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QUOTES BY GUSTAV VON DREYHAUSEN
On the Half-Halt
"It is necessary that the half halt begins lightly, is gradually increased elastically until it takes effect, and ends at this very moment. The hand returns to the original position, and the fingers and forearm muscles relax. If it lasts longer, it has the opposite effect: The horse feels the prolonged pressure as an increasing discomfort and eventually pain, which makes him evade by bracing with his entire body, from the hind legs to the mouth, i.e. by rushing, sucking back, or refusing to go forward altogether.
If the rider does not achieve his goal with a single half halt, he has to apply several that must be interrupted with a release, even if it is only a small release, so that the horse has the opportunity to relax the muscles that were engaged by the half halt. Getting stuck with the half halt has to be avoided at all costs (hanging on the rein)."
(1951)
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"The Rider can easily feel on the moving horse how much he can arrest the movement and how much he can flex the haunches. The level of impulsion on a permeable horse determines how much he can arrest the movement with a half halt. If the horse is going correctly, he will and must execute the half halt correctly. Conversely, the horse cannot sit down correctly, if he is not going correctly. The livelier, the more elevated he goes, and the more he swings, the easier it is to apply half halts.
If the rider was wrong and demanded too much, or if the half halt fails for some other reason, it has to be aborted immediately. The forward movement must be re-established by driving aids, and the aids for the half halt must not be reapplied – this time more carefully – until the rider feels that the horse is going well again. If the horse leans on the hand and runs away during the half halt, it would be just as bad to resist with the hand, not to mention yanking backwards, on a young horse, as it would be incorrect to follow the mouth backwards with the hand on a horse who is evading the rein contact by coiling up. In both cases, the rein aid would meet with a stiff, braced hind leg and would be unable to fulfill its purpose, flexing the haunches elastically. "
(1951)
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Last Update: January 13, 2007