing it from Canter, which is more commanding. My friend says, “Teeeee-rott” (with her tone rising on the “tee” and falling on the “rott”). I always think it sounds like “Cheeeeer up”. Either way, the horse understands it just fine.

A word of caution about verbal cues: Don’t use them as a crutch to “nag” your horse. When you say “Whoa” mean it. When you say “Trot” mean it. Don’t get sloppy and keep telling him over and over. He will become as immune to your babble as if you never said it.

Sequencing Cues
This all seems pretty basic. But the sequence in which you offer cues to him is important as well. If you say a word simultaneously with a visible action, he gradually becomes aware that the word and the action are the same. See: Paired Cues. The word becomes a substitute for the previous visual cue. If you offer a physical cue simultaneously with the visual and verbal (such as touching him in a certain way with your leg), he begins to see the relationship of one cue to the next.

Generally I teach visual, verbal, then physical cues in that sequence. And I continually refine earlier cues into more precise outcomes. (see Shaping) It is easier for a horse (or a dog) to learn most basic ground exercises using hand signals than verbal cues. This allows you to “wow” your friends and relatives with a horse who works on hand signals alone when the truth of the matter is that he might not work at all using verbal requests. You look like a genius in half the time.

In the case of the colt pictured above, every time I jiggled his lead rope he took a step back. I began offering the finger cue with the jiggle, and soon he would back up without a word or a jiggle: just a wagging finger. What a boy! Of course, he must progress further with the use of the verbal request to “Back” so that he understands it when we mount and request that action when no jiggle is possible and no finger can be seen.

Does it matter what action cues what reaction? Yes and no.

Yes: Looking at him like you are ready to eat him will win you no friends. He is afraid of that body language, so, unless you want him to move away, it is not good.

No: It doesn’t matter what language you speak or what words you use so long as your pronunciation and tone are consistent and the words do not rhyme.

So, does it matter if you say “Whoa” or “Stand” to mean stop and don’t move? No. It doesn’t matter as long as you use it consistently for the same performance.

Does it matter if you cluck or kiss? Yes, if you expect a different gait for each sound. No, if you expect only one response – speed up. However, the difference between the sounds is hard to distinguish, so I use them interchangeably for the “speed up” response, much to the chagrin of my friend who uses them for different gaits.

Does it matter if you say, Walk on”, “Trot”, “Canter”? Not if you prefer, “OK”, “Let’s go” or “Giddy up”. How about “Whoa” or “Stand”.

For his education, it is completely irrelevant what cues you use. He only needs them to be consistent across all circumstances and avoid rhyming.

Are there general conventions used in the world of horse training?
Yes.
But English riding and Western riding have different verbiage.
German is different than Chinese.
You are different from Mary Jane.
If you believe that a horse will be used by some general audience who will use some standard phrases or cues, by all means use them.
But there is no difference to the horse.

We expect our handling cues to be subtle and intuitive. What starts as a series of overly-dramatic motions and utterances for training purposes, through the process of anticipation and Shaping, becomes fewer and fewer cues and more and more quiet until a series of 4 or 5 cues becomes one subtle request.

Economy of Words
In the case of “whoa” and “Stand”, it is a difference in the English vs Western discipline, but the horse can learn either one.

In my personal training practice, my use of “Whoa” grows out of his introduction to that term from the very beginning during his lunging. He learned then that “Whoa” means Stop and Stand Still. When he is “dancing” during grooming, I say, “whoa” and expect a statue. When his feet are trimmed, whoa means stand there. When I drop his lead rope and walk off, I say,”whoa” to indicate he should not follow but remain as a dog performs a “stay” command. When I mount, if he indicates he might walk off, “Whoa” ends all doubt.

Why use another word for the same action? It’s all a matter of your own style. Horse training should be fun. And, as I have said on many occasions, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” Just do it consistently.

Horse training can be dangerous. Not all methods work on all horses. Instruction presented here is not meant to be prescriptive in nature, and Horse-Pros.com takes no responsibility for the welfare of any animal or person using our methods.

Please note that any advice given on horse-pros.com is neither veterinary nor prescriptive in nature but offered only as an introduction to this topic.

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2 thoughts on “Training Theory: Cues

  1. I just purchased a 12 yr old Morgan gelding who has been ridden western until now, I ride English(Dressage), I have him in an egg butt snaffle for the moment. He takes off at the least bit of leg pressure and does not transition down very easily, I would like him to listen more to half halts, do you think a full cheek snaffle would give me more control? I hate to use a lot of bit but I want something he won’t completely ignore

    1. Hi Judy:
      If you read very much of this web site, you will understand that I do not count on a bit to do much of anything except remind a horse of his already-understood cues. His behavior is not in the bit. It’s in the training.

      Let me ask a question or two. Have you ever been a western rider? Do you know his previous cues for speed up, slow down, stop? It’s possible he is used to just a little “butt” squeeze and forward body position for transitioning up in speed. It’s also possible he slows down with a relaxing pelvic tilt to the rear of the saddle. And stops to rein-pull with relaxation into pelvic tilt. Does he know any verbal cues such as “kiss”, “easy” or “whoa”?

      There is a lot of difference in the contact between a western and a Dressage saddle. That might account for the extreme sensitivity to leg pressure. He feels over-stimulated with nothing between your leg and his body: “goosed” as it were. He needs desensitizing to touch in that area of his body (can be done on the ground as well as in the saddle in a round pen De-sensitizing).

      My next advice is oft-repeated in this blog. Go back to the ground. If you lunge him, using verbal cues for speeding up, slowing down, and halting, you will give him a way to understand the subtleties of gait that he is misunderstanding under saddle. See Line Lunging Then you can pair those verbal cues with rein, seat, and leg cues under saddle until he understands your body cues better.

      Also see Hard Mouth Horses

      I realize the no one wants to start at such a basic level. However, a young horse who has never been trained might even be easier to train than a older horse with mis-training or whose training you do not understand. Pretend he has never learned anything. Start him over and make him into your own horse. You could actually follow all of the ground lessons in this blog from start to finish. Then get a good dressage trainer to take you further under saddle. Clinton Anderson also has a great series of training lessons on youtube. Look for “Clinton Anderson Rescue Horse”. Even though yours is not a rescue and even though you want to move into Dressage, the basic ground lessons are the same and they are amazing. (Of course there are ads in the lesson videos, but he has to get paid somehow for putting these great videos on-line for free)

      I can’t give you the whole training sequence in one comment, but it is here for all to read. I hope these quick thoughts have helped.

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