it depends on the horse. some horses will 'talk' but keep working, while others totally lose focus and are no longer 'there' mentally. my horses i dont let talk at all when they are working [so leading or riding]. whenever my mare talks it leads to bad things like bucking, so whenever she talks i make her work harder. when they talk when im leading them i will make them back up or yield their front or back.

 

when they talk when im leading them i will make them back up or yield their front or back.

What exactly does that do?

I simply ignore them and keep doing what we are doing. If you acknowledge what they are doing, you are rewarding the behavior.

 

I feel that if they are calling out to the other horse and you are riding or working with them at the time, they do not have their attention on you. I wouldn't reprimand but make them really work to get their focus back to me. If they are just tied up or just seperated in another area, I would let them be.

 

ditto.

 

It depends on the situation. As far as the trail horses go, I don't mind if the horse greets a fellow horse (it's a respect thing for me as I want to be able to stop on the trail and say hey to another rider so I feel it appropriate to let the horse do the same). The horse must, however, continue on with the task at hand. If he breaks stride, or whinnies more than once then I circle a few times, get the attention back to me, and carry on.

I like my horse to be alert to the things going on around him, and as long as he's not doing anything more than talking I'm happy. If he starts dancing, fussing, or ignoring my cues, then he's in trouble.

 

I dont let my gelding do it at all. If he starts then he forgets he is a gelding and starts acting studdish. With some of my other horses it depends on the situation. But I must admit I have only had a few in my life that do that when they are working. Most of the time it was a quick whinny then back on with what we were doing.

 

Greeting nickers are fine in my opinion but calling is unacceptable. When a horse is calling out they are often distressed about being alone, doesn't matter if they get a reply or not, they tend to work themselves up more. If they get a reply they get worked up about trying to call back again, finding that horse and so on. If they don't get a reply they get distressed about being alone. So I don't tolerate it as it just creates more tension. If I'm riding I'll just try and get the horse to focus, sometimes some lateral work, more collection...ect. If its on the ground I will wiggle the lead rope, or even snap it if the horse is completely ignoring me. Then I will proceed to push the horse around (side passing, moving on the fore, on the hind....backing up, lunging...ect) until it forgets about calling and understand that I am not happy with it and it should figure out what I want. Soon as I get the horses attention on trying to focus on how to make me stop chasing it around I will go on my way like nothing happened.

 

Molly is notorious for whinnying during shows, but she's been getting better. I usually give her a little nudge with the reins, like a tickle, to remind her to focus on me.

 

It depends on both the horse and the time. Some horses, as said earlier, call once and keep working. I don't mind with these types of horses. Other horses (like my mare) complete lose their focus. I don't allow my mare or others with like personalities to call at all during "my time".

My horses have two time zones: "my time" and "their time". During their time, I don't care what they do. They can buck and prance and pace and call. Their time occures when they are in their paddocks or stalls, alone, without a human paying them any attention.

My time is any time they have on a halter, tack, or I am doing anything to them. I can be petting them, riding them, or leading them. When I'm around and handling them, the horse isn't allowed to call. I want the horse focused on me, not his friends. :wink:

 

This is a big pet peeve of mine. Once the halter goes on... its work time.... whether leading, riding, standing tied. If I am near them they are to focus on me. Not their friends.
So I do repremand mine. Of course... Ive had all my horses for over 3 years.... so I dont have this problem at all now.
Another horse could be screaming at them.... and they just keep right on goin.