In this photo the horse is leaning in with weight on the inside shoulder, as well as moving the haunches to the outside. The rider can correct this by using the outside rein to guard the horse from overbending and falling in (rein opens slightly with contact) and the inside rein to help guide the horse back onto the circle with an indirect pressure on the neck. The rider's outside leg will move back slightly to guide the hip back behind the shoulder. The horse may need a half-halt on the outside rein to prevent him from speeding up as the rider adds the leg or on the inside rein to maintain flexion as the horse steps more underneath.
Here the horse is more balanced over all four legs and is stepping the inside hind under the rider's centre and between the front two hoof prints. He is also filling the outside rein.
The Mysterious Half-Halt: What is it and When to Use it By Lisa Wieben and Birgit Stutz Photos by Gary Wieben Horse: Pirro, 6-year-old warmblood gelding Rider Lisa Wieben
You have heard us mention the half-halt in many of our articles. But what exactly is the half-halt, how do you set up for it, and when do you use it?
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n Western riding the half-halt is commonly called a ‘check’ as you are basically checking in with the balance of your horse. Ideally when the horse is moving forward correctly his centre of balance will be placed under the rider’s centre of balance and the hind legs will be stepping under with the shoulders evenly balanced, without leaning in or out, and the horse will be in an uphill balance. The horse will be bending correctly on a bending line and will be straight on a straight line. The horse’s weight has a tendency to move more forward which places more weight over the shoulders and ahead of the rider’s centre or more to one shoulder which causes the horse to drift out or in on a circle. You can think of half-halts in two ways: rebalancing or corrective. In a rebalancing half-halt the rider will check in with the horse’s balance by squeezing the rein. Ideally the horse will give immediately, the rider will release, then the horse will move into self-carriage. If the horse feels heavy, stiff, or doesn’t yield to the pressure, then the horse is missing some key points. He may not be bending correctly, the inside hind leg is not stepping under with the inside hip forward and he is not off the rider’s aids. If on a circle half-halt from the inside rein. If the horse responds immediately the rider will feel the horse shift back, the inside leg will step under, the inside rein will remain soft when the rider gives and the horse will ‘fill’ the outside rein. The horse is now bending correctly on the circle with good self-carriage. The rebalancing half-halt helps the horse move his centre of balance back toward the hind legs. 20 • JUNE 2021
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If he is stiff during the rebalancing and pushes against the rein this means the horse is out of alignment and you will move to the corrective half-halt. Something to practice is to check-in/rebalance every quarter of a circle and a few times during each maneuver. The rebalancing halfhalt is a quick check in to make sure all is well. It can also be used just before a change of gait or before starting a maneuver to prepare the horse for the change. A rebalancing half-halt can also be used with the outside rein to rate speed if the horse is moving forward with quick steps or you need to slow the forward energy to perform a lateral movement. The corrective half-halt is used when the horse is moving out of alignment and needs more correction than just shifting the weight back. In this case there are four other corrections that may need to be made: more weight to inside shoulder, more weight to outside shoulder, shoulder falling into circle while haunches drift out, or shoulders drifting out while haunches move in. In these cases the rider will not only use the rebalancing half-halt, but will also use the seat and legs to encourage the horse to shift his weight back and bring the body back under the rider with correct bend. For example: 1) If the horse is falling too much to the inside of the circle the weight will move to the inside shoulder or the weight shifts to the outside shoulder causing the outside shoulder to bulge out. The hind legs will not be stepping under the body. The rider can use an indirect rein against the shoulder to move the shoulders back in front of the hind legs while guarding the position of the hip with her legs. The horse’s inside hind will step more under the centre and the inside rein will become soft once the horse is rebalanced on the circle. 2) The horse may shift his haunches into or out of the line of the circle. In this case the rider will half-halt while using his inside or outside leg to move the horse’s hips back into position. The aids need to be used simultaneously. 3) The horse moves the shoulders in while shifting the haunches out the rider will use an inside indirect rein against the shoulder to move the shoulder out while using her outside leg to bring the haunches back in line. 4) The horse drifts out with the shoulders while moving the haunches in - the rider will use an indirect outside rein against the shoulders while using an inside leg to move the haunches out. In these cases the rein not being applied to the neck can give a subtle
