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Willing Halts
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| Guide 2 Horse Riding > Willing Halts |
Achieving Willing Halts
The secret of a good halt is achieved mainly with the seat and legs with an extra suggestion from the hands. Back-up from the mind and the voice are invaluable, especially if you have been having problems. The use of the voice can be dropped later, if required.
Failure to Halt in Harmony
Considering that so many riders call their horses lazy, it is surprising how many of them seem unwilling to halt! It is so common to see riders hauling backwards on their horses' mouths, leaning back, which, in practice, pushes the horse forward, and glaring at the tops of their horses' heads at the same time. None of this will achieve a willing, light halt, in hand (on the bit) with the horse waiting to step off again at a moment's notice, which is what we should all aim to achieve.
Use of the Seat and Legs
Consider the following three uses of the seat to obtain a halt:
- Slightly tighten the muscles of your buttocks and maybe the thighs, too. This lifts your seat in the saddle and prevents it moving with the movements of the horse's back. Do not be tempted to tip forward or back, sit upright. This aid is, as is any resisting aid, a powerful, psychological message to the horse that you are no longer "with" him, making him more inclined to stop.
- Making sure you are sitting down but lightly on your seatbones, rock forwards on them slightly, at the same time stop moving your seat with your horses back. Again, most horses will stop for this aid, particularly in combination with voice and a resisting, not pulling, hand.
- Ride along with your pelvis in "neutral" then slightly push your seatbones back by tilting the pelvis (hollowing your back slightly), sitting upright and ceasing to move with the horse's back. Again, voice and hand in support should achieve a good halt.
Use of the Hands
The use of the hands in halt is most definitely NOT to pull backwards. The fingers should gently but unmistakably close on the reins and stop moving with the movements of the horse's head, thereby resisting rather than pulling.
This, combined with the seat aid and a voice command the horse already understands such as "stand" or "whoa", will bring most horse's to a halt without raising their head or pulling. If the horse does resist, tap sideways with the inside leg to send him forward into the hand and intermittently give and take with the fingers on the inside rein to destabilize the bit against which he is pulling and ask him to relax his jaw and lower his head. Once relaxed ask for another halt.