Re: verble cues

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

> The
> only verbal cue all my horses know is  "hup" . They know
> something is going on. It can be mud, bad footing ect. The woman who
> started my morab trains all horses with that command . They know it means
> something is up and pay attention. They slow stride and come alert right
> away. She says it keeps you off their face.

We use the word "hup" also when we
are riding.  We use this cue when we are riding alone but we nearly
always have two or three of us riding on a lot of single track trail --
the first rider can see the obstacles ahead but they may not be as
visible to the riders behind them.  The cue is given to alert the
first horse to the obstacle (usually a tree root or branch across the
trail) and also to alert the rider and horse behind them.  That
person then gives the cue again as they approach the obstacle to alert
the horse and rider behind them (their horse is already tuned in by the
cue from the first rider.)  We have some trails that have some
significant dips in the trail...for that we call out
"diiip".  These work very well -- especially on hot, dusty
rides where the obstacle can be totally obscured by dirt dust kicked up
by the first horse.

Sue

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.