[chika1235]

has any one ever had that weird guy at the horse shows??? not making fun of him but there was this guy at the show last month that kept talking to his horse,his trailer was close to mine and all i keep hearing him say is"were gonna beat him or were gonna beat her" he was giving pep talks to his horse. no one at the horse shows ever does that expet him.he is a really nice guy but when we were in the same juvinile racking class he was behind me and he said loudly that he was gonna beat that #99 (me) and that my horse couldnt gait as fast as his. well i placed 2 ribbons above him and he was still talking to that horse saying what he should do next time to beat me.hes not got any mental problems hes just weird like that.im not picking on him but all the shows and clinics ive been to hes the only one that has ever talked to his horses.usually the people at my shows stay in their own little group. i dont have a group as im very shy and most of the teens there are either a.) really scary looking or b.) very unfriendly.please dont think im being mean cause im not.

 

[ariielise]

I'm 21 and I still talk to my horses?? It relaxes them AND me, and you should hear my holler in barrel races and jump off stadium jumping rounds. When my girls hear me holler to them they know it's time to find the next gear and kick it up. I talk to them between classes as well, and it helps them relax. Been doing it since I was a kid, but I figure why fix something thats not broken.

 

[Cheshire]

lol, I am one of those people. Haven't shown yet but I chatter to my girl and the gang at the stable all the time...can't help it! If ever I am riding/working with them alone, or even with other people nearby, I often have a light conversation going...or I hum. Like arii said, it helps keep things relaxed. I've also been doing it since I was young (20 now), never thought to stop. Is it weird? nah. Actually your description of that guy had me chuckling slightly...I can totally understand where he's coming from!

 

[StormyBlues]

I talk to my horses all the time! At least I know they arn't going to go and tell my secrets to the whole grade!(I've been the subject of lovely gossip chains before!) And I talk to Geof on XC, it keeps him listening to me, and me listening to him. I was walking back to the barn while Pre-Limb was running their XC and I heard a girl talking to her horse. I think it strengthens the bond. He also might be trying to get his nerves out.

 

[Honeysuga]

I chat to my horse all the time when I get a chance to be around him. I know he doesn't get a word of what i am saying but the tone I use seems to soothe him and it helps me too. It fills that empty air...

I used to talk Brandi up before a run when I did barrels, It got me amped up and in turn amped her up too. I will admit too that I used to get excited during runs and start talking to her, rather loudly never mean like just "come on baby" "Go,Go,Go"... stuff like that.(all in my naivete, before I became a little more educated on proper care of a barrel horse...)

I have calmed down a lot as I've grown up and stopped the yelling and learned to keep her calm before a run rather than getting her hot, but I still coo to them...

 

[Gidji]

I talk to my horses, especially at shows. I think they find the voice soothing and it kinda calms me down as well. Yerr, people might think I'm crazy but if it helps my horse and I do our very best, then I couldn't care!

However, I don't blurt out "C'mon RickStar, we gotta beat number 56" because thats just rude and would make me look a bit arrogant.

No, I just say words of encouragment. I guess its sort of a pep talk for me and the horse.

 

[FireFlies]

I talk to any horse that I see. Zane a lot but sometimes it ends up that I am just talking to myself! When I ride him I talk to him and sing. Though most of the time when I talk to him it's things like "Zane! No!" or "Come on, it's a tree! Get over it and move!". I think it relaxes me and him and keeps his focus on me when I talk or sing . Well, you know, not when I'm yelling at him to stop . I would never shout out that we were going to beat such and such at a show or anywhere. That's just kind of rude. Not to mention how the heck would the horse even know who you were talking about???

 

[savvylover112]

I talk to my horses all the time lol If they understand what I say then they are the only ones in the world that truly knows me lol I think talking to your horses is ok

 

[Spastic_Dove]

Gossip is never fun, but I talk to my horse all the time. My horse doesn't need a pep talk, but if I give him one, it usually benefits me! I talk to all my animals and to myself too.

 

[HorsePride]

I talk to my horse...

 

[lacyloo]

I don't talk to my horses..Or any other animals.
Of course ill say "good girl/boy" but I have never had a conversation with them.LOL

 

[anrz]

haha I give Thumper pep talks at shows all the time . I'll actually say, "Good job buddy, but next time we need to work on _______" or "Okay, bud, we're going to do really well this time! We can do it". I usually get a couple weird looks .

 

[HorseOfCourse]

I always run through showmanship patterns with my horse. I dont think they understand aa bit of it, but they are good study partners. In the show ring I also talk to them because I get really nervous, and it just helps. Sometimes my brain thinks faster than my hands, so I think I did something but I really didnt. My verbalization helps, like a checklist.

 

[ilovemyPhillip]

I literally talk to my pony, like I tell him everything. I'm not weird (well I am but I don't think he can reply to me). He is the only one I tell anything and everything to. I'll go out alone on a trail with him, and I just talk about my day, my problems, and what's going on. He listens, keeps one ear one me. Now, would I say all that at a show? No. But I would tell him he's good, or to slow down. But I doon't think it's weird, lol.

 

[SorrelHorse]

There's nothing strange about that. A lot of people talk to their horses. I do it all the time! I'm yelling all through my barrel patterns and before that I'm talking to em' telling them that they'll do just fine and not to run too hard if they don't want to...And during the reining I talk the entire time. I count strides and tell them how good they do, and how even if we don't win they're the most amazing horse in the world for trying. God I'm such a sap.

But you should hear me scream when I'm chasing cows. There is nothing more intense Lolz ^^

 

[SmoothTrails]

Haha I talk to mine all the time. I give them pep talks sometimes. Normally it has to do with being on the trails. "Really, a tree? You have no issue with tractors but a friggin tree?"..."The one car sitting stillwith no on in it? REally that is the one you spook at? Not the one driving past or the one slamming the door??"..."If you do that again your new name will be ALPO, ELMER, Ect." (jk of course.)

I think it's more for me most of the time, but if I'm calmer the horses are calmer. We also yell "Hey" when we go around barrels or turn in the roundpen. All out horses know the word "easy" as well. From the time we begin training them to anything "easy" becomes a command to relax and stop whatever acting up they are doing. It's hilarious that it actually works if you say it like a command instead of asking them to calm down...lol.

 

[PaintsPwn]

I always run through showmanship patterns with my horse. I dont think they understand aa bit of it, but they are good study partners. In the show ring I also talk to them because I get really nervous, and it just helps. Sometimes my brain thinks faster than my hands, so I think I did something but I really didnt. My verbalization helps, like a checklist.

I tried running through an eq pattern with my horse once. He's the kind that anticipates what's coming next, and he got it right... it was just backwards LOL, so no more pre-pattern work for him.

I talk to my horses. All the time.

 

[Amir]

My show jumper / barrel racer actually responds really well when I talk to her. It's actually a bit freaky how much better she does haha. It's like english is her second language.
When running barrels if one turn isn't that great I tell her I know she can do better and not to try cut the corner and almost knock the barrel and the next turn is heaps better. I tell her I know she can go faster home and she kicks it up a bit.
Jumping I tell her we need a fast, clear round to place or a steady clear round and she puts in more effort over fences so she doesn't pull a rail.
Some horses can do better with verbal aid and others it doesn't make a difference. I guess it comes from the tone of your voice. It can help calm them down or hype them up.

 

[paintluver]

Romeo stays calmer when I talk to him, so the whole time I am in the arena with him when we are running the patterns for games I talk to him and he normally does a lot better. I am not sure why, but he likes it when I talk to him!

 

[paintluver]

I forgot to post when I am talking to romeo, I am normally just saying his name like " Romeo, come on, lets go, get up" or I just go "Romeo, Romeo, Romeo, Romeo." It really seems to calm him and me down.
And before a run I tell him what it is like "Barrels, Key, Dash... etc"