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!

Many students feel overwhelmed by too many things to focus on and control when it comes to their aids. Seat, hands, legs, and then I’m telling them to also bring their breath and back and jaw and tongue and knees and thighs and ankles and toes into their awareness… this list could go on. How can we integrate all of these pieces without our brains exploding and still manage to enjoy the ride? This blog post begins to answer that question and offer a framework to develop feel so it’s not just your brain knowing… it’s your body.