The Art of the Half Pass

Palm Partnership Training™ Building a Partnership with your Horse Story

By Lynn Palm

To define a Half Pass, the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time. The horse must be bent in the direction of travel, and the movement is done on a diagonal track.

In Traditional Dressage competition you will find the Half Pass either at the collected trot or the collected canter. In Western Dressage you will find the Half Pass at the collected jog and the collected lope. In Traditional Dressage the Half Pass is required in the 4th level and continues to the Grand Prix level. In Western Dressage you will find it in Levels 4 & 5.

In order to successfully accomplish the Half Pass, you must respect the ladder of lateral work to train your horse:

To create the bend in your horse, it is the same at any level.

• Inside leg aid creates the body of the horse to make an arc.

• The inside rein flexes the head inward, without bending the neck.

• The outside rein lies against the horse’s neck to keep the horse straight and aligned.

• The outside leg encourages the horse to bend the body around the inside leg.

• The outside leg asks for the Half Pass movement, while the other aids keep managing the horse in keeping the bend and staying aligned, not allowing the front legs or hind legs to lead and be crooked.

• The horse bends, stays straight in his body, allowing the legs to swing sideways; therefore creating the lateral movement.

As you advance towards your horse performing the Half Pass, the movement advances by creating more bend through the horse’s entire body, and the steps cover a longer stride laterally in the movement. Lateral movement is a necessity in developing your horse’s correct collection. Half Pass is also a great training movement necessary to perform canter pirouettes.

I have DVD’s that will help teach your horse all the lateral movements. In Dressage Principles for the Horse and Rider Volume 2, I show all the lateral movements listed above both in a Dressage Saddle and a Western Saddle! Remember: A horse is a horse. To do the Half Pass movement correctly, it‘s all about the correct position and balance of the horse. The saddle or the breed of the horse do not matter.

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