# What Driving Commands Do YOU Use?



## QuarterPony

Lol, well, Allie (JustDressageIt) and I were discussing gait cues today and I mentioned some of mine...we figured they might just be driving lingo, since I'm such an enthusiast .

When my Vanners are pulling a cart or a weight, I use:
"Chee-yup" for walk (I only use this for draft)
"Cherry-up" for trot (I use this all the time - riding, lunging, draft, ya get it)
"Key-yaa" for canter (draft only)
"Halt" for "whoa" or stop (eeeeverything)
"Stand" for...well, stand  (eeeeeeverything again)

What do you all use?

m


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## Angel_Leaguer

I use:

Walk- for walk
click- for slow trot
kiss or ill say UP, UP- for road trot
easy- if she starts going faster then id like
whoa- to stop
back (and a little pull)- to back

Sometimes Ill have to us the reins and bump her to get her to get going a little more, it depends on the day and how relaxed she wants to be. I rarely have to us the whip but I always have it on the cart with me, more for the dogs that I encounter along the road

For riding though I use kissing to lope or canter, but when I compete for driving ive found that other drivers like to make kissing noises and the first time i competed she broke into a lope... but now i dont have any problems


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## kickshaw

for driving I use: 
cluck noise - walk on
whuuup - trot
haaphere! - trot on
whoa - stop
whoa now - stand/park


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## xilikeggs0

How do you guys come up with these commands? They seem so random. I use:
"Walk" for walk
"Walk up" or ":kissy noise:" or both for walk faster
"Pick it up" or ":kissy noise:" or both for trot
"Ho" for stop
"Stand" for stand
"Step in/step out" for step in/step out

Although there is one horse named Hardy that I occasionally drive, and I can't get him to walk on any command but "Hardy harr."


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## kickshaw

i got mine from trainers i learned from...although i guarantee if you hang around any saddlebred barn, you will hear WHUUP and HAAAPHERE!

:lol: different strokes, I guess


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## smrobs

Our Belgian mules that we used to have could go completely on voice commands.

Step up-- they would take 1 step then stop
let's go-- walk
let's go, come on-- trot and lope just with different levels of encouragement
whoa- stop 
back up- back up
Tiny- turn left (Tiny was the mule on the left)
Buster- turn right (Buster was on the right)
Easy- slow down or go easy


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## smrobs

Here's Tiny. Sadly we had to put Buster down about 3 years ago because he got arthritis in his stifle so bad that he could barely walk. Beside him is his best friend and Mini burro Olen.


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## kickshaw

that is the cutest picture I have ever seen. They are priceless!


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## Angel_Leaguer

I love the pic also... I love how they have the ears tipped like into each other


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## kickshaw

i like the little one's belly :lol:


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## Angel_Leaguer

I think shes just as wide as tall!!!


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## whitetrashwarmblood

I barely know how to drive, but the belgian mare at our barn is pretty bombproof so I've learned how to drive her around in our little yellow cart.
Haw - left
Gee - right
whoa - stop
and we say walk for walk, trot for trot


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## minihorse927

I guess I am just plain all I have ever used was

Walk for walk
trot for trot
canter for canter 
woah for stop and ho for slow down 
kissing or clucking to get different speeds within these gaits

I train all my minis to respond to these commands from the time they learn to lunge. I had to many problems with other people in the ring clucking and kissing to their horses and mine would break gait because they thought it was me asking for a command. Now my horses know that if they do not hear any of these words that they should now listen to the command. It also helps when the ringmaster calls for a command, my horses are already in the process of switching gaits before I even ask.


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## chasin the dream

yeah just like whitertashwarmblood....i use 

"G" for right 
"HA" for left.
then just plain old whoa to stop.


this is for our perchies


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## LauraB

For the upward transitions I use one cluck for a walk, several clucks for a park gait, and for the road gait I use a "ssssshhhhhtttttt" noise. I like to use that because it is specific for driving, I don't use it under saddle. No one else in the class uses it so my horse listens only to me. He knows to pick the pace right up when I make the noise and I get a great relaxed response from it. To go from a road gait down to a park gate I say "hey" once and it really only takes once. To walk I just say walk. For a stop I say whoa. I use noises to go faster and words to slow back down and it works very well for me.


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## CheyAut

My trainer uses kisses and clucks, but I never could remember which for which, let alone remember to USE those commands. So my horses then learn my commands once they're home 

I say:
Walk on: walk obviously 
Terr rot: trot
Get up: canter 
GO GO GO: gallop or gallop faster 
Switch: to change leads quickly, as I do combined driving and fly around the course, this lets Chili know we're about to change directions NOW
Tight: a tight turn around something, again because of the combined driving (I'm very competitive in it, and we always have the fastest cones course, and it's clean, and that is out of ALL the horses: minis, ponies, and full size! So those last two commands help Chili know what I'm asking for so we can do it smoother and nicer to him)
Ho: stop
Stand: stand 
Back: back 
Easy: relax

I think that's it...


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## CheyAut

Oh I do use kisses to get them to lengthen their stride


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## MissB

I use "Walk on" to move out at the walk from a standstill.

Except for with my Mule: "Millie Gee" is what she understands for "Walk on" and I use her name preceding each command.

"Gee" ~ rt
"Haw" ~lt
"Back" 
"C'mon back" for multiple steps back until I say whoa.
"C'mon Gee" and "C'mon Haw" for multiple steps til I direct them otherwise.
"Stand"
"Steady" to get them to settle down into the gait when they are getting anxious to go faster.
*Kiss* to edge them a bit faster into the gait they're in when they're wanting to slow down.
"And Trot"


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