Maestoso Basowizza & Oberbereiter Hausberger

The half-pass is a

lateral movement Lateral movements or lateral flexions within equestrianism, have a specific meaning, used to refer to movements made by a horse where the animal is moving in a direction other than straight forward. They are used both in training and in competitio ...

seen in

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by ...

, in which the horse moves forward and sideways at the same time. Unlike the easier

leg-yield The leg-yield is a lateral movement in which a horse travels both forward and sideways at the same time. The horse is fairly straight through his body in the leg-yield, although he may have a slight bend opposite to the direction of travel. It is o ...

, the horse is bent in the direction of travel, slightly around the rider's inside leg. The outside hind and forelegs should cross over the inside legs, with the horse's body parallel to the arena wall and his forehand leading. The horse should remain forward, balanced, and bent, moving with cadence. The inside hind leg remains engaged throughout the half-pass, and the horse should not lose its rhythm. The half-pass is a variation of

haunches-in Haunches-in, also called travers or ''tête au mur'' ("head to the wall" in French), is a lateral movement used in the dressage discipline of horse training. It has a close cousin, haunches-out, renvers, or ''croupe au mur'' ("rump to the wall"), ...

(travers), executed on a diagonal line instead of along the wall. At higher levels it is used to perform a counter-change of hand, combining more than two half-passes with changes of direction in a zig-zag pattern.

Vs. the leg-yield

The half-pass requires more balance, engagement, and collection from a horse than the

. This is because the horse is slightly bent in the direction of movement in the half-pass. In the leg-yield, the horse is fairly straight or looking slightly away from the direction of travel.''Rules for Dressage Events'', article 412, pp. 19-20
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Purpose

The half-pass is a schooling movement that requires the horse to engage the hindquarters and increase its

impulsion Impulsion is the movement of a horse when it is going forward with controlled power. Related to the concept of collection, impulsion helps a horse effectively use the power in its hindquarters. To achieve impulsion, a horse is not using speed, ...

, it can therefore be used to improve both collection or impulsion. The half-pass is commonly seen in dressage tests beginning at the

United States Dressage Federation The United States Dressage Federation, or the USDF, is the national membership federation for the equestrian sport of dressage. Running under the USEF, the Federation is committed to education, recognition of achievement and promotion of dressage i ...

third level.

Performing the maneuver

The half-pass is usually taught after the

is well confirmed. It may first be introduced by riding a half-10-meter circle from the long side to the centerline, or a half-

volte Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is an LTE high-speed wireless communication standard for mobile phones and data terminals, including Internet of things (IoT) devices and wearables. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than older 3G ...

, and then half-passing in. The circle naturally places the horse's body in the correct bend, and helps to encourage the engagement needed for the movement. The outside hind leg must step well under the horse's body to push the animal forward and sideways. A rider uses an active outside leg slightly behind the neutral position to ask the horse to step forward and under. The outside rein maintains the correct bend and contains the energy of the horse, the inside leg keeps the horse moving forward, and the inside rein guides the forehand in the direction of movement. The rider also uses his or her inside seat bone to help maintain bend. If the rider is off-center or twisted, the horse will also be crooked or off-balance. If the horse loses quality in the movement, such as lack of correct bend (haunches leading or inside shoulder falling inward), loss of rhythm, or stiffness, the rider straightens the horse and rides forward. The beginning and the end of the movement needs special attention concerning control and balance.

References

Sources

* Richard Davison, ''Dressage Priority Points'', Howell Book House, New York 1995 * Jennie Loriston-Clarke, ''The Complete Guide to Dressage. How to Achieve Perfect Harmony between You and Your Horse. Principal Movements in Step-by-step Sequences Demonstrated by a World Medallist'', Quarto Publishing plc, London 1987, reprinted 1993 {{DEFAULTSORT:Half-Pass Dressage terminology Riding techniques and movements