QUOTES BY UDO BÜRGER
on the Half-Halt

"Correctly applied, the rein aid as a restraining aid should not limit the forward reach of the legs, but bring the thrust of the hind legs under the rider’s control. The rein aids, the half halts to be more precise, have to hit the flexion phase of the supporting hind leg in the rhythm of the gait and prolong it at the expense of the thrusting phase. In other words, always target just one leg and yield hesitatingly, when this leg enters its thrusting phase. During the thrusting phase, the horse is stronger and can defend himself against the half halt. When the flexion phase is prolonged at the expense of the thrusting phase, the thrust itself is curbed, and the horse steps into the half halt, as they say. The rider feels as if the horse were growing taller during the transition to the halt. The half halts must begin carefully out of a release and ebb away gradually in the rhythm of the gait, in order to avoid overfacing the muscles. For a good rider half halts that are synchronized with the gait while maintaining the rein contact are second nature. They come automatically out of a correct seat. All horses will defend themselves against mindless pulling on the reins in different ways, depending on their temperament. But all of them forego the flexion of the hind leg. Some horses increase their thrusting phase, lean onto the bit and speed up. Others rid themselves of the rein and stop somehow on the forehand, which makes the rider tip forward." (translation: T. Ritter)