Training in the Right Way: Unraveling the Half Halt
“The half halt is a beautiful, effortless way to ask your horse…” The half halt is many things, and entirely critical to good, effective riding. But it is generally invisible when done well and rarely is it “effortless.” Let’s discuss.
Dressage training is supposed to be the process of training ANY horse to be a better riding horse. The more the horse learns, in theory, the easier it is to communicate with and therefore complete more complex tasks with. Although competition dressage training often is more focused on training for the dressage test, that is not what the original intention (and original judging requirements) were for competitive dressage. Initially, it was designed to give riders and trainers a way to determine how their training measured up to the theoretical ideal of the training process. That said, it is critically important to understand the meanings and reasons for some of the terms we use to describe dressage training and what to look for when observing training and competition (and videos and photos), regardless of whether you intend to compete or just train your horse to be a better whatever you do with him. That, ultimately, is the main purpose of my articles. To provide education and knowledge for riders to understand and improve their eye and understanding of what dressage training is supposed to be. While there will always be some differences in practice and theory, good horse training is always recognizable to the educated eye. That said, it absolutely is necessary that we remember and understand that limited knowledge is limited judgment.
As a lifelong student of riding (not just dressage) and specializing in dressage competition and training for most of my life, I have had A LOT of instruction. I was lucky to have some excellent teachers early in my riding career and some excellent ones more recently. Throughout this journey, I have had the half-halt explained and described to me by my teachers, my contemporaries, and even my students. What I have learned from the majority of these interactions is that most people who ride horses (even some of the upper-level competitors) do not know what a half-halt actually is.
I have heard the half-halt described as if it is some mystical experience of almost telepathic communication. Other times, I have heard that the half-halt is always done with strength or as a punishment. I heard one instructor describe it as using the seat, hand, and leg all at the same time and then releasing it. And most of the time I hear it described as something that slows the horse down or “collects” him. In other words, there is a lot of confusion, many opinions, and quite a bit of misunderstanding surround half halts.
If one were to try to write down exactly how to train a horse to accept a half-halt, and how to train a rider to give one that works, it would fill a book. Fortunately for you all, I don’t have quite that much time on my hands, and learning the art and sport of dressage is based not just on sharing the descriptions of aids and concepts in words, but also on the feeling of these things. Additionally, to really understand the feeling of (in this case) the good contact that is absolutely necessary to perform an effective half halt, a rider must ride many horses with good contact, because each horse will be different when in a good connection –depending on size, conformation, movement style, training, age and natural talent — and experiencing these different sorts of connection help educate the rider on the possible correct variations and nuances.
A secure seat and independent aids are absolutely necessary to create correct contact and deliver effective half-halts. Photo (c) Gwyneth McPherson.
Even though I don’t have time to write you all that book, I still think some clarification on half halts would be helpful. To start to unravel what a half-halt is, we first have to address the reality that most horses, and therefore most riders, and that most riders, so therefore most horses, have not been trained in the right contact. This includes many of our upper-level competitors (around the world). We can see that they do not understand the proper contact because of all the photographs and discussions about blue tongues, too-tight nosebands, blood in the mouth of the horse, roll-kur, and the general tension in competitive riding and training. Yes, I am saying that when horses are trained in the right contact, and riders are trained in the right contact, these things would not happen in upper-level competition.
So, starting with this platform, we must understand that a properly delivered half-halt, given by the very best (kindest, most empathetic, experienced, educated and effective) rider/trainer in the world will not be effective on a horse that is not trained in the right contact. Also true, is that the best trained, most supple, athletic, up-hill, talented Grand Prix dressage horse cannot respond productively to a half-halt that is delivered incorrectly. This is why we have so much trouble explaining, understanding, and learning about half-halts. The half-halt is not one singular aid or action by the rider, and it does not produce one singular type of response from the horse. The half-halt is in fact many different types of aids in many different types of situations. The correct response to a correct half-halt also must be trained into a horse. The correctly delivered half-halt will not work on a horse that is hard in the mouth, not supple, or too light in the bridle. Also, in order for the rider to be capable of giving a successful half-halt, the rider must have a secure seat, independent aids, and understand how to ride forward with the hand and the leg. As long as the rider has uncontrolled movement, or uses the reins to help balance, they cannot ride a useful half-halt.
The feeling of correct contact differs from one horse to another based on age, training, conformation and style of movement, amongst other characteristics. Gerrit Fan Bonnie View. Photo (c) Michele Ting.
While keeping all of that in mind, let’s break down a half halt into its most fundamental elements. To do so, we have to answer the following questions:
What does a half-halt do?
A half-halt is a form of communication that helps the horse understand, prepare for, sustain and complete an exercise, a rhythm, a balance, a position, a gait or a variation in that gait. An example would be the transition from piaffe to passage, where the horse remains in a two-beat rhythm, but must change the balance, forwardness, and change from an active hind, quicker rhythm to a cadenced rhythm. The rider directs the horse to change from the active, on the spot piaffe rhythm to the more forward, cadenced passage rhythm by giving a slightly different aid each stride that moves from a quicker leg back position to a slower leg forward position, while providing a contact with the bit the allows the advancement out of the piaffe, but also prevents the horse from trotting away by giving the rein aid in the rhythm of passage.
When do you give a half-halt?
A half-halt must be delivered within the rhythm of the gait the horse is in. When it is done correctly, the half-halt exists in some variation every stride. It is not “nagging” or repetitive when done correctly because it has a tiny cause and effect each time it is delivered. The half-halt aids are based on what the rider is conveying to the horse, and what the horse’s balance and acceptance of the aids is from ones stride to the next. Most well-delivered, and well-understood half-halts are essentially invisible to most observers. The epitome of the well-delivered half-halt is the rider moving with the rhythm of the horse, and applying only the amount of aid needed from one moment to the next giving the appearance of the rider doing nothing and the horse performing the exercises.
How do you give a half-halt?
All descriptions of the half-halt aids assume the use of the rider’s seat and back as the base from which the hand and leg aids can be given. If the rider does not have an independent, secure and controlled way of sitting through the horse’s motion, the leg and hand aids will be ineffective, or disruptive. All descriptions of half-halt aids also assume that the rider understands that the aids must be given in the rhythm that the rider is trying to promote. Beyond these two immovable truths, the half-halt can be with a heavier seat or a lighter seat depending on the required response. The half-halt can be given with more leg and less hand (go bigger or more energetically forward), or with less leg and more hand (slowing down the tempo, or velocity). The half halt can have components of increasing or decreasing bend, with hand and leg aids working together to create a specific curve in the horse’s body. The hand and the leg used together in half-halts can create turning or straightness of travel. Essentially, a half-halt is an aid or group of aids that create an effect in the horse’s body.
What does half-halt feel like?
An effective half-halt feels like the horse doing what you wanted him to do. A mostly effective half-halt feels like the horse mostly doing what you wanted him to do. The learning process for the horse learning half-halts often feels like the second description.
What do you do when a half-halt does not work?
If you have been following along with my other articles, you will be familiar with the phrase “all submissive (on the aids) horses are supple, but not all supple horses are (on the aids) submissive.” When a half-halt does not work (at all or just not as well as you might have hoped) he is not supple enough to those aids in that moment. There are so many different scenarios in which this can happen, it is not possible to give a singular solution. Part of the reason for this is because the aids to make a horse more supple, or to do a suppling exercise, are, in essence, half-halts. The simplest answer is that if the lack of response is mild and not resistant, try giving the aids again, maybe slightly differently, maybe slightly stronger. If the response is extreme (very resistant, violent, or fearful) then the horse needs more education or the rider is giving aids that are too big or too small, out of rhythm, too sharp, or just simply the wrong aids for the intended result.
A young Prix St Georges horse accepting a half-halt to increase collection in the canter. Photo (c) Icon Studios
In addition to the above basic premises, understanding the role that developing a productive contact (one that is a form of communication and not restriction and has a measure of mutual respect between the horse and rider) plays in being able to both understand and execute an effective half halt is crucial: without the correct contact, there is no half halt. Both the horse and the rider need to learn that the contact is for the purpose of communication in order for the half-halt to work in an effective and productive manner. In a similar vein, it is critical for the rider to have developed an independent seat and aids, resulting in a balanced and secure rider that can offer a soft and forward contact for a half-halt to be effective.
While understanding and riding effective half halts requires attention to quite a bit of nuance, honing this is critical as the effective, well-delivered half-halt, is an absolutely necessary part of a horse’s training and a rider’s education. Not to mention that it’s awfully helpful when riding up the levels if you’d like to avoid that whole strength riding thing. And, as with most aspects of good riding, these skills are best learned and honed under the guidance of a knowledgeable mentor as they can help you make the right mistakes that are necessary during the process while avoiding many of the detrimental ones.
Remember: limited knowledge is limited judgment.
Gwyneth and Flair in competition at Grand Prix. (c) flatlandsfoto.
Gwyneth McPherson has over 35 years experience competing, training, and teaching dressage. She began her education in in the late 1970s, riding in her backyard on an 11 hh pony. Her first instructor introduced her to Lendon Gray (1980 and 1988 Olympian). who mentored Gwyneth for a decade during which she achieved her first National Championship in 1984, and her Team and Individual Young Rider Gold Medals in1987.
In 1990 Gwyneth began training with Carol Lavell (1992 Olympian) who further developed Gwyneth as an FEI rider and competitor. Gwyneth achieved a Team Bronze in 1991 and a Team Silver in 1992 in the North American Young Riders Championships, and trained her stallion G’Dur to do all the Grand Prix movements while riding with Carol.
In 2008, while Head Trainer at Pineland Farms, Gwyneth began training with Michael Poulin (Olympian 1992). Michael was trained by Franz Rochowansky (Chief Rider for the Spanish Riding School 1937-1955). Michael has shared much of Rochowansky’s knowledge and wisdom with Gwyneth, completing her education as a Grand Prix rider, trainer, and competitor.
Gwyneth’s teaching and training business, Forward Thinking Dressage,is based in Williston, FL. In addition to teaching riders and training, Gwyneth also loves sharing her knowledge of the sport and art of dressage as well as discussing relevant topics pertaining to the training itself and the current competitive landscape.
