half halts, roundness

A half halt isn't done in the reins. It's the whole body. I would work on getting your horse going forward and straight but don't mistake speed for forwardness. If the horse is fit enough then I find trot is the best pace to establish a good fit him. Lots of transitions to engage the hind quarters, lots of circles and changes of rein. The way to encourage softness and roundness is by relaxation so that the horse starts to reach in to the contact, you cannot force the horse in to one.
 
I forgot to say that when I said to relax your elbows, what happens is that the reins move a tiny bit forward so the horse has room to stretch forward into the bit.
 
This thread blew my brain so much it's now scattered across various counties...


Hijacking thread a bit, but where would someone go about finding schoolmaster lessons?
 
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Chinchilla said:
This thread blew my brain so much it's now scattered across various counties...


Hijacking thread a bit, but where would someone go about finding schoolmaster lessons?

And to everyone else they've got an instructor and do seem to have progressed in the time frame from first video on the channel to the later ones.
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We know she's got an instructor, she has posted many many times on here about it.

Depending on where you are Chinchilla I'm sure you could be pointed in the right direction for a schoolmaster lesson, but generally it would be to one of the bigger training centres that have good well educated and accommodating horses.
 
One of the biggest revelations of my riding career was when a trainer said to me "to ride a half halt correctly, all you need to do is take a big breath in"

Of course, I had to go and ruin it by saying "Yeth, and I'm only thixthteen" then collapsing with laughter, every time he said "Big breaths
 
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I think I've probably said it on every single thread HK but he would benefit SO much from getting him out hacking. Lots of long hacks in walk will help get him stronger, particularly as others have said if you can find the odd hill. :)

Once he's stronger in himself he'll find it easier to do what you're asking of him in the school.
 
scats said:
Not read all the replies, but that is not what I would call a half halt- sounds more like a fiddling nightmare.

I keep it simple, a half-halt is a momentary, split-second rebalancing of the pace. How I achieve it depends on the horse I am riding and where they are in their training. It’s something you learn by feel more than anything.
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Agree. Milliepops and JTFD have made good posts as well. Often too much emphasis is made on what the horses head is doing, instead of focusing on the rest of the body and then the head will follow. Good example of this is many years ago when I had my mare at college with me, she was not the schooling type and is not built for dressage, but I was focusing so much on what movements we were riding, transitions, shapes etc, and all of a sudden realised she had softened and accepted the contact, it was a lovely moment!
 
I recently rode in Portugal at a classical dressage centre and I think they explained half halts much more clearly then they do in England. They mainly referred to it as a 'half-stop', and when you are first introducing it to a horse this is what it literally is. You are half applying the breaks, ie half-way to a halt or stop to slow the rhythm to rebalance, and when the training is more advanced it can become more subtle. They also taught it with a closing of the outside rein and weight in the seat.
 
shortstuff99 said:
I recently rode in Portugal at a classical dressage centre and I think they explained half halts much more clearly then they do in England. They mainly referred to it as a 'half-stop', and when you are first introducing it to a horse this is what it literally is. You are half applying the breaks, ie half-way to a halt or stop to slow the rhythm to rebalance, and when the training is more advanced it can become more subtle. They also taught it with a closing of the outside rein and weight in the seat.
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That sounds more like the way I was taught. Its very horse specific though. Back when Militaire was in work a 1/2 halt had to be quite a strong aid to get through that Ardennes stubbornness. If I applied that strength of aid to the Appy she would stop dead and probably reverse 100 yards. You can 1/2 halt from the deep breath in on her.

One of the biggest revelations of my riding career was when a trainer said to me "to ride a half halt correctly, all you need to do is take a big breath in"

Of course, I had to go and ruin it by saying "Yeth, and I'm only thixthteen" then collapsing with laughter, every time he said "Big breaths
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Snigger! :D:D
 
There is some brilliant advise here! Thank you!
In the school i was taught in a half halt was literally taught as a squeeze on one rein... nothing else :o
So for me going forward if i just focus on being soft and bending those elbows he will find the contact more appealing. I guess if i keep trying to get him forward and offer a nice soft hand for him to hold he is more likely to figure it himself. Further up someone mentioned he was on the forehand, (i wasnt sure what this mean but have googled) if i am soft and light with my hands this should help to combat that as he cant lean on me to pull along with his front, is that right?

I am going to practice transitions with my seat (after a lot of reading) as i tried this a few weeks ago and he didn't really get it. It might be the case i will get someone out to ride him to reinstate clear seat instructions then i can hop on and they can talk me through it.


On the bright side i think this is the first time i have posted and haven't had comments saying he looks lame :D i knew it was me confusing him :P
 
I really like how keen you are to learn all this stuff OP, and accept that we can always do better. I am a lot like you I think, I grew up wiggling reins in the vague hope that one day it would all fall into place and my horse would achieve the mythical roundness and lightness. I didn't have schoolmaster lessons, just lessons on other regular horses where I also wiggled the reins and hoped. I had instructors, including 'proper' dressage instructors, telling me to wiggle the reins, use them to flex him, put a flash noseband on him etc etc etc. It didn't feel right but I didn't really know any better.

I don't really remember when or why or how it happened, I had ditched my instructors as I didn't like that they were pushing me more into doing what I already knew wasn't the right way to do it, but one day my horse went light and soft and round. I was pretty gobsmacked but tried to grab that moment and figure out exactly what I had been doing, and what I needed to do to replicate it. The basics I figured out was - I had forgotten about the horse, I wasn't trying too hard at anything. I was just riding shaped and movements and sideways and backwards and transitions without even thinking about where his head was. My hands were still, not fixed but not waggling about. I had closed them on the reins as a lot of the wiggling I did was with my fingers opening and closing on the reins, not moving my hands themselves if that makes sense. So on this occasion I had closed them and, I remember now, I was trying to imagine that the reins were attached to hooks on my elbow joints instead of to my hands, so any movement in the contact was coming from my shoulder not my wrists or fingers. This made my contact much stiller and less faffy, my shoulders naturally absorbed any movement along the reins. So reins connect to elbows and then I would lift my hands up like they were floating, attached to helium balloons. I would tell myself they were my 'Carl Hester hands'. I still use this series of mental images as old habits die hard when it comes to fiddling. All of a sudden the whole picture changed, my horse clicked up a gear, he was active and engaged but I was neither blocking his movement nor throwing it all away in front of me. Instead it was like we were having a conversation along the reins, constantly giving and receiving little bits of feedback to each other that I hadn't allowed to happen before.

Our sessions have transformed just with the above. We aren't perfect but he now works in a lovely frame, even in his bitless bridle. I have also found an absolutely fantastic instructor who is helping me to establish even more 'conversational skills' with my horse, making our sessions even better. i also like to think of my sessions as playing with my horse, rather than working. I still have goals, but each ride is about enjoying it,making it interesting for us both, hoping we both learn something. If it doesn't go the way I planned or he isn't up for grown up schooling, I will change the game and switch to say some trec obstacles or I will take the bridle off and work on our schooling without it (really can't fiddle with reins if you don't have any!...not to be recommended to all people or horses though!). So each session is fun and leaves us feeling good, rather than frustrated like I was before, when I was trying too hard. I'll see if I can find a 'before and after' photo to see if it provides any inspiration :)

Sorry, that's a lot of waffle that isn't all about half halts (although when i finally rode one the 'right way' it was a revelation, I can't even tell you the right way as I'm not a very analytical rider, but I knew it once I felt it) but I wanted you to know that you are on the right track, its all a journey and as long as you listen to feedback from your horse you will get there!
 
Auslander said:
One of the biggest revelations of my riding career was when a trainer said to me "to ride a half halt correctly, all you need to do is take a big breath in"

Of course, I had to go and ruin it by saying "Yeth, and I'm only thixthteen" then collapsing with laughter, every time he said "Big breaths
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Mine was similar.

Instructor: "Why are you trying to ride a half halt with your legs all over effing shop, and wtvf are you doing with your reins? Pull your shoulders back and stick your tits out for a second. Wrap your legs around to stop the hollowing."

Followed by lesson after lesson during which the prevailing words shouted at 100 Decibels for the whole of the Fens to hear were 'tits', 'tits' and 'FFS! I said TITS!'

OP, when you have worked on the very good advice about hands on this thread, a simple approach to the half halt is to, well, square your shoulders and simply stick your tits out momentarily. It makes you sit deep and just break the elasticity between your hands and the horse's mouth momentarily. Wrap your legs around him and then a second later, release everything.
 
Horsekaren said:
There is some brilliant advise here! Thank you!
In the school i was taught in a half halt was literally taught as a squeeze on one rein... nothing else :o
So for me going forward if i just focus on being soft and bending those elbows he will find the contact more appealing. I guess if i keep trying to get him forward and offer a nice soft hand for him to hold he is more likely to figure it himself. Further up someone mentioned he was on the forehand, (i wasnt sure what this mean but have googled) if i am soft and light with my hands this should help to combat that as he cant lean on me to pull along with his front, is that right?

I am going to practice transitions with my seat (after a lot of reading) as i tried this a few weeks ago and he didn't really get it. It might be the case i will get someone out to ride him to reinstate clear seat instructions then i can hop on and they can talk me through it.


On the bright side i think this is the first time i have posted and haven't had comments saying he looks lame :D i knew it was me confusing him :P
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Thats right, it's important not to let him lean on you. Half halts really help with getting them off the forehand aswell. Also, tons of transitions. Make sure to do half halts before and after the transitions. This will keep the horse balanced and give him a heads up before you ask him to change gait.

Also, getting the horse to move energetically forwards makes everything simpler. Once he's forward you can use your half halts to catch that energy so he doesn't just get faster. Once they have that energy in their body they become more athletic.

Don't worry if it doesn't happen for you right away. It will come together. Just keep trying and keep asking questions.
 
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i admire the way you are always wanting to learn, OP. You could do much worse than read 'Ride with your Mind' by Mary Wanless. If her imagery speaks to you, she explains brilliantly. Unfortunately it doesn't resonate with everyone. Heather Moffatt and Sylvia Loch are also worth a read, imo.

I suggest that you don't concentrate on the horse's way of going but on your own riding. The horse responds, more than anything, to the rider's position. If you watch the videos that you have put on here (enlarged if poss, I find them a bit indistinct) and look for moments when you are in a good position, then go back and focus on what the horse did at the exact moment, you will see how you influence him.

I second the advice to get him out hacking at walk, by all means vary the pace within the walk and do some walk/halt transitions at lamposts/trees to check that you are asking effectively by getting an accurate response. Be determined that your leg will be inline with the marker when he halts. When you know that your halt aids are effective, try counting a set number of walk steps e.g. 20 then halt. Then walk on again and repeat. This usually gets them walking out well, as well as encouraging them off the forehand, make sure that he is walking on in a good rhythm. If he starts rushing rather than walking out, think "Steady" to yourself, which will cause you to breathe and open your shoulders, which will rebalance him. I find that thinking what you want, means that your own body moves, so the horse responds and if you use the same voice aids on the ground that reinforces what you are asking for when riding.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I second the advice to get him out hacking at walk, by all means vary the pace within the walk and do some walk/halt transitions at lamposts/trees to check that you are asking effectively by getting an accurate response. Be determined that your leg will be inline with the marker when he halts. When you know that your halt aids are effective, try counting a set number of walk steps e.g. 20 then halt. Then walk on again and repeat. This usually gets them walking out well, as well as encouraging them off the forehand, make sure that he is walking on in a good rhythm. If he starts rushing rather than walking out, think "Steady" to yourself, which will cause you to breathe and open your shoulders, which will rebalance him. I find that thinking what you want, means that your own body moves, so the horse responds and if you use the same voice aids on the ground that reinforces what you are asking for when riding.
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I was thinking, this morning, as I was warming up my mare in walk and playing with some of her responses, that there really is no better pace for experimenting with aids than walk. Subtle changes in position are much easier to achieve, and more obvious to the horse (than in rising trot), and the horse's response should be clearer to the rider. The speed of trot can mask alterations in straightness as you slow or collect, and give the horse more scope to run away from the leg / into the hand.

You tend to find riders (influenced, perhaps, by their instructors) whacking into trot for schooling work and trotting around and around in circles while they try and develop the contact and the roundness they want. There are certainly reasons to use trot - the symmetry and forwardness helps the horse work athletically and to move forward into a contact - but it's harder to introduce, and feel, subtlety when the changes and movement happen so much faster. Of course, an experienced rider will often use trot to train the horse - but they're not trying to develop the beginnings of their own feel and tact in the saddle.

Plus you can do it all out on the trail, even on the abominable Essex clay concrete we have right now.
 
The key is getting the horse to go over his back. I have been on the same journey of discovery as you and can remember trying those exact same 'instructions ' on my mare - they didn't work just served to confuse her and me further. Then I discovered the Art2Ride videos and everything made sense as they explain how a horse needs to engage its abdominal muscles and use its back muscles correctly to connect back to front, carry the rider properly and develop the topline to eventually permit 'roundness' and engagement. Since working her this way lunging and ridden work (long and low to help her develop properly ) I have seen a huge difference in her. She is now seeking the contact in a natural soft way and she is much more relaxed.
Good luck with your horse.
 
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I have also experienced the same confusion over Half Halt, until I found my current instructor, but I also really get the Deep Breath thing & so I tried it tonight, in walk & well, it bloody well worked!
 
Dave's Mam said:
I have also experienced the same confusion over Half Halt, until I found my current instructor, but I also really get the Deep Breath thing & so I tried it tonight, in walk & well, it bloody well worked!
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It's great, until you sigh heavily at a plebby driver out hacking, and your horse promptly grinds to a halt!
 
JFTD said:
I was thinking, this morning, as I was warming up my mare in walk and playing with some of her responses, that there really is no better pace for experimenting with aids than walk. Subtle changes in position are much easier to achieve, and more obvious to the horse (than in rising trot), and the horse's response should be clearer to the rider. The speed of trot can mask alterations in straightness as you slow or collect, and give the horse more scope to run away from the leg / into the hand.

You tend to find riders (influenced, perhaps, by their instructors) whacking into trot for schooling work and trotting around and around in circles while they try and develop the contact and the roundness they want. There are certainly reasons to use trot - the symmetry and forwardness helps the horse work athletically and to move forward into a contact - but it's harder to introduce, and feel, subtlety when the changes and movement happen so much faster. Of course, an experienced rider will often use trot to train the horse - but they're not trying to develop the beginnings of their own feel and tact in the saddle.

Plus you can do it all out on the trail, even on the abominable Essex clay concrete we have right now.
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I find the walk really useful too. You have time to figure things out that you don't have in the trot. When the weather was really hot, I spent all the time in walk.
 
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