How do YOU teach your horse half pass?

[sophie]

Assuming the basics are in place - forward, calm, straight, connected back to front, supple, moving off the leg, understanding half halts.

My instructor has us (amateur me and my 18 yo Ottb mare whom I re-trained myself - we mostly do Hunter paces and event for fun) shoulder-in on a circle at trot, then go “straight” on the circle, then re-establish the bend and haunches-in, still on circle.

Mare can leg-yield all day, but half pass is a lot harder for her it seems. We need help Instructor is coming back to our area soon, but it would be nice to get a head start!

(note - I am not competing - just ride dressage for the fun of it!)

[Dutchmare433]

Do you mean half pass?

[RedHorses]

If you mean half pass then you need to start with haunches in. Once you have that established half pass is not a big deal.

I just taught my younger horse haunches in in the last few weeks. I started with head to wall leg yield and changed the bend. He learns very quickly with lots of praise so it didn’t take him long to understand that was the desired action. This was at the walk. The next step is trot with a similar leg yield/change bend action. The wall helps them to understand the direction of travel and body positioning before attempting the action away from the wall. Half pass is a natural progression from there.

One of the hardest parts for the rider is avoiding overbending the horse’s neck. The horse should be looking straight along the path of travel, with the front legs travelling straight (no lateral movement/crossing), and the haunches moved to the inside and moving laterally. It is a common error to have the horse’s neck overbent to the inside.

Imagine a bucket of paint with a small hole in it is hanging from your horse’s nose. The paint leaves a trail of drips, and the front feet should track along that trail, one foot on either side. The hind feet will both track to the inside of the paint trail. If the nose is to the inside then you would get the front feet both tracking to the outside of the paint trail.

[alibi_18]

Sidepass is the western term for english halfpass. (Sideways is for legyield - western people also use legyield)

If you are doing haunches-in on the circle, you are already doing some sort of a halfpass. Same aids but on a diagonal line is your halfpass.

If I were you, I’d try that haunches-in circle and end it in the middle with a diagonal line.
Ex: Half a 20m circle left at A and from X, halfpass to H.

[RedHorses]

I understand Western sidepass to be moving sideways with no forward movement. It can be practiced over a pole with front feet on one side and hind feet on the other side as the horse moves the length of the pole. There is no equivalent movement in dressage.

[Velvet]

Yep, sidepass is NOT half pass. Two different things and different expectations within the exercise. I was thinking this was about leg yield, not half pass.

[atlatl]

[QUOTE=RedHorses;8605116]
I understand Western sidepass to be moving sideways with no forward movement. It can be practiced over a pole with front feet on one side and hind feet on the other side as the horse moves the length of the pole. There is no equivalent movement in dressage.[/QUOTE]

You are correct. Sidepass is all sidewise.

[cnm161]

Assuming your sidepass is as defined by atlatl/RedHorses above, you’ve got a couple options.

1. Increase the steepness of your LY until you approach straight sideways motion. If you get stuck, send straight forward. Rinse, repeat.

2. Use a groundpole. Halt with front feet in front of it, hind feet behind, body perpendicular to the pole. Ask for 1 step of sideways. If it’s a forward step, take 1 step backwards. Repeat.

3. Give your horse an out. You may need to fluff your outside leg off for a stride or two to make it very clear that there’s room over there to go to.

Not strictly dressage, no, but it’s a useful skill to have. Especially when coupled with being-chill-about-jacket-removal-and-depositing skills, or gate-opening skills. Occasionally tolerating-water-bottle-retrieval skills.

[SendenHorse]

I thought side pass was all sideways, like if you put the horse with front legs on one side of a pole on the ground, the haunches on the other side the horse could move down the pole with neither front or hind legs leaving their line of travel.

In your OP you make me think this is really HALF PASS. half pass requires rock solid SI and HI.
Sounds like you play with both of these… what I would do is take 1/4 line in SI and then move the horse over with outside leg. then go back to SI a few steps, or LY BACK AWAY from that direction if he is getting crooked and falling out.

If you can move each part of the horse with instant reactions and proper straightness the HP is no problem.

[Scribbler]

Half pass is more difficult for the horse than shoulder in, because the bend is toward the direction of movement in half pass, away from it in shoulder in. As the other posters have noted, it is usually taught after the haunches in/travers which establishes lateral motion with a bend in the direction of movement.

If you are in fact trying to teach western side pass, be alert to which direction your horse is bent in. It will probably be easier if the horse is bent away from the direction of movement, as in a shoulder in.

I’ve found it very useful to work all these on the ground, in hand, which really lets you see how the legs and feet are moving, as well as the bend in the head and neck and body.

[Color_of_Light]

Sidepass is not at all the same as Half Pass.

In Sidepass, the horse moves straight sideways away from the leg. There is no bend, there is no forward movement. Sidepass is performed at the walk. To teach it: face a wall or fence, pulse your leg towards the direction you want to go. Praise each correct step. As someone mentioned, it’s easier to teach if horse is bent away from direction of travel.

In Half Pass, the horse moves on a diagonal line and is bent toward the direction it is going. Half Pass is performed at the walk, trot, and canter. To teach it: at walk, horse first learns to move shoulder over and to travel a straight line in shoulder in. Then horse learns to move haunch over and to travel straight line in haunches in. Now, combine the two. Easiest if starting with 8 meter circle off the wall, and as circle ends at the wall, ask for shoulder in on diagonal line leading off the wall, then bend horse around inside leg (using your outside leg to move haunches, while inside leg controls shoulders) toward direction of travel and continue traveling on diagonal line. Once you get a few good steps, give horse a break by doing straight few strides, then repeat 8 meter circle, shoulder in, establish bend, and go.

[Crash_Helmet]

[QUOTE=RedHorses;8605116]
There is no equivalent movement in dressage.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely not true. Full pass is the equivalent and is a very useful dressage exercise. Ask Charles deKnuffy and Karl Mikolka, among others. If you doubt its utility, give it a try.

[sophie]

Sorry - I got my languages mixed up (English is not my native language) I meant HALF PASS.
Mare has SI down pat now, HI is a bit shakier - I think I am asking for too much bend. Trying to turn her into a pretzel is counter-productive, lol It’s a lot easier when I have someone on the ground to give feedback.

Thanks for all your tips and exercises! I love to have “homework” to do, and Mare loves to have variety in her exercises or she gets bored.

[RedHorses]

[QUOTE=Crash Helmet;8605820]
Absolutely not true. Full pass is the equivalent and is a very useful dressage exercise. Ask Charles deKnuffy and Karl Mikolka, among others. If you doubt its utility, give it a try.[/QUOTE]

Aha! There is the new thing I learned today.

[Color_of_Light]

[QUOTE=sophie;8605915]
Sorry - I got my languages mixed up (English is not my native language) I meant HALF PASS.
Mare has SI down pat now, HI is a bit shakier - I think I am asking for too much bend. Trying to turn her into a pretzel is counter-productive, lol It’s a lot easier when I have someone on the ground to give feedback.

Thanks for all your tips and exercises! I love to have “homework” to do, and Mare loves to have variety in her exercises or she gets bored.[/QUOTE]

Similar aids, yet different. In SI, outside rein asks shoulders to move off the wall as the inside leg is on (a form of inside leg to outside rein). Inside seat bone and inside leg are slightly more forward on horses body/saddle compared to outside seat bone and leg (seat bones are no longer straight across from each other). Shoulders are on the inside track, haunches remain on original track as horses inside hind leg steps toward diagonal (outside) front leg.

In HI, it is kind of opposite. Outside leg asks haunches to step off the track, as inside rein helps regulates bend and keep horse’s head and shoulders straight down the track. Seat bones are in similar position as SI and you are using your outside leg to ask haunches to move over, while maintaining this bend around the inside leg. You are essentially riding outside leg to inside rein. Haunches are on the inside track, as horse’s outside hind leg steps toward diagonal (inside) front leg.

If too much bend in HI, try less inside rein, less outside leg.

[sophie]

Thanks CoL! Very helpful.
I think my problem is that I have this vision of a perfectly bent and balanced horse performing a half pass, and am asking too much of my little mare right now

So far Instructor had us practice HI on a 20m circle, to help preserve bend I assume. But I am wondering if it would not be easier for Mare to practice on the long side…will try that.

[ThreeFigs]

Here’s another half-pass development exercise to try:

My gelding was learning-challenged by the HP. We did the LY/HP alternations, which is helpful. We still do it, too. SI & HI on circles is excellent, too. for a bigger challenge as you develop the bend and skills is counter shoulder-in/haunches out (Renvers) on 20 M circles, too. But leave that for down the road!

Back to my favorite starter for HP:

Start in a SI. Could be on the long side, could be down the center line, whatever works best. So you’re starting with your correct bend. Now “step” into the stirrup on the direction you want to HP. Just place more weight into that stirrup and seatbone. At first your outside leg will play a big role in nudging the horse into the HP. As things develop, you’ll use more of that inside leg/weight to get the movement. Start slowly as it takes some horse a bit of time to sort out their legs!

Remember to keep your inside shoulder back (inside to the bend) as that helps put the weight into that inside seatbone.

I also like to practice the HP on a steep angle with exaggerated bend in the walk. My horse and i both have trouble in our HP right and that little exercise helps get us both in the groove. Your needs may vary – you might not need that exercise, but there it is if you need it.

[SillyHorse]

Since your mare has a good SI, a good exercise is to turn left down the center line, SI left for a few strides, then HP left for a few strides, then back to SI left. Repeat to the right. The bend you want is already established, and you are just asking your horse to move off your outside leg for a few strides. It helps give the horse the idea of how the movement feels.

[atlatl]

[QUOTE=sophie;8606769]
…
So far Instructor had us practice HI on a 20m circle, to help preserve bend I assume. But I am wondering if it would not be easier for Mare to practice on the long side…will try that.[/QUOTE]

We use this exercise, HI on a circle, to engage the inside hind leg, something needed for half pass and far easier, IME, to achieve on a circle than on the long side where it’s easier for the horse to evade such engagement. YMMV.

[sophie]

Here’s what we did today:

Tracking right, at B, half 20 m circle and once we got to E I asked for a few strides of HI while trying to keep the bend. I could see in the mirror that she was actually doing it (yay!) but lost impulsion big time, both at walk and trot. Still, I praised her because she did what I asked. As soon as we went straight the impulsion was fine.

Going left, it was harder, so we went back on the circle. I think I am stiffer and less efficient going left, which doesn’t help. sigh

Also - it feels like cantering small (10m or less) circles would help with engaging that hind leg and would help for HP too…or would that be counter-productive? She has a very good, balanced canter - her strong gait

Thanks again everyone for all your tips and help! Keep them coming!