The Mysterious Half-Halt

The Mysterious Half-Halt

By Maribeth Dunlap

April 2007

There are as many definitions of how to ride a half-halt as there are definitions of what it actually is. It is no wonder that so much has been written and so many videos have been produced on this single subject and yet it still seems to remain a mystery to some and a controversy to others.

Let’s first consider the FEI definition of a half halt taken from the USEF rulebook:

The half-halt is a hardly visible, almost simultaneous, coordinated action of the seat, the legs and the hand of the rider, with the object of increasing the attention and balance of the horse before the execution of several movements or transitions between gaits or paces. In shifting slightly more weight onto the horse’s quarters, the engagement of the hind legs and the balance on the haunches are facilitated for the benefit of the lightness of the forehand and the horse’s balance as a whole.

And now let’s look at the definition taken from The Principles of Riding, The Official Instruction Handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation:

Half-halts are used:

• When riding a transition from one gait to another

• To shorten or adjust the strides within a gait

• To alert the horse prior to a new exercise or movement

• To improve or maintain the horse’s collection and carriage within a movement.

To perform a half-halt, the rider places more weight on his seat bones by tightening his back muscles, pushes the horse forward with his legs, and uses a carefully measured asking or non-yielding rein aid followed with a minimum delay by a yielding rein.

To sum up, it could be said that half-halts consist of a combination of all the aids and are essential for controlled, accurate riding.

A half-halt consists in briefly ‘enclosing’ the horse a little more between the weight, leg and rein aids, and then yielding with the reins again.

At the first signs of success, the rider should become lighter in his hands again. If necessary, the half-halt can be repeated several times.

The half-halt is not a ‘one off’ action: it should be repeated as often as necessary, i.e. until is has fulfilled its purpose.

I tend to follow more of the Classical definition of the half-halt:

• To rebalance

• A call to attention or to give notice

• A preparation

• To increase the collection thus changing the weight distribution from the front legs to the hindquarters

• In which to prepare for a transition

• To engage the hindquarters or, to be more specific, engage a particular hind leg.

As you can see, most definitions of what is a halt-halt and what is the purpose or goal are similar. There are more differences though in how to execute or ride a half-halt. Perhaps one of the reasons for the many definitions of the half-halt is that people have different perceptions of what they actually do to execute an effective half-halt. And perhaps another reason is that horses vary in sensitivity from one individual to the next. Some horses are so sensitive that just a simple inhale from the rider can produce an effective half-halt. And then there are others who are less sensitive and need stronger leg and seat aids. And then there are those who choose to ignore the seat aid altogether and run into an unyielding hand. I refer to this as a Half Nelson and usually not very pleasant.

One thing that is not too often talked about is the criteria that are necessary to perform an effective halt-halt. First of all, the horse needs to be working in relaxation. This means that there should be no blockages or bracing throughout the horse’s body. He should move forward with good energy, impulsion and swing. He should have a softness and relaxation in his jaw and should yield his jaw and poll to the riders soft closing of the fingers. The horse should have some stability at the base of his neck and there should be an open channel through the entire horse from his hind hoof to the hand of the rider allowing the energy or engagement to flow through the horse and be received in the hand.

You can think of this as a flow of electricity or energy and if there is a kink in the line then the flow is interrupted. If the horse is truly soft and there are no blockages, you can actually feel the hind leg in the hand on the same side as a little pulse or ebb and flow.

The other important thing that is also not too often discussed is the timing of the half-halt. If the timing is not correct, then this often leads to more bracing and a loss of relaxation. Usually the poorly timed aid is applied again and usually stronger which leads to more bracing and more tension. The rider usually then blames the horse for a lack of responsiveness and thus begins the downward spiral of stronger aids and a duller horse.

In order to understand the timing of the half-halt, it is first important to learn to feel the footfalls of the horse and when each hind leg is coming forward and when it is on the ground. There are three phases of the hind leg:

• Engaging Phase – moving off the ground and reaching forwards under the belly

• Carrying Phase – on the ground under the belly (in front of the vertical)

• Thrusting Phase – on the ground behind the horse (behind the vertical) and pushing the horse forward.

It is important to learn to feel and recognize this through your seat and to then execute the correct timing of the aid. When the timing is correct, there is harmony and ease between the horse and rider and a wonderful feeling that you will crave during every ride.

The correct timing for the half-halt is during the carrying phase, when the hind leg first touches the ground in front of the vertical and is carrying weight and the hindquarters are flexing. The half-halt can only last as long as the hind leg is in the carrying phase, which is only a fraction of a second. If the aid lasts longer then the horse will brace, come against the hand or above the bit, and shorten his stride. The result would be a loss of relaxation, balance and collection, all of which is opposite of the goal of the half-halt. So it is very important to remember that it is not a prolonged tightening of the back, closing of the fingers, crunch of the abdominals or death grip of the legs. And it is most definitely not a dead pull or backwards action of the hands. It is better to think of it as engaging the hindquarters with a soft touch of the calves, a brief tightening of the core, and then receive this energy for a moment in your fingers, followed immediately with a softening of the fingers or a release. So it is a series of brief *send*receive*release*send*receive*release* aids until the horse yields, engages, flexing his hindquarters and becoming more elevated in his shoulders or simply put – more collected.

So as you can see riding an effective half-halt is a bit more technical than simply pulling back on the reins. But don’t give up. Begin by learning to recognize the footfalls of the horse and then go from there. If you take the time right from the start, you will eventually experience harmony, ease of movement and lightness like you’ve never felt before. Only then will you truly dance with your horse.

Photo: Maribeth riding Maestoso II Odetta II (Wild)

This article was written by Maribeth 2007 – All Rights Reserved Used With Permission.