How to Teach a Horse Voice Commands

Many people are surprised at the idea that a horse can be taught to respond to voice commands in short order. Some people just don’t seem to realize that most horses are fully intelligent enough to understand a multitude of verbal commands. Teaching horses to follow voice commands is a fairly simple process, but one that takes patience and repetition.

Horses hear very well, but not all humans speak in a way that a horse will understand. To ensure the horse understands all verbal commands, emphasize each syllable and enunciate well. This will assist the horse in clarifying the different commands as they are issued, and will make the learning process far more pleasant for both horse and rider.

To begin, start with a simple command, such as ‘whoa’. Using a lead rope, lead the horse forward a few steps, say ‘whoa’ and stop. Use the lead rope to stop the horse if necessary. After a few repetitions, the horse will start to respond to just the word, with little or no physical reinforcement. This may take a few days, so be prepared to repeat this exercise several times.

After the horse has mastered the ‘whoa’ command, try adding the word ‘walk’. Start walking forward while saying the word ‘walk’ and see if the horse will follow this command. Continue to repeat until the horse understands the ‘walk’ command.

The ‘trot’ command is similarly easy to teach. At first, this should also be done with a lead rope. Working under the saddle should not begin until ‘whoa’, ‘walk’, and ‘trot’ have all been mastered on the lead rope. Once it is time to work under the saddle, have the horse respond to the same three commands. It might be helpful to reward the horse with a small treat every time it responds correctly. Never punish a horse for not responding properly, or for not responding quickly enough.

Once the three basic commands are mastered under the saddle, additional commands can be added. Remember to only add one command at a time to simplify matters, but don’t worry that the horse won’t understand. Horses are highly intelligent and capable of learning many different commands.

Most horses will be able to learn additional commands such as ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘back’, and even ‘canter’ with little difficulty. However, it will likely take a few weeks for any horse to fully understand all these varied verbal commands. Try not to work on these commands for more than approximately twenty minutes a day, and remember to be patient.