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Half passes vs. leg yields, reclarified
Remember how stuck I get on the half pass vs. leg yield issue? I think I have my brain wrapped around it now.
Watch this video (sorry, can’t embed it here—you’ll have to see it via YouTube).
Notice how much collection and impulsion the horse has. Also notice they are doing a shoulder in to the half pass—by the end of the video, it’s a five meter circle to the shoulder in to the half pass. Look at how much reach the outside hind has to have, and how it’s the outside hind pushing the horse forward and sideways, not that the horse is dragged towards the wall by his shoulders. Even for a horse with less extravagant movement, you can see that the horse would have to be collected and pushing from behind to do this movement.
So now I can understand the progression. One of the first lateral moves you teach to horses and riders is the leg yield, because you don’t have to worry about collection. You’re establishing the idea that it’s possible to move both forward and sideways. Then you refine that with the shoulder in and renvers, where you’re moving part of the horse’s body laterally (vs. the whole body movement of the leg yield). But for a shoulder in to really work, you also have to teach a degree of collection—the horse has to rock back on his hind end and push from behind, otherwise you’re just yanking his shoulders off the rail with the rein and you’re not going anywhere. And then—well, you can see in the video that they use the shoulder in to establish the correct bend, and then ask for sideways movement as well as forward movement in the half pass. To get that movement, you need an even greater degree of collection.
So that last post I had on this issue, about the bend of the horse, isn’t quite right. It’s not the bend in and of itself that makes the half pass more difficult—it’s the degree of collection required. Watch some YouTube videos of leg yields, and then watch some of the half pass. I found it especially helpful to watch the outside hind. There’s a significant, obvious difference in the degree of strength and engagement required for the half pass, and that’s going to come from the horse being able to collect.
I asked about the leg yield vs. half pass in my lesson today, and we ended up working on them for the whole lesson. Then I came home and watched YouTube videos. Amazing how that helps clarify things.
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Comments
Sometimes Things Click, is the blog entry I tried to comment on but the comments are closed. However, I think with that post you were right on, when you get it you know it and it’s a great feeling. I would have stopped with the perfect halt too.
This post is informative too, the you tube videos do help when you need to see it to know exactly what you are looking for.
I think the visual of the video is always helpful to learn new things. I wasn’t able to hear what they were saying on this video for some reason but that would have been helpful too, I’m sure.
I should have searched around on YouTube a long time ago.
Thanks for stopping by, both of you!
Amazing how sometimes it all just comes together, all of a sudden.
Maybe that’s why dressage clinics were invented, so we can hear the same old instructions with new voices and phrasings….
Linda
The Mane Point
On Apr 29, 2008, Equestrian said:
Thank you for this link to the video - really interesting - and what a wonderful horse.
Your comments really help to clarify the movement as well.
Once you get the feel of riding a half pass correctly it seems natural. Its a struggle to learn on a horse that is learning the moves itself. If only I had had a schoolmaster to learn on my horse would have had a much easier time.