In half pass, where should the horses shoulders be in relation to the line on which the half pass is done?
Ex. L-H half pass left. Should the horses shoulders be facing the judge, or facing H?
Depending on the level of training the shoulders should be facing wherever he is going, as should his head. In this case, he would be facing H.
Many riders initiate H/P from S/I, even though it involves a shift from inside hind to outside hind. Others ride it as H/P on the diagonal.
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That’s what I’d thought, but I was watching tests yesterday and a lot of horses were almost parallel to the long side, with their head tipped in as opposed to leading with the shoulders. I know common doesn’t mean correct, but I thought I should check.
:…H/P on the diagonal." I think you mean HI on the diagonal. 
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“I know common doesn’t mean correct, but I thought I should check.” Also, your perspective, unless you were standing at C, would be quite different from that of the judge. It may simply have been a matter of where you were standing and at what angle you watched the half passes.
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Watching videos online. Test says half pass.
Where are you saying the horses shoulders should be facing in HP vs HI?
Shoulders should be leading slightly and “facing” the direction of travel. If you are doing HI on the diagonal, you are in effect performing a half-pass. The horse’s shoulders would be facing the same direction.
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Great. That was my understanding. Just saw a lot of different variations and I was questioning myself.
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Yup!! :o
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Unless you saw/heard the score and comment, and unless the view was just like a judge’s (from C or A - and “close by” in the corner isn’t close enough) it is really hard for us mortals (ie, not judges) to tell if the HP has enough/true bend or if the shoulders are not sufficiently leading(or in fact if the haunches are leading).
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Yes with what people have mentioned.
The view from C, this horse had, in my opinion, textbook trot halfpasses and tempi changes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BkG-DI_jB4
The shoulders are leading a bit in the half-pass and the horse has good crossover. This horse generally scored 9s for half passes and 9-10 for tempi changes.
Thanks for posting this. It looks like this horses chest is not quite facing the direction of travel as I would have expected if HP is really HI on a diagonal line. Instead, the inside (of the bend) shoulder looks to be what’s facing the direction of travel. Does that sound correct?
Yes! If you put yourself on the long side and do travers, the inside shoulder will take the lead. There is no way to put a horse on 3 or 4 tracks and keep the chest parallel to the direction of travel.
ETA perpendicular. Sorry. I mean, there’s no way it could be parallel either lol but I just got my p words confused.
Another edit lol - chest actually would be damn close to parallel to direction of travel in a FULL pass, but that’s not what’s being discussed. Ugh, need more caffeine, clearly! 
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Anatomically it is impossible for a horse’s chest to face the far wall. It is the bend that must be in that direction, and the flexion distinctly facing the direction of travel.
« As you would have expected »?
Have a look at the rule book for the definition of the half pass (which states HP is a travers on a diagonal), then watch the video of GP rider Ulla Salzgeber and Rusty, forget about whatever you might think is a correct half pass and tell yourself that what you are seeing in the video is what you should aim at.
Ulla knows how to position her horse for a correct HP. This one might have better camera angle : https://youtu.be/5NirgbxBj-E
Thanks for posting. That video has the perfect angle to see that last line of one-tempis. Shoulders are dead-on and no swing in the hind-quarters - the legs pretty much line up. Brings a tear to my eye!
Off topic question re:the Ulla/Rusty video
Did he have a known physical issue with his right hind? The occasional little hitch looks more mechanical like a wee little stifle locking than a normal rhythm irregularity. Looks like he carries the LH more medially/under his body and the RH laterally/away (comparatively) as well which can point to an asymmetry in strength of the hind legs.
Apparently not… The video J-Lu posted, they got 82,19% and won gold at the 2003 World Cup.
The video I posted is from 2004 and shows a much better performance for a 78,202.
Yeah, the positioning is good. The gaits, not so sure.
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I’m not asking about anything that would prevent them from getting those scores. A subtle mechanical issue is just that.
I watched the video you posted first - just now have gone back to look at J-Lu’s video. His RH stifle clearly catches briefly between 2:05-2:07. So the answer looks more to me like yes there’s a small stifle issue. I admit my ulterior motive in asking about this is that it would be encouraging to me, since I own a horse with a similar problem!
I don’t recall that he did. He could be very “hitchy” in the piaffe with that leg. That’s why his piaffes are cleverly hidden by a “piaffe pirouette” in his Freestyle. As I recall, he got extensive health care and they couldn’t find a problem and believed it was something behavioral.
