In my early equine education, I remember being told to half halt my horses all the time and only vaguely knowing what it meant. Some trainers seemed to want me to pull back on the reins, some squeeze the horse down with my seat, and one even told me to bear down, as if to poop on the horse. These are all confusing and unhelpful descriptions of the half halt. The answers of what it is, what it’s for, and how you do it vary dramatically depending on who you ask. In this post, I will explain how I’ve come to understand the what, how, and why of the half halt, and respond to some definitions and descriptions I received on Facebook when opening the discussion to my equine community!