Horses are intelligent and sensitive animals, and there are always learning opportunities when you are working with a horse – for both you and for them. Fortunately, riders and trainers are able to communicate with their horses in a variety of different ways.

What are some of the top commands that you will use with your horse? Riders communicate with their horses in several different ways, including voice commands, rein (hand) cues, leg cues, and seat cues. It is important to use each of these commands correctly, as it is easy to give your horse conflicting instructions by using one of your cues unintentionally. These inconsistencies can lead to a frustrated horse (and rider).

Read on to learn more about the basics of voice commands and body aids. These cues are the basic, foundational aids that you will learn to use to control your horse, before moving on to more advanced training.

Basic Voice Commands For Your Horse
Horses are highly intelligent and trainable and are capable of learning many voice commands. Voice commands are most successful when used in conjunction with body aids. Remember, horses must be trained to respond to any aid, so a horse that hasn’t been trained with voice commands may not understand. Below, you will find the most common voice commands that are used to control a horse:

“Whoa” – this is used to ask your horse to come to a complete stop. Your horse should respond to this instruction immediately, and you can use other body cues to accomplish this.
“Walk” – this (or “walk on”) is used to get your horse to move into a walk from a standing position. You will usually use this command alongside leg cues and a cluck or kiss.
“Trot” – you will use this command to ask your horse to move from a walk to a trot. You can also use leg cues and clucking or kissing noises.
“Canter / Lope” – like trot, you will use this command to move up a gait – into a canter or a lope from a trot. Like with trotting, you may use this along with leg cues and clucking or kissing.
“Back” – you use this voice command to get your horse to walk backward. You will use this command, along with leg and rein cues, to get your horse to move back until you ask him to stop.
“Easy” – this voice command is used to get a horse to slow down or to calm down.
Even more important than the words that you use are the way that you use them. Horses will listen to not only the specific words but also to the intonation and volume of the commands. Do not shout at your horse or yell commands. Speak calmly, firmly, and be assertive. Say the words in the same way each time – for example, you may hear some riders drawing out the word “trot” as in “terrr-ot”. So long as you use consistency each time, your horse will understand the command.