the halt is a three part action. you must first feel the in out motion of the horses sides against your softly relaxed legs take the rhythm and engage your seat bones to start slowing the rhythm , next try pulsing with your fingers on the reins in rhythm with the steps inside finger outside finger in out to further tell the horse to begin the transition and what speed of transition, the third step would be to release the leg and hands as your horse makes the final step. This helps reinforce the fact that although he must carry the bit it is his responsibility to not clamp or pull on the bit either. Think of the bit as a cactus, if you carry it softly and gently you do not get hurt, if you clutch and grab you get spiked. It also helps to think of all transitions as if trying to shift gears on a car or truck. The shifting has to be done in the right sequence at the right time.
To halt, simply close the seat and legs and elevate your posture and stop following his motion and I guarantee the he will halt. If you tend to ride with a closed seat you will find that the horse will be sticky
How does this mesh with the idea of a horse having consistent contact with the bit? If your horse doesn't have contact on the bit, yeah they will run into the bit. How can you communicate with your horse without contact? Why are we teaching horses that the reins mean to stop when we should be teaching halt from our seat?
I just got a saddle stool to work on my flexibility in my hips as part of my ground work. My goal is to learn to melt in and connect to my seat bones while increasing my ability to relax as well. Do you do this and if so can you direct me to find it. I determined to do this because of my Pilates.
