Despite the wealth of information available on the subject, the intricacies of the half-halt still remain a mystery to many dressage riders, particularly those just learning the sport. In order to clear up the misconceptions surrounding the half-halt, we turned to Leah Wilkins, a successful grand prix competitor, trainer, and owner of Aislinn Dressage in Amaranth, ON.

Whatโ€™s in a Name?

According to Wilkins, the biggest problem may lie in the name itself. โ€œI donโ€™t even like to use the term half-halt,โ€ she says. โ€œUsing the word โ€˜haltโ€™ can make riders think they should be slowing the horse down and thatโ€™s not the case at all. I prefer to say โ€˜balanceโ€™ or โ€˜re-balance,โ€™ because thatโ€™s what the half-halt is really doing. Itโ€™s about redirecting the energy [the raw material of impulsion] you have created back to the horseโ€™s hind end, over and over again, to keep them in balance. We donโ€™t want to lose any of that energy, so slowing down is counterproductive. It is all about balance and redirecting energy.โ€

In essence, the half-halt is a momentary slowing down of the forward movement of the front end of the horse, causing the hind end to โ€˜catch upโ€™ and engage, resulting a horse that is softer in the hands and capable of better self-carriage.

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