COMMAND OF LANGUAGE - 5 minutes How many commands does your horse understand?
This is both a learning test and a memory test. Your horse learns words, phrases, body language and vocalisations so that it can understand you and guess what you're going to do next. The number of commands that an animal can understand is to do with both its ability to learn and the size of its memory.
Step 1: Go through all the commands your horse responds to, including verbal commands, vocalisations such as whistles, hand signals, and leg aids.
Step 2: Roughly how many commands does your horse know?
Results:
A - More than 25 commands
B - 11-25 Commands
C - 1-10 commands
If option A - Your horse is obviously skilled at learning and remembering commands. When it learns a new command, your horse is associating the sound or body signals that you create with one of its own actions. Your horse's learning and memory has probably got a lot to do with your own training habits as an owner. It looks like you've given your horse plenty of opportunity to learn.
If option B - Your horse has learned and remembered a broad selection of the commands that it finds most useful to pay attention to. When it learns a new command, your horse is associating the sound or body movement that you create with one of its own actions. Your horse's learning and memory has probably got a lot to do with your own training habits as an owner. It may be able to learn more commands with the right encouragement.
If option C - Your horse has learned and remembered a small number of commands. When they learn a new command, your horse is associating the sound or body movement that you create with one of its own actions. Some horses are better at doing this than others, but your horse's capacity to learn and memory has also got a lot to do with your own training habits as an owner.
