Don't step on the cat! My take on the half halt. |
Louise van Gaal I don't know if there are "rules" that say what a half halt is or isn't. Trying to do a "traditional" half halt never seemed to do me any favours - even though my first Grand Prix horse competed internationally I never thought I had a good "handle" on the half halt, it seemed always hit and miss. The results weren't always what I expected or wanted. So I adapted what I thought was wanted with what I knew I could do and what the current teachers like Andrew Mclean explained that the horse could understand. This is my "current" take on it - I don't promise not to change my mind. When you are trotting around and the instructor calls for everyone to "walk please" what happens? Depending on your level of experience you do anything from "pull back on the horse’s mouth and hope it slows down" to a "gentle vibration while you sit deeply into the saddle and keep the horse engaged while asking for a break in gait to the walk being careful not to send the same signals as for passage or halt”. So, there can be little, or a great deal, going on during the downward transition. The half-halt is NOT half of a downward transition, rather it is a moment in which the horse “holds and waits” while you prepare for the next request. It is a “held breath” rather than a stop-start. The big difficulty is that horses don’t recognise that request for “wait” just because the rider asks. Horses don’t come pre-programmed to half halt any more than to do any of the other movements or transitions that we need. You have to deliberately teach your horse to half halt – to wait for your next signal (aid) and then respond appropriately. You also need to teach yourself how to do the same. Being told to “half halt” without an idea of what to ask and what to expect is pointless. There is a moment we have all experienced – walking on the footpath or down the steps and suddenly seeing the kitten where we want to put our foot. When you hold your foot up and balance before stepping to the side – that’s a half halt. Obviously the horse isn’t going to hold its hoof in the air (unless you’re training Spanish walk) but it can hold its momentum steady and listen for your continued signal, which might be for more engagement or more bend or more up and less forward etc. You can’t do a half halt on a horse that runs through the bit – 4 strides later it isn’t a half halt anymore, it’s a fall on the forehand and a haul on the mouth. But as I said – you have to teach your horse to respond that quickly. You can’t do a half halt on a horse that you are kicking every stride to keep it trotting (or even pushing all the time to keep it forward). Before you can do a half halt a few fundamentals need to be in place. The rider must be able to keep upper body balance – if you continually lose yourself forward and backward you are unintentionally sending the horse conflicting signals that will make the half halt hard to recognise. Once you are reasonably balanced you need to be sure that your horse understands forward – that means that it understands that a squeeze with the leg and the seat will be followed by ONE kick and then a smack with the whip which WILL shoot the horse forward and you will NOT FALL OFF. :) You are also sure that the horse will turn to either rein and slow down if both are used at the same time. If the horse doesn’t do this promptly you will need to learn to reinforce your will in this area and keep your balance at the same time. Forward and stop aids that are clearly understood at the walk are a good start. The half halt can be practised at the walk WITHOUT the horse being “on the bit”. On the bit should be the result of well utilised half halts. When you ask for the horse to half halt and “listen” you firstly sit deeper in the saddle. The horse is very sensitive in that it can FEEL every movement of your body in the saddle – your horse might not respond to this movement but it can feel the flexing of your back muscles, the opening of your hips/seat, and the dropping of your heel. “Sitting deeper” is the start of every half halt. If you are using the half halt to correct a horse for being heavy in the hand or ignorant (they all start that way) to the hand then the “sitting deeper” would be followed by a stronger request for lightness or yielding of the horse’s front. The horse has to LEARN that the tightening of your elbows and the closing of your hand does NOT mean to turn or stop. If the horse responds to the closing of your hand by stopping the hindleg BEFORE waiting then you are doing a downward transition not a half halt. The horse has to respond to the hand by “listening and waiting” so you need to be able to recognise (feel) when the horse yields in front. If you are doing the half halt because the horse is too fast then you will allow the horse to slow the hindleg after he has yielded by KEEPING the hand and elbow closed. You will soften after the half halt has achieved the desired result. If you want the horse to lighten, elevate or bend WITHOUT slowing the tempo or losing rhythm you have to make sure that the hindleg keeps coming through and that you yield the instant after the horse yields in front. So when the instructor says “he’s running, half halt” you are asking the horse to check in front without resistance and slow the hindleg. Firstly the “check in front without resisting” then “slow the hindleg”. When you are told to do more half halts because the horse is on the forehand it means that the horse will yield in front but keep the hindleg travelling through to create engagement and elevate the forehand. In this case it is “keep the hindleg coming through” and remain soft in front. The half halt that results in the horse hitting the brakes and then the rider flicking forward the wrist and kicking the horse on again teaches neither the horse nor the rider anything at all. |