Best practice–start your horse slowly, and teach them to respect voice commands. Don’t use voice commands to make YOURSELF feel better, use them to help get the job done, whatever that job might be. I hear riders all the time clucking, kissing, “easying” and whoaing without ever following through on the request. After a short period of time, voice commands become useless because the rider doesn’t really intend to acheive the goal of the word…..stop, go, trot, walk, canter, lope, GET!!!, whatever. They are chanting to themselves to calm THEMSELVES.

Horses survive by staying ON THEIR FEET. Horses that feel they can not stay on their feet at will become nervous and want to flee. Horses that fall down when the herd is running are horses that get eaten by predators. We can not domesticate an alternate behavior without thousands of years of breeding in special circumstances. Not many of us have a horse with bloodlines that tight.

Disengagement works best when done with respect for the horse’s balance. Any horse feeling ridden off balance will do one thing…..run away. Therefore, be careful and seek guidance when learning to apply this skill. A professional trainer who has used this skill effectively and with compassionate results should guide you every step of the way.