The ability to stop your horse is essential in any discipline, but achieving a correct halt is more complex than it may seem. Debbie Dobson, a coach, trainer, and competitor with 30 years’ experience in the equine industry, owns and operates Equestrian Dreams, a dressage-focused lesson facility in Campbellville, ON. She says it’s a skill most riders need to work on, from beginners through to grand prix competitors.

FEI Dressage Rules state:

1. At the halt, the horse should stand attentive, engaged, motionless, straight and square with the weight evenly distributed over all four legs. The neck should be raised with the poll as the highest point and the nose line slightly in front of the vertical…

2. The halt is obtained by the displacement of the horse’s weight to the hindquarters by a properly increased action of the seat and legs of the athlete, driving the horse towards a softly closed hand…

“The halt is essential from a safety perspective, of course, but it’s far more important than that,” says Dobson. “In the dressage ring, the movement provides the first and last impressions the judge forms. Riders who don’t focus on this element are throwing away marks. In every discipline a prompt and correct halt indicates a willing, attentive horse and a rider who is correctly applying the aids. It’s a forward movement – not a function of pulling or holding – and should be achieved with fingertip lightness.”

Identifying problems in the halt can help riders pinpoint and correct their own weaknesses. Dobson suggests separating each step in the process slightly for novice riders and green or younger horses; as training progresses, the aids may be given almost simultaneously. While halts in the dressage ring require three seconds of immobility, this can be challenging with anxious horses. Dobson’s advice is to work gradually up to this goal until the horse is happy to remain still and square, ready to depart in walk, trot, canter, or rein-back.

The perfect halt, step by step

  • Rise up from the belly button through your upper body
  • Bear down and still your seat, with weight evenly on both seatbones
  • Apply the leg to gently encourage the horse to step forward and under his body with the hindquarters
  • Softly close your fingers
  • Release rein pressure immediately when the halt is achieved

Preventing common mistakes

Stops on shoulders instead of hindquarters – Prepare with half-halts to lighten the forehand.

Loses balance, hollows back – Balance with half-halts before the transition.

Not square – Maintain impulsion into the transition to encourage horse to step under with his hindquarters.

Swings quarters to the left or right – Sit evenly on both seatbones and use equal leg and rein pressure on each side

Does not remain immobile – Release rein pressure immediately when horse halts to encourage relaxation.

Stiffens neck, braces against hands – Don’t pull into the halt; gently close fingers and release

Do try this at home

Dobson suggests all riders learn to feel when a halt is correctly achieved. Practice a series of halts and ask yourself: Is the horse straight? Is he square? If the answer is no, can you identify which leg is trailing? Can you correct the problem? Use a mirror or enlist a friend on the ground to confirm.