Trilling noise - is it a dressage thing?

[BatataHead]

What is the origin of the trilling noise that a lot of dressage riders and trainers use to slow or calm their horses? It seems to be the equivalent of the word “easy.”

Is it from the dressage world in general? Is it a German or Dutch thing?

I have only recently encountered it as I’ve been spending more time in dressage world.

On another note, does anyone else have a special word or noise they use for the instead of the trill or “Easy.” It is definitely a useful thing to have / has saved my horse a couple of times.

[Covergirl15]

I’m not quite sure the origin, but I wish I could do it! Ive never quite been able to get the sound right! If anyone has tips they would be appreciated! ??

[yaya]

Neither can I. Never could roll my Rs in Spanish class either.

First time I heard it was from a Danish trainer.

[partita]

Comes from driving. Communication to horse in harness.

[Minerva]

I’ve heard Saddlebred and hunter/jumper trainers do it as well, FWIW. I’m not sure where it came from, but I do know that my horse looks at anyone who does it to her like they’re nuts. :lol:

[Pocket_Pony]

I find it very annoying and silly. I use a long exhale and that works for my horses.

[Calamber]

I agree, too much noise, cannot see it as calming, I thought it was used to get the horse to move on and brighten up a bit.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Minerva;8450433]
I’ve heard Saddlebred and hunter/jumper trainers do it as well, FWIW. I’m not sure where it came from, but I do know that my horse looks at anyone who does it to her like they’re nuts. :lol:[/QUOTE]

It’s a EuroThang. If H/J people are doing it, that is because they shopped in Europe or thought it was fancy when American Dressagists do it.

It’s not my cup of tea but, hey, I can be a cultural relativist.

[silverdog]

I find it very effective. I have different noises I use to either brighten my horse or cue him that a downward is coming. I can do it quietly enough to even use it in the show ring if necessary.

[Inese]

[QUOTE=mvp;8450469]
It’s a EuroThang. QUOTE]

Absolutely a European thing ~ my father taught me the same technique when I got my first pony. He was born in 1903, and had horses in Latvia before coming to the USA after the WWII.

[buck22]

It is very useful for my driving horse for adjusting speed within a gait. Works great in hand too if he’s getting anxious and quick.

[Ambitious_Kate]

I use it, but graduate the horse to a more subtle sound, like a an “Ahhh” going down in tone, then a hum, then just an exhale, from longeline. Useful under saddle. Not the noise, the exhale.

[mvp]

It makes sense that the noise would be used for driving… you can hear it distinctly. And it also makes sense that others would use “whoa” or breath while riding… exhaling changes muscle tone and the horse can feel that.

[GraceLikeRain]

The noise really annoys me. More often than not I’ve seen it used when a horse is careening around on a lunge line or being a pig on the ground and someone is trilling and brupping away rather than actually doing anything. Perhaps I would have a less negative association if I’d seen it used in conjunction with other aids to actually produce a reaction/change in behavior.

[DiamondJubilee]

Like anything, it needs to be trained/taught to the animal. I hear it all the time in the driving world and my husband and I have taught all of our ponies this command as well. It works really well when we are out driving (and even riding - my pony will go from a gallop to a walk with one trill, no reins needed) but it needs to be taught. Its not something that all animals would understand unless it was brought up in their training.
I wouldnt expect a strange animal to listen and understand the trill as a command to slow down, though I have used it by a mistake on other horses than my own as I’m so used to doing it!
Remember, driving is 90% voice and 10% rein contact. We don’t have a seat to help slow down a movement - its a great tool to change from an extended trot to a working trot without using a lot of rein contact. A trill works and it works really well for us. I have been out with a lot of 4 in hand drivers who also use this and all 4 animals listen and work better together with a trill. We do tend to use the sound to change gaits (from a trot to a walk or canter to a trot) than use it to slow down movements. I like to use “steady” to decrease the rhythm, but a lot of drivers tend to use the trill to do this. But that is how they taught their animals so it works well for them.
Perhaps when people hear others using it and the horse is not responding, its just because they are so used doing it and having horses understand…

[Nestor]

Our German horses all know it from before they shipped to the US, and it has more than a few times been the single reason for a wild, loose horse to stop dead in their tracks. It’s a cue like anything else, and if properly trained it works!

[vineyridge]

Ingrid Klimke and other German eventers do it XC. From what I can tell, it’s used to tell the horse that something important is coming up–“listen up, horse”.

[Marla_100]

I was amazed that a new 2 yr. old who was being long-lined in the round pen
actually calmed down and slowed his racing around when the trainer did the trilling. I’d never heard it before but it worked quite well. That trainer had a driving background so maybe that’s where she learned it.

I can’t trill at all, so it wouldn’t work for me.

[beowulf]

I use the trilling as an indication to “steady” for my guy and it is VERY effective. Great when we are first cantering in a new place in the open, or if we are readying an approach to a fence. Not to be confused with “aaaand” (which is a verbal half-halt, ALSO very effective) or “whoa” which is equally effective.

I like it - it is easy to issue and I have found horses are very responsive to the noise.

[ElementFarm]

agree it’s a European thing. All the riders in Germany used it, and while I generally use a “ho-oh” in a decreasing pitch, my German horse still responds well to the trill.