Inside Hand in Half Pass

[musical comedy]

A while back, I got corrected for my inside hand in trot half pass. Trainer wanted it like an opening rein. What I see is more of an indirect rein being used by the BNT's. In fact, I just saw Gareth Hughes doing it in his first half pass on the link Tanga provided. This is where I run into conflicts with trainers.

[piedmontfields]

I think this is related to the degree of bend, angle and collection, MC. For example, sInce I have less bend, angle and collection than a GP horse (understatement of the morning), I don't really have an indirect rein feeling.

I bet there are folks on this board who can unpack this one with much more insight and knowledge

[Ryeissa]

A while back, I got corrected for my inside hand in trot half pass. Trainer wanted it like an opening rein. What I see is more of an indirect rein being used by the BNT's. In fact, I just saw Gareth Hughes doing it in his first half pass on the link Tanga provided. This is where I run into conflicts with trainers.

what is your horse doing? is there an advantage or disadvantage for your situation to do one or the other?
I tend to hold it out more opening rein as my horse already drops the scapula and sternum and a indirect rein would work against what I needed in my half pass.
Greener horses tend to have an opening rein to help, more advanced are closer to the neck. however. never cross the withers.

[Dresseur]

How the rein gets used in HP really depends on what the horse is doing. That being said, I personally don't subscribe to an opening inside rein. The reason being this: In half pass, the horse has to drive from the outside hind leg - you don't want to "lead" the horse over with an inside rein. (Note, leading the horse over with the inside hand is different than holding slightly wider hands to help funnel the horse and keep the neck straight.) If the horse no longer is going sideways, re-establish the response to the outside leg. Usually that's done with travers or travers on a circle, or a walk piri if you really want to break it down. You can show the way with the rein in a leg yield, not, IMO, in a hp. In other words, don't continue the exercise on the life support of your inside rein if the objective of the exercise has been lost.

Using a slight indirect inside rein establishes a bit more flexion which is definitely needed for steeper half passes. It also serves to "lift" the horse off the inside shoulder to free it up, by shifting weight back over the outside hind. Obviously, you never want to cross the rein over the wither. The other reason I have been taught to keep my rein aids subtle is that you cannot disconnect the neck from the rest of the body - if you do, you lose the drive train. So, especially in half pass, rein support should be kept to a minimum.

[Tanga]

I agree. It depends. And I agree, I don't agree with the opening inside rein, and everything Dresseur said.

I can see what you were seeing, musical comedy. What I do when I feel a loss of balance or bend in the half pass is go to leg yield or circle and establish the feeling of off the inside rein, but that is not an opening rein nor an indirect rein, but it might have that look to it. I want to keep that feeling in the half pass. In my schooling I always go for the correct feeling and connection, and when it is not correct, I go to an exercise to get it back. But in a test you can't do that, so it might look like more of an opening or indirect rein.

[musical comedy]

I found this from USDF.

The Aids:
The aids for half pass are the same as for travers. The rider’s weight is to the direction of travel and the inside seat bone is advanced, with the inside leg at the girth and the outside leg behind the girth. The inside leg is extremely important – the half pass must never become a “sideways” movement, but rather always a “forward and sideways” movement. This is not possible without proper use of the inside leg. The inside rein indicates to the horse the direction of bend while the outside rein regulates the bend. The inside rein must remain as a direct rein, never crossing the withers, but may also be used as an open or leading rein. The rider rides through the turn or corner, rides the half halt in shoulder-fore, and brings the forehand on to the line of travel for the half pass, with the inside leg maintaining the bend. Then the lower outside leg directs the haunches from the turn and onto the diagonal line. Knowing the line of travel will allow the rider to direct the horse, with the forehand slightly in advance, in half pass.
Source: https://www.usdf.org/EduDocs/Training/halfpass.pdf

[blob]

I have always been taught that ideally in HP, one would move both hands towards the inside when doing half-pass, keeping the hands parallel and equally far apart as they would be in other work. But that if a horse needs help, you can open the inside rein more. However, if the horse falls in with his inside shoulder that you should never let the inside hand cross over the wither or come back towards the hip (though I am certainly guilty of having done this).

[lorilu]

I have a horse who falls on his left shoulder in HP left. An opening - or even slightly wide - inside rein invites him to fall even more, and if I use more inside leg, we lose the sideways. My inside rein is close to the pommel, not crossing the wither but definitely directed towards my outside right hip. It encourages him to bear more weight on his right hind (always an evasion) and so lift that left shoulder.
And of course as far as the USDF directives, the ideal is often not what works for our "unideal" horses.......