Training Performance Horses
Lesson Seven
TRANSITIONS,
HALF-HALTS
Perfect half-halts, transitions and backing all help a horse develop his ability to provide greater impulsion without stress. (Impulsion is the fourth element of training.) All three performances require the horse to "gather" himself, and in so doing, build muscle strength and capacity to round his back upward, a necessary movement for collection.
Any excellence you achieve in performance will come from putting power into every movement of your horse. The power in the movement is delivered by impulsion.
Impulsion is not speed, nor hurried movement. There is no tension involved in impulsion.
Impulsion results from an engagement of the horse’s hindquarters. It can only be realized when the horse is driven forward to the bit, and then allowed to perform without interference.
The horse is driven forward by the use of strong leg and seat aids. The horse’s action is initiated in the hindquarters by a lowering and forward movement of the hocks. The hindquarters then pick up more of the horse’s weight, and propel the horse forward through an elastic swinging back and relaxed neck.
Impulsion is seen most easily in gaits which have a phase of suspension. The more impulsion the rider is able to produce, the longer in time, and/or distance, the duration of suspension. Trot and canter movements become lighter and more brilliant.
Impulsion is a requirement of every movement by every horse seeking perfection in performance. Impulsion is evident as the horse drives his body forward with either grounded hind foot. Impulsion is as important in the walk of a reining horse as it is in the Piaffe or Passage.
It is difficult for many to understand that the slower the forward progress of a horse at work, the more the rider is required to apply consistent and constant leg pressure, driving the horse forward--eliciting impulsion. It takes muscle strength for a horse to work with impulsion, and it takes a well-conditioned rider to bring it about.
The key to impulsion is utilizing the minimum amount of power required for each movement while keeping the horse completely relaxed. Impulsion must be controlled so the horse remains on the bit without tension.
Half-halts are one of the most important and useful exercises a rider, trainer and horse will learn.
The half-halt helps develop a rider’s ability to understand and produce impulsion in a horse. Too much demand for impulsion and the horse tenses, over flexes or pushes beyond the bit. Too little demand for impulsion, and the horse doesn’t shorten his body and slow his pace, but drops out of the gait, or stops.
To feel the action of impulsion most easily, employ the half-halt, which is exactly what it’s name implies--the first half of a halt or the preparation for a stop. The horse gathers and rounds his body, actually slowing his forward progress just as if he were going to stop. But before the second part of the halt, the actual stop, the rider releases the cues and allows the horse to move forward to maintain his new body position.
Basically the cues for the half-halt are the same cues as for a square, solid stop.
When asking for the half-halt, there is no verbal command to "Ho." Instead, as the horse moves forward at the gait chosen, the rider begins asking for the exercise by shifting his weight slightly backward. As the rider’s weight is shifted rearward, the slack is being taken from the reins, establishing a bit barrier to continued forward movement. At the same time as the weight is shifted backward and the bit barrier is being established, the rider squeezes with both legs, requesting increased power (impulsion) from the hindquarters. The increased impulsion (more pushing power) brings the horse’s hindquarters farther up under the horse, causing the horse to round his back upward and slow his forward speed.
Once the rider has asked for the half-halt, the
request must be held until the horse responds.
The rider must feel the horse increase his impulsion and slow forward progress before taking further action. If the horse does increase his impulsion and slow his forward movement, then the rider releases the half-halt and allows the horse to continue on his own.
Recognizing impulsion is a "feeling" sensation, which takes a good deal of practice.
If the horse does not decrease his speed, or if the horse leans into the bit barrier in an effort to ignore its containment position, the rider must hold his body weight position rearward, maintain the bit barrier and increase his driving leg cues until the horse complies by eliminating his resistance and slowing his speed by rounding up.
The instant the horse shortens his body by rounding it upward and thereby slowing his speed, the rider must release the halt cues and allow the horse to travel onward unrestricted. The horse should continue his forward movement, maintaining gait, but with decreased speed.
Half-halts should be practiced continually. The more the half-halt is used to slow the horse’s forward speed, the more responsive the horse will become to the rider’s rearward weight shift, the removal of slack from the reins and the request by the rider’s legs for more driving power from the hindquarters. As the horse becomes more responsive, the rider may make the cues more subtle.
With young horses, it may be necessary to employ the half-halt every few strides before the horse truly begins to recognize the cues and shorten his body to decrease his speed. If the half-halt is requested, and the horse responds for a stride or two, but then flattens out his back and begins to increase speed, the rider must immediately cue for another half-halt. The horse may respond correctly for a stride or two, but then fail to hold his position. Again, the half-halt must be requested.
Do not become frustrated with the young horse. First, the horse must learn the communication cues for the performance being requested. Then the horse must develop sufficient muscle strength--which only comes with time and practice--to perform at the slower speed. Remember, it takes a great deal more muscle strength on the part of the horse to maintain a gait at a slow speed than it does to maintain the gait at increased speed. At increased speed inertia is helping push the horse forward. At slower speeds, the horse must do more lifting of his body mass.
Continue to ask for the half-halt with patience and understanding. Give lavish praise each time the horse responds, even if the correct response lasts only a few strides. Half-halts will be perfected when the horse begins to round himself and slow his speed while the half-halt cues are being given. Once the horse becomes sensitive and responsive to the half-halt cues, the exercise can be requested with only a slight repositioning of the rider’s body.
There
is another way to use the half-halt, and that is to put the half-halt on
"mental" steroids.
And
for many trainers, the “beefed-up” half halts get great results no matter what
training discipline.
I’ve
found using the half-halt on steroids can be very effective, and you may wish
to try it.
As
explained, when using the half-halt, the horse must fit into the shorter frame;
the horse must round up his back and compress his stride so that the foot
flight is more elevated.
The
horse’s response should be to slow the cadence of his footfall.
Done
correctly the horse should be in a state of perfect collection and the cadence
should be slower and softer.
When
using the "beefed up" halt-halt, instead of removing the bit barrier
on the first response by the horse, you continue to drive with leg pressure
until the horse takes the “perfect” position for the movement being worked. This driving action can last quite some time,
and can take quite a bit of effort.
Don’t discontinue the driving action just because the horse is
trying—the horse has to take the “perfect” position.
Once
the horse is in the desired frame, moving at the desired speed, with his body
in the desired position, the barrier is released.
For
the western rider that means the reins are pitched and draped.
For
the English rider it means the hand is relaxed and the horse is on the bit, but
without rein restraint.
Now
the rider must attempt to ride the horse for as long as possible without the
reestablishment of any barrier which dictates body position, speed or
collection.
Of
course the horse is going to return to the longer frame with less collection
because it is less work; horses can’t justify working harder if it is not
necessary. (Unfortunately horses can’t
project the reasoning that if they carry weight in “collection” they’ll remain
sounder longer. They don’t grasp the
idea that being in better condition now, means they’ll be in better condition
later. Of course, lots of rider can’t
project that reasoning either.)
When
the horse elongates, increases speed or loses collection, the
"beefed-up" half-halt is again employed.
With
the half-halt on steroids, you do not make any small corrections to help the
horse. If you are going to correct, you
use the very strong half-halt, put the horse back in the perfect position, then
remove the barrier completely.
There
is no “half way” in the steroid half-halt.
It is helping the horse to take the perfect position, and then it is
leaving the horse on his own to continue in that position.
If
you practice the beefed-up half-halt, don’t get frustrated, don’t make tiny
adjustments, and don’t abandon the method until you’ve tried it for at least 10
training sessions.
Transitions are the changing from one
movement to another. In horsemanship, the changing involves the performance
gait, and should not be thought of as changing the horse’s speed. A horse
walking may actually move forward with more speed than a horse at the jog.
The most frequent errors by both horse and rider come during an attempt to make transitions too quickly.
The rider should concentrate on making a smooth, seemingly effortless transition.
For example, when going from the walk to the trot or jog, the rider’s first thought should be on the body position the horse must have to perform the about to be requested gait. At the walk the horse’s body is in it’s longest position, so the body must be shortened in order to perform the trot or jog. (The trot or jog is a two-beat diagonal gait in which there is no over striding of the front hoof print.)
Therefore, the rider then must first establish a new bit barrier to tell the horse to shorten his body. While shortening the reins to establish a new bit barrier, the rider must apply increased leg pressure to maintain impulsion (hindquarter driving power) or the horse may interpret the cue as a half-halt or stop. In changing the bit barrier, the rider’s body weight is not shifted rearward as it would be in the half-halt or stop.
At this point, the rider must deliver the correct information to achieve the desired transition. Again, it is not a matter of how fast the transition is completed, but rather a matter of how smoothly and correctly the transition is accomplished.
For the trot or jog, the rider must incline his body weight slightly forward. For a working trot, the rider may incline the upper body forward by nearly 10 degrees. For a western jog, there would be only the slightest movement of body weight forward. Movement of the upper body would be imperceptible.
The key element now is the continuation of leg pressure to drive the horse forward to the new bit barrier causing the horse to round his back upward, thereby changing his way of movement (establishing a new gait) and completing the transition to the requested new gait. Do not be in a rush to complete the transition.
Several things can cause a delay in completing the transition.
The most common cause for a delay is the failure of the rider to provide enough leg pressure to create the impulsion necessary for a shortening of the body and rounding of the back. The rider may have to try several times to get the needed leg pressure to bring about the transition.
While this is the most common cause for delay, it is not a serious mistake. With practice, the correct amount of required leg pressure will come easily.
Any effort to force an immediate transition by the overuse of leg pressure is a serious mistake. You cannot force the horse to understand what you want. The horse must learn to recognize the communication through repetition. Give the horse the time he needs to learn the language. Slow repetition will result in a faster rate of understanding.
To ask for a transition to the canter or lope, the rider will shift his body weight to the horse’s hip opposite the desired lead. (A horse should lead with the left legs if moving to the left, and the right legs if working in an arch to the right. No matter where you are going, you are always moving to the left or right. If moving to the left, it is much easier for a young horse to maintain balance by leading with the left legs, since they are the catching legs, while the right legs are the driving or pushing legs. Once the horse is well-schooled and well conditioned, he can easily work on the left lead while moving to the right, or vice versa, which is called a counter canter.) If the left lead is being requested, the rider must shift his weight onto the horse’s right hip, apply right leg pressure to create drive off the right hind foot, and allow reach with the left hind and left forefoot.
With the very young horse, the rider should concentrate on controlling the rear leg when asking for the transition to the canter or lope. For example, the rider, when asking for the left lead, should apply strong right leg pressure, but can allow his left leg to move forward, almost pointing the horse onto the correct lead.
When working with a more advanced horse, the rider should ask for the left lead by shifting weight to horse’s right hip, apply right leg pressure and also lift the horse’s left foreleg by applying light left leg pressure forward of the girth.
The trainer can help the horse to make smooth transitions by working constantly on the horse’s suppleness. With beginning horses, when asking for a transition from the walk to the jog, for example, the rider can help achieve flexibility by asking the horse to bend his neck to the left or the right while moving straight ahead, then pushing the horse into the new gait. By doing this, it will be almost impossible for the horse to hurry the transition or increase his speed.
Teaching the horse to move backward correctly is extremely important. The horse is never pulled backward with the reins, but is always asked to shift his weight to his hindquarters, round his back upward, and move backward in response to leg pressure. Correct backing involves the same kind of impulsion or driving power as forward movement.
Backing correctly is surprisingly easy.
The rider sits in a balanced position and shortens the reins by gathering the reins with his fingers. The reins are not pulled backward. The reins are simply shortened, and in being so shortened, the horse will place his head in the vertical position and shift his weight from the forehand to the hindquarters. Do not try to force the weight shift. Be patient and continue to shorten the reins until the horse’s rearward weight shift is felt.
The rider should never change the position of his hands, but should keep them in the same position from the beginning of the exercise through completion.
Once the horse shifts his weight to the
hindquarters, he will always move backward in response to leg pressure. The key
is shifting the horse’s weight to the rear.
Once the horse’s weight shift is complete, the horse will only move backward in response to any leg pressure. As long as the horse’s weight is principally on the hindquarters, the horse will always move rearward in response to leg pressure.
When asking the horse to back, the rider, sitting upright should apply equal pressure with both legs, and lift his weight from the saddle to allow the horse’s back to round upward more easily.
As long as the rider continues the leg pressure request for movement, the horse will continue to move backward. The horse will discontinue backward movement only when leg pressure is ended. If the rider doesn’t change the bit position, but reinitiates the leg pressure, the horse will again move backward.
If the rider has the horse moving backward, and continues the leg pressure request for movement, but changes the bit to a more forward position, the horse will shift his weight from the hindquarters in response to the new bit position and will immediately and without stopping, begin moving forward.
The rider guides the horse’s backward movement with both leg and rein aids.
If the horse is moving off to the left, the rider may apply stronger left leg pressure well behind the girth to push the hindquarters over to the right. Or the rider may apply indirect right rein pressure to move the horse’s forehand to the left, straightening the rearward movement.
Combinations of leg and rein aids, thoughtfully applied, will keep the horse moving backward in a straight line, or making any number of required turns.
DO NOT PULL ON THE REINS TO BACK A HORSE.
If the rider never pulls on the reins to back a horse, but always shifts the horse’s weight to the hindquarters in preparation for backing, the horse will never open his mouth or toss his head as a response to painful bit pressure. There will be no bit pressure to resist.
The horse moves backward because he is in position to move backward.
ASSIGNMENT:
1. Send a
short video, or videos, of you and your horse performing the half-halt at all
three gaits.
2. Send a
short video/s of your horse doing the following transitions:
1.
Walk to the trot or jog.
2.
Trot/jog to the canter/lope
3.
Downward transition from the canter/lope to the trot/jog
4.
Downward transition from the trot/jog to the walk
5.
Advanced horses may also demonstrate upward transition from the walk to the
canter/lope. This is not required, as
not all horses will be ready for this level, but the student should work toward
that goal.
3. A short
video of you horse performing the back.
The mouth should be closed, do not pull the horse back – use the methods
as described in the lesson. A minimum of
three steps is the goal. Don’t ask for
more if your horse is not ready, but keep working on it.
You may post the video to a video hosting web site; for example: YouTube.
Please send the link to cathyhansonqh@gmail.com
Thank you, Cathy Hanson