Can't half pass!

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Zebra123

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Hi everyone, long term lurker and used to post but mislaid my login years ago!

I've recently had a few schoolmaster lessons and thought I was getting the hang of half pass (albeit on shallow lines). The first time had trouble getting the bend/angle right but next time seemed to be much better and I felt like I had the idea. Generally when I can picture in my head what I need to do with movements I can do them but when I am confused it all goes to pieces!

In my last lesson we ran through AM98 involving canter half pass across width of school and not only could I not do it but I now seem to have a mental block about any kind of half pass in general. There's a whole bunch of rider faults underlying all the problems I have but nonetheless I can more or less scuttle my way through shoulder in and travers ok and have taught these movements to horses of my own in the past with reasonable marks for early lateral work in tests. I suppose it was only the third session in which I've ever tried to ride actual hp so still learning but feel really upset and frustrated with myself and lost a bit of confidence.

Has anyone else had the same problem and if so, please do you have any tips? (Especially simple visualisation techniques!) A friend who has ridden at a high level made some helpful suggestions and I am saving for more lessons but feel like I need to improve in the meantime to make it more worthwhile all round

Thanks :)
 
Are you having difficulty moving the quarters or the shoulders? You can do travers or renvers on a volte and then move off on a diagonal line towards the fence. If you're having trouble moving the shoulders across then go from travers as the shoulders are then moving more on the circle than the quarters are. The opposite is true of renvers where the quarters are moving more so you can use whichever of these to your advantage
 
those who travers on a diagonal line - I must be really thick because I just can't get this feeling in my head!
I can ride half pass though...and I can travers on a circle but I just can't get the idea on a diagonal. I wonder why that is! :p
 
I think that's the problem I have with it ester :) Perhaps because you should have the horses shoulders on your diagonal line then that doesn't happen. I always end up thinking of it as the shoulders should be parallel to the long sides though, in which case you would def be quarters leading.

Whatever, it doesn't work for me! I think of shoulder fore coming out of the corner as that sits me in the right place and gets the outside rein doing the right thing, and then ask the horse to come sideways with me. Each to their own!
 
ester said:
Do you not end up with quarters leading if travers on a diagonal?
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Not at all, if anything you are likely to have the quarters trail. Trav on diag, especially if going from a SI is a good way to prep so the shoulders really are positioned. If you have a horse with a tendancy to lead with quarters then this is a good way to think about riding it.
 
I had trouble with them for a long while and it's because I have my weight completely off, to the outside, making it virtually impossible for the horse to do what I think I am asking. Doh.
 
Auslander said:
Draw an imaginary wall diagonally across the school, and ride travers down it. That's how I cracked half pass
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That's how I think about it too .
It's also the first movement ,next that really tests hard your ability to use the leg towards which the horse is moving and the outside leg at the same time in different ways .
 
JGC said:
I had trouble with them for a long while and it's because I have my weight completely off, to the outside, making it virtually impossible for the horse to do what I think I am asking. Doh.
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That's why I like to think shoulder-fore first, to make sure I am sitting the right way. You're right - it makes all the difference. I try to feel like I'm drawing the horse sideways underneath me toward my inside leg - rather than shoving it sideways away from my outside leg. Funny how we all have different ways of thinking about it.
 
milliepops said:
That's why I like to think shoulder-fore first, to make sure I am sitting the right way. You're right - it makes all the difference. I try to feel like I'm drawing the horse sideways underneath me toward my inside leg - rather than shoving it sideways away from my outside leg. Funny how we all have different ways of thinking about it.
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These days I ride it from shoulder-fore positioning, although going left still have issues with getting my weight to the inside and end up using too much outside leg. Canter half pass is my serious headache at the moment! I definitely got my head round it initially from thinking travers on a diagonal line though. I think it's a good way of giving you the idea but definitely have to watch quarters don't lead.
 
star said:
These days I ride it from shoulder-fore positioning, although going left still have issues with getting my weight to the inside and end up using too much outside leg. Canter half pass is my serious headache at the moment! I definitely got my head round it initially from thinking travers on a diagonal line though. I think it's a good way of giving you the idea but definitely have to watch quarters don't lead.
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I'm seriously struggling to understand how you could easily let the quarters lead from riding travers on the diagonal line.

Pretend you are changing the rein HXF, ride your change of rein and do a travers along it
 
ihatework said:
I'm seriously struggling to understand how you could easily let the quarters lead from riding travers on the diagonal line.

Pretend you are changing the rein HXF, ride your change of rein and do a travers along it
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I reckon that it depends on where your focus is. I used to visualise the HXF "wall", focus on F, and ride it as if it was one of the long sides, so my half pass was correct, but I can see how, if someone is riding that line, but focusing on A rather than F, they could easily push the quarters over
 
Thank you all guys! Just checked back and didn't realise I'd had so many replies! Really helpful too, I think I can visualise it in my head and feeling inspired now!

I'd initially heard travers on the diagonal but as I was initially riding too much quarters I assumed it would have this effect but I am going to try it because at least if I have an image in my head I can then correct the specifics if they aren't right.

Thanks all! :)
 
Zebra123 said:
Thank you all guys! Just checked back and didn't realise I'd had so many replies! Really helpful too, I think I can visualise it in my head and feeling inspired now!

I'd initially heard travers on the diagonal but as I was initially riding too much quarters I assumed it would have this effect but I am going to try it because at least if I have an image in my head I can then correct the specifics if they aren't right.

Thanks all! :)
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Ride your HXF line straight a few times
Then don't change that but ask for a few steps of travers over X
Gradually build it up, and you can then improve the flexion etc
Eventually it will just come naturally from a shoulder fore position and flow, but by deliberately riding a straight diagonal line it will help cement the shoulder first position
 
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