Robert Dover: If You Say Nothing You Mean Nothing

[@wendyasman3322]

What a horrible bit of advice. ...You can't trail a seal without a fish? WTF. We aren't training seals. Find another trainer people. Maybe he can produce a horse but he hasn't a clue as to how explain how to train.

[@petrairene]

Sorry, but saying "good girl" in whatever voice you like means absolutely nothing to a horse. Unless you have specifically conditioned it to the sound like you do for example with clicker training.

[@lauremckinney7111]

petrairene I do think they understand the energy that saying "good girl" comes with. They are brilliant at reading our energy:)

[@petrairene]

@@lauremckinney7111 But they read that off our body language, not our voice. The vocal communication of horses is so totally different in pitch that a horse has no ability to interpret the tone of a human voice, unless it has in the past directly connected it to some actions (like for example a scolding that was followed with threatening body language or a tap with the whip) That's what clicker training does, creating a positive connection to a particular sound so you can use that sound as a stand in for a food reward.

[@lauremckinney7111]

petrairene Yes, I understand but because humans are vocal, I find talking to horses valuable because they interpret not the vocalizations but the energy that our vocalizations create in our body language. Also, every human/horse relationship is unique. What works for one, may not work for another. When a rider says "good girl" it relaxes her body and therefore is a wonderful reward for the horse. The words just help us as humans communicate thru our bodies.