Half Pass to Walk

My horse now knows how to give to the bridle, give to my legs, walk, jog, trot and lope. I can half-pass him at a walk, jog and lope and can half-pass into a lope departure in the correct lead. The next step in this progression is to half-pass from a lope back down to a walk.

Purpose of this exercise: To encourage the horse to be respond willingly to rein and leg pressure at the highest level without fear.

The Exercise

Warm your horse up as usual, including jogging, trotting and loping. Then ask him to half-pass at a walk, jog and lope in a large circle – both directions – as in previous exercises (The Half Pass, Half Pass at a Lope). After half-passing at a lope a few times, leave your leg on (spur if necessary), maintain the half-pass position but with your body language asking him to walk. When he walks with head and haunches to inside of circle, release leg pressure and rein aids. When he has walked relaxed for a few strides, half-pass into a lope and repeat. After two or three times, change directions. Timing, consistency and “feel” is of utmost importance in teaching the horse this exercise but, once learned, he will willingly execute a half-pass to a walk because he is allowed to walk! Also, he learns to be unafraid of leg and spur pressure for the same reason – because he is allowed to walk and relax!

Where can it go wrong?

• The horse will not maintain a half-pass position to a walk. Either the horse has not learned the half-pass well enough (does not give to rein and leg) or the rider is not able to “time” his aids well enough. Practice the half-pass more at a walk until the maneuver is more refines.
• The horse loses forward motion. Without at least enough forward motion to walk, the maneuver fails. The rider may have braced up (as for a walk or stop). If the horse is in a half-pass position but has stopped, encourage him to walk (with half-pass aids still in place) by bumping him with the inside leg. That is, if you are half-passing to a walk in a left circle with your right leg on him and your left rein asking and releasing, bump with your left leg)

Note: If it seems impossible to convince my horse to half-pass to a walk from a lope, I will allow him to take his head to the outside of the circle to move his hind quarters into the circle – because it is easier for a horse to leg yield with his head away from the direction of travel and because I will at least accomplish half of the exercise this way (rather than letting him out of the exercise when he fails to perform it).

The Half-Pass

I know. The half-pass is better known as an English maneuver, but I don’t know what I would do without it! A half-pass ensures that my horse will lope off in the correct lead, teaches lead changes, positions for spins and is a great tool for correcting if he  charges in a run-down (half-pass to a walk).

The half-pass is the most demanding form of leg yielding, so my horse needs to know how to leg yield in the simplest way – that is, giving to pressure from my inside leg and moving forward sideways to the outside of the circle – before I teach the half-pass. I also teach him to move into the circle (off of my outside leg) before I teach half-pass. So, if you are walking a circle on the right rein, you should be able to leg yield your horse to left a few steps as in Basic Exercise: Leg Yielding and also leg yield him off of your left leg a few steps to right (still walking in a right circle) before you try to half-pass. (Note: When you leg yield into the circle, apply outside leg and outside rein wide to tip the nose to the outside, then inside rein (on the neck) until he moves a few steps forward/sideways into the circle.)

What is a half-pass?

A half-pass is a form of leg yielding whereby the rider re-directs the forward motion of his horse into forward sideways motion with the horse’s head in the same direction as the direction of travel (as opposed to basic leg yielding where the horse’s head is away from the direction of travel).

The Exercise

Walk your horse in a large circle on the right rein. Make sure your right leg is not in contact with your horse. With your weight to the left (it helps to really exaggerate this at first), apply right rein pressure in a “give-and-take” in the direction of your left shoulder – a rein of opposition. I find I need quite a short rein to do this so my hand doesn't get too high. Apply left leg pressure and steady direct left rein pressure until your horse steps to the inside of the circle with forward sideways steps. Your right rein will be holding your horse on the circle and your left leg will be moving his hind quarters into the circle. Ask for only a step or two at the beginning, using your voice or bumping softly with your inside leg for forward motion. Release all aids and repeat, then repeat to the left.

Where can it go wrong?

• The horse loses forward motion. If your horse does not want to move forward when you have him in a half-pass position, “cluck’ to him (voice) and/or bump him with your inside leg. If you cannot convince him to go forward or he backs up, release the half-pass aids, walk forward (you always have to have forward motion!) and try again.
• The horse will not give to the inside rein. Make sure you are pull/releasing the inside rein. If you are solid on both reins, your horse will be confused, especially if he is just learning the maneuver. If he is not giving to the inside rein, the rest of the aids for the half-pass are not going to make it happen, so get this working first!
• The horse does not give to the leg. If your horse does not give to the leg, you might have to go back to more basic leg yielding until he responds better. Also, turns on the forehand might help. Then go back to try the half-pass. Remember, you need only a step at first.

Note: On horses that really resist my attempts to teach the half-pass, I will break it down like this: On the right circle, for a half-pass to the right (inside of the circle), I first apply my right leg to leg yield out of the circle (the simple exercise). When he responds, I shift my weight to the left (outside), apply my left leg, and change my inside rein to the rein of opposition (toward my left shoulder). If he takes a step, I reward with a release of aids; if he does not, I go back to the simple leg yield and repeat. I might also try the opposite approach: leg-yield into the circle (weight in outside and outside leg pressure but with the head to the outside). When he moves off of my leg, change the right rein angle from “on the neck” to toward my left shoulder. He is now in half-pass position. Again, reward for one small step.

The half-pass is not easy for horse or rider if they have not performed it. More balance, engagement of the hind quarters and impulsion is required than a simple leg yield. As the horse learns, the rider must be able to feel when his horse is out of position so he can adjust rein or leg to help. As with all the exercises, when the horse learns at a walk, I first ask for more refinement and more steps, then at a jog and eventually at a lope.

I will try to post a video in the near future on this post to demonstrate the exercise with variations.

Basic Exercise: Leg Yielding

There are several kinds of leg yielding exercises, all resulting in the horse responding or “giving” to leg pressure from the rider, but the most basic (and the first) leg yielding exercise I want my horse to learn is giving to inside leg pressure and re-directing forward motion into forward sideways motion to the outside of the circle.

Purpose of leg yielding

• To teach the horse to give to pressure from the rider’s legs.

• To teach the horse to be unafraid of leg pressure.

• To encourage the horse to willingly give to leg pressure in combination with rein pressure.

• To continue to warm up the horse’s mind and body for more difficult exercises.

The Basic Exercise

Leg yield to the left: As you walk your horse in a large circle on the right rein, keep you left leg off of the horse, apply your right (inside) leg a little behind the cinch, pick up your right (inside) rein to encourage your horse to keep his nose slightly into the circle to maintain the arc, then slowly apply pressure with the left (outside) rein in conjunction with increased pressure from your right leg until the horse changes his forward motion to forward/sideways motion and takes a step or two. Keep your body light in the saddle to encourage forward motion; if he loses forward motion, “cluck”; if he still will not move forward, bump him with your left (outside) leg. When he responds with at least one lateral step, slowly release the reins and remove right leg pressure. Walk relaxed to a new place in the circle and repeat. As he understands the exercise and/or warms up, ask for two or three steps – no more – and walk on. As in the previous exercises, you must only ask what your horse is capable of at his level of training – if he is a two-year-old that you are just starting to ride, you will be satisfied with very little; if he is a trained reining horse, you will expect more correctness and refinement. He should perform the lateral movement, giving to the rider’s hands and legs and stepping forward and sideways, crossing both front and rear legs.

Illustration: leg yielding to left off of right leg

When your horse is responding well to the left, repeat to the right. If he is more advanced in training, repeat both directions at a jog.

The order of aids to the left: left leg off, right leg on, right rein, left rein.

Note: This is the very simplest form of leg yielding – giving to the rider’s inside leg and moving to the outside in a forward-sideways direction. When your horse is more advanced, you will want to leg yield him to the inside of the circle, leg yield directly to the side (as to open a gate) and half-pass.

• Your inside rein should be away from your horse’s neck in a straight line from your horse’s mouth to your elbow; your outside rein should be against your horse’s neck (your hand will be close to outside of the horn). The length of your reins should be such that your hands do not go behind the horn when you apply pressure. Also, your hands should be at the same level even though one is close to the horse’s neck and one is away from the horse’s neck.

• Apply rein aids slowly.

• Release rein aids slowly.

What can go wrong?

• Your horse may “lead” with his shoulder instead of true lateral movement. This is almost always because the rider does not apply enough pressure with the outside rein – that is the rein that restricts forward motion and encourages use of the hind quarters. Gradual increased pressure of the outside rein with increased inside leg pressure corrects this problem. Again – be satisfied with very little until your horse understands where the release is.

• The horse does not move sideways at all, ignoring pressure from your leg. Often this means the rider has not applied enough rein pressure to stop some of the forward motion. Slowly apply more pressure with both reins while at the same time firmly asking him to yield to your leg. If he takes a step – or even a half step – slowly release reins and legs, walk on and repeat. Ask for more when he understands.

• The horse stops or stops and backs up. Cluck and bump his side with your outside leg to ask for forward motion but do not release the rein aids until he moves forward (assuming you are not pulling too hard!) If he still does not move forward, release one rein still asking for forward motion and ask for lateral flexion in that direction (The ladder… step down a step) Walk on and repeat, correcting as necessary until he moves forward/sideways even a half step. Again – don’t ask for too much until he understands.

The Basic Exercise with Refinement

As your horse becomes more trained or if he is already trained, you should expect more correctness, refinement and willingness in his response to the aids for leg yielding. Expect more lightness in his mouth and response to more subtle cues. As in all training, when the horse is learning, cues are exaggerated and, as he becomes trained, more subtle. At this time, you need to “feel” your horse’s response, strive for correctness, feel where the problem is and correct if necessary. You may need spurs to encourage him, but use only what is needed. I apply my leg first, then the heel of my boot, and then, if he still does not move away, I gradually turn my foot so the spur is in contact and push. The next time you ask, start with the softest aid first.

When your horse gives to your hands and gives to your legs (lateral and vertical flexion and leg yielding), it’s the whole program. Everything you do from this point on is about responding to rein and leg pressure. Some maneuvers are simply a combination of these basics. As training progresses, you will expect more refinement and a higher degree of difficulty, for example leg yielding in different way and at different gaits.