Breaking Down Dressage: What is a Half Halt?

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Күн бұрын

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@Flying0Dismount Жыл бұрын

This is basically what all my GP coaches that have explained. We all learn a "mechanical half halt" as beginners, that is that rein squeeze with leg action that most people think about but that's just about giving a beginning rider a way to slow down their horse without stiffening up and hauling on the horse's mouth.. At a more advanced level, a half halt is *anything* that you do as you ride to keep your horse working in accordance to the training scale, so as you said, it might be a shift in weight, it might be an adjustment of rein, an application of leg, in response to the horse's movement to add the energy back, to straighten the body, to ask for more suppleness.. It is not just a single mechanical motion but think more of driving your car down the road: you are always making tiny little adjustments to the steering wheel and modulating the accelerator pedal and using the brake to keep the car driving straight and the speed constant. Every one of those tiny inputs would be a half halt if your car was actually a horse.. When I teach, I tell the student to visualize a path for the horse in front of them and to count their rhythm, and if the horse's head neck shoulders or quarters deviates from the path (this would be Alicia's train tracks), or slows down or speeds up, they are to use a tiny bit of hand, seat, or leg, individually or in concert to fix what they feel until the horse is straight on the path and moving steadily again. Every single one of those tiny adjustments is a "half halt". I'm glad that someone is actually explaining this as the traditional way of explaining "half halts" and indeed the whole "half halt" term is so misunderstood even by many coaches..

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your valuable insights and expanding upon the concept of half halts. It's wonderful to see your passion for teaching and helping riders better understand this fundamental aspect of riding. Keep up the great work x

@Grushenke89 6 ай бұрын

This! So helpful. I have been doing this without realizing it, wondering if I was doing it wrong even though I'm getting good results with my horse. It makes riding far harder than I ever realized it to be as you are constantly monitoring the horse, every step.. initially you need many corrections every few steps, though we are now getting nice stretches at times where the horse seems to understand what I'm asking and anticipates it. And this is all low level stuff. I can't imagine the difficulty with the higher levels! Also, the timing! You have to catch the need to correct while it's happening, if you do it after..too late! lol. Often I feel if i keep my mind empty, focus on him, I will react without even thinking about it.

@norabea3552 Жыл бұрын

Thank you, nicely laid out and well detailed ❤

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@erinjaynes Жыл бұрын

TOTALLY MADE SENSE AND MADE IT MORE CLEAR!!! My trainer would always say half halt and I thought it was just a squeeze of the reins or a small pause at the top of your post because that’s what I had been told!! It makes more sense that it’s the RESULT of “adjusting” your horse to stay on the “tracks”, adjusting however you need to. THANK YOU!!

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

You're very welcome! I'm thrilled to hear that this has helped clarify the concept of half halts for you. Enjoy your rides and continue to deepen your understanding and connection with your horse. Happy riding!

@ptowey5298 10 ай бұрын

So, reading another comment, maybe explain different things that happen during training session and say how to correct. I’ve always heard use your back at same time as squeeze rein

@braewoodequestrian3511 Жыл бұрын

I legit always thought a half halt was literally a half halt 😂 If he's getting away from you a little you ask for a halt but don't. It's just to bring them back. But see not many coaches explain things like this so thankyou so much for all your hard work on teaching ❤

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much x

@ptowey5298 10 ай бұрын

Liked your explanation, I had a trainer who could feel each leg/ foot. Trick is how to apply it.

@mandyguthrie1965 Жыл бұрын

OMG…seriously demystified the mysterious half halt! I actually was doing all of that on my baby horse yesterday. Little corrections to the shoulders, haunches and tempo…didn’t realise that this is what really is the half halt. She went beautifully but the corrections where continuous throughout the session getting easier and easier as she listened. Wow! I was doing the half halts correctly….who knew! 😮

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

That's fantastic to hear! It's great that your horse responded positively and improved as the session progressed. Keep up the excellent work x

@phoenixx6380 Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Thats brilliant! Makes sense. It's essentially fixing any part of the way the horse is moving, in a millisecond with your body, legs or hands. It takes a long time to 'get' that finesse and do it quickly but a good instructor can teach you. I remember when it took me several laps of the arena to get my horse on the bit. Now I do that within one stride. It's that quick response using tiny corrections. ❤ An instructor who keeps yelling 'Half halt!' is really yelling at you to get your horse together!

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing!!!

@thelastmedici4764 Жыл бұрын

EPIC explanation of the Half-halt🤗 A huge thank you Alicia

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

You're so welcome!

@NoName-pp8if Жыл бұрын

This is great. I’ve pretty much always been told the “beginning” mechanical aid of squeeze a rein, apply some leg, which I do all the time on my little green ottb. I’d probably call it more of a rebalancing aid then a half halt, as it mostly just scoots his little hind end back underneath him without letting the front half scoot out and just puts both of us back together and “centered”-ish. But this makes way more sense to what a half halt actually means. I’m not a high level rider by any means…at all. But I love this clarification

@YourRidingSuccess Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I'm glad to hear that the clarification about the half halt resonates with you!