Improving Horse Skills: Mis Perceptions of the Halt

 Mis Perceptions of the Halt

Many humans view the halt as a physical yielding or obedient behavior. There is little or no concept of the difference between the feet not moving versus a horse mentally present, physically soft and balanced when asked to stand.

I find most horses asked to halt still have a massive degree of containment/pressure imposed upon them to prevent them from physically moving.

The horse learns to comply by not physically moving his feet, but often his mind is everywhere except where he's physically at.

Then when "allowed" to move, there is a rush or surge in his movement as he flees from the built-up pressure created during his containment at the halt.

What if instead, we presented the halt to the horse as an Opportunity for him to mentally process, check-in with the human, time to emotionally let down, and a place to physically soften?

By doing so, we have shifted from focusing on physically stopping/blocking/yielding the horse's movement to not only offering him support but also instilling a fundamental crucial basic tool (and unnatural) in his education. 

If the horse is taught not to be defensive or triggered by the halt, when he is unclear, anticipative, etc. it becomes a supportive tool for him to check in with the human, rather than being concerned about being asked to do so and trying to instinctively flee or become increasingly chaotic when asked to do so.

If there are Quality Conversation with a focus on refining the communication so that it has value to the horse, there is a total shift the horse's response to Human Interactions.