Do You Half Halt?
I use the half halt regularly through every ride, but can also attest to the fact that descriptions of the half halt are less-than-helpful. The half-halt is a specific riding aid given by an equestrian…
half halt
Visual Lesson : Your Seat and Legs Aren’t That Important
Surprise, surprise, surprise. I’ve actually been writing about how unimportant the rider’s seat and legs are for a long time but it may have gotten lost in the shuffle. So, here’s a visual to help…
Flexing the Stiff Horse
This question is raised frequently – how to soften and flex a horse who is stiff in the neck. There is a problem with the question however, because it assumes that addressing the horse’s stiff neck will actually correct the stiffness. In reality, flexing the horse’s neck alone only causes a disconnection between the neck and the hind legs. If you do not understand the implications of this disconnection you can create more problems later on – making it difficult or impossible to get true collection from the horse.
Relaxation is a Virtue : Calm, Forward, Straight
When training the horse relaxation must come first. Anything we gain in ‘training’ without the horse being relaxed is compromised. Any measure of tension prevents him from fully committing to your request.
Now, the rub is that most training methods are built upon manipulating and maintaining some measure of tension in the horse.
Half Halt
The Half Halt… is it really as confusing as it seems? Endless articles describing it in vague, half-terms and hidden meanings. I don’t believe so, but for how simple it is it can be a challenge to understand and apply. Practice does make perfect…
Simplicity of the Aids – Part II
In the first part of this article, we covered the Rules of the Aids, along with introducing and describing the Half Halt and Reverse Half Halt. We now continue on, in a very logical way, to discuss the Direct and Indirect Rein. These two aids are the means of directing, guiding and helping to shape the horse.
Simplicity of the Aids – Part I
Perhaps the first point to make on the definition of aid, is that in no way does the meaning ever describe it as a means of control. The aids that the rider uses, are meant not as a way to force, coerce or otherwise take away the will, freedom or direction of the horse, the aids are there to help support the horse in his own natural abilities, if you will.