This article first appeared in the June 2022 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what’s in the current issue, click here. 

Training the halt.

© FEI – Andrew Ryback Photography

Training the halt

By Roger Fitzhardinge

Almost every dressage test in the world starts and ends with a halt and many also have a halt associated with a rein-back in the mix. These are three movements in one test and a lot of marks can be secured by organising the training of a square halt.

In the movement where the halt is required, there are some other parts to the total movement, but the majority of the weight in the mark is taken up by the quality of the halt. Before trying to ride a square halt for a mark of 10, you must firstly know what the judges are looking for so you can understand how to get to that elusive 10! This is how the halt is spelt out in the official FEI Dressage Rules:

ARTICLE 402, THE HALT

1. At the halt, the horse should stand attentive, engaged, motionless, straight and square with the weight evenly distributed over all four legs. The neck should be raised with the poll as the highest point and the noseline slightly in front of the vertical. While remaining “on the bit” and maintaining a light and soft contact with the athlete’s hand, the horse may quietly chew the bit and should be ready to move off at the slightest indication of the athlete.

2. The halt is obtained by the displacement of the horse’s weight to the hindquarters by a properly increased action of the seat and legs of the athlete, driving the horse towards a softly closed hand, causing an almost instantaneous but not abrupt halt at a previously fixed place. The halt is prepared by a series of half-halts (see transitions).

3. The quality of the paces before and after the halt is an integral part of the assessment…

Read the full article in the June 2022 issue of Equestrian Life magazine.