# What's a Half Halt?



## DoubleS (Jun 11, 2012)

This is pathetic since I've been around horses ever since I can remember,  but what's a half halt? My trainer doesn't teach them, or at least she's never mentioned it! I've read they can be helpful for getting a horse lighter on the forehand, and I've got a pony who could use some work on that. 
What's a half halt and how do you do one?
Thanks.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

It's a dressage term, so maybe that accounts for why you have not heard it before.

I think it means that you ask the horse to make some shifts in it's way of carrying itself, as if he were being asked to halt, but you do not halt the horse. instead, you take the hrose, who has rebalanced himself ever so slightly as if about to halt, and you ask for a change of some kind, such as go faster, come down a gait, step under more, bend more. 

So, it' used as a way to keep the horse ready and responsive to the next cue the rider will give.

I will let others explain how it' done.


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## Klassic Superstar (Nov 30, 2009)

Without getting fully detailed in it and how to do it, it's sitting the horse down on their hind end and getting them to power back up through their hind end. It's used to help rebalance the horse and get them lighter on the forehand.
I took a few clinic lessons this summer with a great gold medalist trainer from Cali and he explained in such a way while I was riding that when we worked on it together on a 15 meter circle it made the biggest difference in how my horse was going, wasn't so wiggly under me and was more consistent in our trot rythem.
I'm sure someone will be able to explain all the parts to the half halt to you much better, I am hoping to find a video from my last clinic lesson that shows just that!


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## clippityclop (Jul 12, 2012)

Yes, ^^^^ as the above poster mentioned and as Sally Swift wrote in 'Centered Riding' , a half halt rebalances the horse. And then there is about 100 more pages of infinite detail that could be written about it (books have been written just about half halts) and another 100 pages of opinion on it...LOL!


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## MapleAir (Oct 19, 2012)

My former trainer used to say that a half halt acts somewhat like an orange light. It prepares the horse for lead, direction changes, manoevers, is the step before the full halt. 
To me, it has always been like saying: "Pay attention, something is happening!" I always make sure my horses respect half halts and consistent use makes them more responsive and loosens them up like mentioned before. 

The actual "act" is squeezing the rein with your fingers as if it was a wet sponge, leightly though, no pulling and preferrably on the side that stuff will be going on. And not as much squeezing as if it was a full halt. Practise =) It's hard to explain how it feels.


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

http://www.horseforum.com/dressage/mysterious-half-halt-causes-effects-92170/

Have a read through this thread if you're really keen to learn about half halts.
They are not as simple as tugging on the reins to slow the horse down, then kicking them forward again


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

Easiest way to explain it - it is used mainly in english riding. You get your horse going along at a good pace in walk then you 'ask' him to stop i.e. squeeze slightly on the reins and pull in your abdominal muscles towards your spine (horse feels this through your seat and he will start to move his body into a halt) but half way through the move 'you change your mind' and ask him to keep going instead. It takes a bit of practice. ONLY USE A HALF HALT IN WALK otherwise you could end up with problems.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Bluebird said:


> Easiest way to explain it - it is used mainly in english riding. You get your horse going along at a good pace in walk then you 'ask' him to stop i.e. squeeze slightly on the reins and pull in your abdominal muscles towards your spine (horse feels this through your seat and he will start to move his body into a halt) but half way through the move 'you change your mind' and ask him to keep going instead. It takes a bit of practice. ONLY USE A HALF HALT IN WALK otherwise you could end up with problems.


Bluebird, I think you should have a read through the thread Kayty posted, it has a lot of information that can clear up a bit of the misinformation in your thread.


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

Chiilaa said:


> Bluebird, I think you should have a read through the thread Kayty posted, it has a lot of information that can clear up a bit of the misinformation in your thread.


Not quite sure what you mean by 'misinformation'as you don't identify which part of my response is 'misinformation. This is the way I was taught and the only bit I read from the other post was 'it is not as simple as squeezing on reins' - which is correct. Any other pace whereby you change moves is called a 'flying change' which is a different technique I ride english style and I also ride a draft horse who competes at dressage.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Bluebird said:


> Not quite sure what you mean by 'misinformation'as you don't identify which part of my response is 'misinformation. This is the way I was taught and the only bit I read from the other post was 'it is not as simple as squeezing on reins' - which is correct. Any other pace whereby you change moves is called a 'flying change' which is a different technique I ride english style and I also ride a draft horse who competes at dressage.


First of all, a "flying change" is when a horse changes canter leads without transitioning through a slower pace. But anyway. 

A half halt can be used in any pace, not just in a walk. It is not done by closing the hand then kicking the horse on. If you read the thread that was posted, it becomes much clearer how intricate it really is.


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

Obviously we have very different instructors!


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Um... bluebird?????? What the????

Better let every Dressage rider world wide know that they can't use half halts in any pace but walk then? 
A half halt is used to rebalance a horse, and shift more weight to the hind legs. Generally in preperation for a chance of direction or pace. Depending on the horse, I can ride up to 20 half halts on a 20m circle, in walk, trot, canter (including in any lateral movement I so desire to ride at the time). Half halts are NOT simply almost halting to slow the horse down. There are full novels written on the topic of the half halt, and there are so very few riders who can ride a half halt to its full effectiveness. I've been practicing for years, and still don't feel that every one of my half halts connects. It is a forever growing learning curve to ride a correct half halt. In fact, I find it as satisfying to ride a perfectly executed half halt, as I do to ride a lovely half pass or pirouette!!!

A flying change is executed in canter, where there is a 'jump' in the gait. The horse changes lead from left to right/right to left, without breaking to trot or walk. 

I suggest Bluebird that you talk to your instructor more thoroughly, and if he/she maintains that a half halt can ONLY be ridden in walk, or that a flying change is any alteration to any pace.... then find someone that knows the back end of the horse from the front, as this information is SO incorrect that it's not even amusing.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

A half halt is done at all gaits, it's your clutch!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

That's when you push the clutch in to shift gears.


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## DoubleS (Jun 11, 2012)

I tried to follow what you all described, and I read thru the thread Kayty posted. I think I understand what it should be like, but right now I'm kind of trial and error with actually doing it with my pony.
The way i figured out worked the best was just like 'checking' a little bit with the reins and just kind of bracing/shifting my seat a little. I really felt him load up, like a loaded spring kind of. (I can really feel it bareback, because his back muscles change.)
I found that it only really seemed 'work' to me at a canter/lope. He just thought he had to slow down at a walk and trot. 
I really felt a good half halt while I was taking him from a canter to a gallop when I was breezing him around the pasture bareback! 
It really is seeming like a good thing to know! I hope it helps him get his back end working harder than it is (he's a bit heavy on the forehand)
We're working on it! Thanks for letting me know!


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## uflrh9y (Jun 29, 2012)

This seems like a great instructional video because it shows you the actual difference in the horses carriage.






Depending on the horse and style, it will look different. When using a HH on an Arab, their head comes in and more arch then more up like in the video, but the collection is the same. And it is used in more then dressage and at any gait. nI love the way the previous poster explained it as it's the clutch.


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## jinxremoving (Apr 6, 2009)

One of the best explanations of half halting:






... remember, a half halt should should be hard to see!


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

jinxremoving said:


> One of the best explanations of half halting:
> 
> how to do a half halt erin king H 264 - YouTube
> 
> ... remember, a half halt should should be hard to see!


That is what I was trying to explain. Unfortunately I have been shot down in flames along with my instructor...LOL


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

Bluebird said:


> That is what I was trying to explain. Unfortunately I have been shot down in flames along with my instructor...LOL


That is nothing like what you were trying to explain, sorry. You very clearly said that a half-halt cannot be done in other gaits than walk, this video showed them using it in every gait.


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## Bluebird (Jul 20, 2011)

Chiilaa said:


> That is nothing like what you were trying to explain, sorry. You very clearly said that a half-halt cannot be done in other gaits than walk, this video showed them using it in every gait.


Will you get off my case? I can only explain what I have been taught. I didn't write the rules. Whatever my instructor has taught me, works for me and my horse who is a heavy Clydesdale! We have competed at dressage at the Highland Games and at the age of 4, my boy was placed 2nd in the novice class at his and my first ever attempt. I will ofcourse also try some of the moves other people have explained. Different strokes for different folks LOL.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

DoubleS, there are some good answers here, but IMHO what you wanted to know was _how to learn to perform a half-halt_, and then _how/when to use it._
First, it's 1/2 of a halt, and, you change your mind and drive the horse forward after the 1/2 halt. 
A _full_ halt should be these things ALL IN UNISON:
--your body stops following the motion of the horse
--you squeeze your butt muscles
(see jinx's video)
--you stop following the bit, as if you have become a pole and the reins are a lead rope.
*Practice a FULL halt and master this FIRST.* The is how to correctly "brake" your horse, like you use the brakes in your car.
The 1/2-halt is a pumping of the brakes...except you use it when you ride. You don't have to be a master of the 1/2-halt for the horse to accept it. I've been using a half-halt on my young geldings and they understood it very quickly. It has enabled me to change speed within gaits for several years now, and I used it on my older herds when retraining already broken older horses successfully. Later on, I used it to prepare for changes of leads, changes of footing (that I could see and the horse couldn't)--there are numerous ways to use the half halt to rebalance your horse, so learn it and practice it every time your ride and your horse will just get more responsive to it.
ANYBODY who owns/rides a TB can tell you that you have to use a half-halt to slow them down bc they must slow down through all of the gears--no slide stops for a TB!
Like Nike--JUST DO IT! Everything is awkward at first, BUT, you'll get better. The invisible half-halt happens when BOTH the horse and rider have spent hours and years together practicing it. Just didn't want you to get discouraged. =D


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Corporal said:


> A _full_ halt should be these things ALL IN UNISON:
> --your body stops following the motion of the horse
> --you squeeze your butt muscles
> (see jinx's video)
> --you stop following the bit, as if you have become a pole and the reins are a lead rope.


Sorry--feel like I just gave you a recipe and omitted an ingredient
A _full_ halt should be these things ALL IN UNISON:
--your body stops following the motion of the horse
--you squeeze your butt muscles
(see jinx's video)
--you stop following the bit, as if you have become a pole and the reins are a lead rope
*--you squeeze your calves to push the horse into the bit but stop the energy with the reins*


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## DoubleS (Jun 11, 2012)

Corporal said:


> DoubleS, there are some good answers here, but IMHO what you wanted to know was _how to learn to perform a half-halt_, and then _how/when to use it._
> First, it's 1/2 of a halt, and, you change your mind and drive the horse forward after the 1/2 halt.
> A _full_ halt should be these things ALL IN UNISON:
> --your body stops following the motion of the horse
> ...


Thanks so much! I understand much better now. My pony has a really good stop to him; he has nicely working brakes  I think I'll go practice full halts and half halts! Like, now so I don't forget! 
Thanks again


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