Gee and haw
Gee and haw are voice commands used to tell a draft animal to turn right or left, or to direct sled dogs pulling a sled or sleigh.[1][2] Gee (pronounced "jee") means to turn to the off side (away from the driver). Haw means to turn to the near side (towards the driver).
In the United States, the driver of draft animals sits on their left, so animals will turn right to the gee command, and left to the haw command. In England the driver stands to the right of the animals, reversing the relative directions they indicate (i.e., an English trained team of horses will "haw" to the right, while an American trained team will "haw" to the left — in both cases towards their driver.) As James Lloyd Clark points out, "Generally, work horses are not subject to a lot of international travel so the fear of great confusion on the farm is minimal."[3]
The American meanings are used for dog sledding in Alaska and Canada.
In popular culture
The song Pony Time, recorded in 1961 by Chubby Checker and a number one hit that year, includes the lyrics
Now you turn to the left when I say gee,
Boogety, boogety, boogety, boogety shoo.
You turn to the right when I say haw,
Now gee, ya ya little baby,
Now haw, ya oh baby, oh baby, pretty baby,
Do it baby, oh baby, oh baby,
In "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the young Almanzo Wilder is described training a team using the commands "gee" (right) and "haw" (left) for turns. http://www.scribd.com/doc/105337831/Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-03-Farmer-Boy#scribd page 98,99,103,104,330,337
Now he had to teach them to turn to the left when he shouted, "Haw!" and to turn to the right when he shouted "Gee!"