Half Halts.......He doesn't understand!

[Monty]

Heather, my 'horse-on-trial' so far is proving to be a great success.I have had him a month on trial now.But I have one persistent little problem. When I'm trotting on a corner, he seems to pre-empt me and automatically think I want canter.If he doesn't actually canter,he trots very fast. Almost a RUN really.
I try to make sure I'm not doing anything to give him that idea.I stay rising, slow the rise if I can,(though this is hard for me against his rapid moevement). I make sure I don't put my outside leg back, or anything like that.I have been trying half halts, but he completely ignores them.
So far, he has proved to be a very obedient little soul, who is not in the habit of so completely and thoroughly ignoring an aid. I can only assume he doesn't know what I mean.He WILL just slow up, if I do give quite a hard,definite one, but I don't like how hard I have to do it to get any effect.So I don't do it any more. I thought a half halt involved sponging on the outside rein, not giving it an almighty hoik!
Can you explain please Heather, how I can teach him to listen and respond to a much lighter half halt. Rebel is trying SO hard for me.He is doing things for me that he won't do for others, and I'm so thrilled with him. I think a half halt is such a useful little tool and should be used with subtlety not like a sledge hammer.

[Heather]

HI Monty,

A true half halt is more than just the little 'check' that so many think it is on the outside rein. A true half halt is just what it says, the horse almost comes back down to the pace below, but you immediately send him forward again. It rebalances the horse and gets him to 'sit' more, and really can only be performed when the horse is truly 'through ' in normal transitions.

If he is anticipating mostly on corners, I would bring him back to walk a few strides before a corner make him walk round it, and then ask for trot again, even just a few strides along the short side and then ask for walk again, negotiate the next corner and so on, until he gets the notion that you don't want him to rush round corners. It shouldn't take long for the penny to drop.

When you do start trotting him round the corners again, do a demi volte back to the track- a ten metre half circle and back to the track in straight line as you will find in some dressage tests This will also take his mind off whizzing round corners. Also do a ten meter circle in the corner, or better still, do two ten metre circles changing the rein in the middle to make a figure eight. This should help him get the message.

He sounds like he needs plenty of variety in exercises to keep his mind occupied - bit like I did at school!

Heather

[Monty]

Thanks Heather.Now I've learnt something.I shall try the things you've suggested.It would also seem that a half halt is therefore I imagine, somewhere between the subtle sponge and that 'almighty hoik' I mentioned.

[Heather]

HI Monty,
The aid should be predominantly from the seat, ie closing the seat and upper thigh muscles, the hand merely closing, but never pulling back. The more the horse is trained to the seat aids the more quickly he will listen.

The best illustrated half halts I have ever seen are on the video called Classical Schooling volume 2, by Kalman de Jurenak. Superb German rider Hans Heinrich Meyer zu Strohen rides a six year old at the beginning of the tape in half halts and it really shows the rebalancing effect. One of my students likened it to a 'freeze frame effect' which is a good description.

You will not see him do anything - if you look closely you can see his seat muscles close and a crease form in his breeches- that is about all! I cannot reccommend this tape more highly if you want to get a good picture in your mind of what true Classical riding applied to competition dressage, should look like.


Heather