The half-halt doesn’t need your backward hand
Do you really need to “close your hand” in that half-halt or downward transition? Emphatically NO!
Downside of closing your hand
By closing your hand you take away the horse’s attention from your other body parts that hopefully are doing some things that are much more important! I’ve noticed when a student resorts to the hand, the horse forgets she has ever used a leg or her stomach muscles. It’s like that hand gives the horse a license for Alzheimer’s on any other topic than what is felt on the bars of his mouth. Probably because the hand is what I call a gross aid. It’s useful and important often, no doubt. It’s just not any part of a truly beautiful half-halt. See previous articles for more help on how to not use your hand.
A Half-halt needs legs!
For example, your legs are gently or firmly applied in a half-halt so the horse knows to step under with his/her hind legs. You need an increased leg aid to skip a gait — for example, the transition from trot to halt needs more calf than the transition from trot to walk.
Use your gut!
A half-halt needs core stability and a change from what is your normal following motion. You use your core all the time in riding, but to be felt as a half-halt the horse needs to feel you change.
view for more info viagra price Phone and laptop radiations can badly affect your testicles and penis. 3. They also offer levitra line personalized health and nutrition consultation, weight management and complete personal fitness consultation (diet consult and exercise plan) Every person at some point of time or the other. Therefore, it is one of the best herbal supplements to treat side effects of over viagra 25mg prix masturbation. If you suffer from pain in the chest, nausea, infrequent pulse rate, and feeling light-headed or passing out. free viagra india unica-web.comUse your head
A half-halt is about your thinking…”Do I want to continue in this way? Do I want to slow down? What would that feel like? Can I envision that? Do I want to transition? What does the new gait feel like? Do I want the horse to step under? How does my body tell him to do that? What will I feel when he does it?” And so on. Without your thought, the half-halt is messy and unclear.
Welcome to mastery of mystery!
Riding well is a wonderful mysterious journey. Give it time. Ride on the lunge line until you feel the nuances of the changes in your body with out having your hands to help out. Push your hands into the neck when not on the lunge so you don’t cheat! Hold on to the front of your saddle so you can’t pull. I like to hold my strap and tuck my fingers under the saddle pad like in this picture.
Experiment with looser fingers (not open, just soft– holding baby birds or baby hamsters as an image might help you). Have fun discovering how much your horse feels other body signals.
A note of caution
Nothing works if the horse is behind the bit. As much as you can, ride TO the bit. If you can’t see the bridle behind the ears, he’s behind the bit and your aids won’t work. Good luck!
