[Whoa, mule, whoa! When I say 'whoa' I MEAN WHOA!] I'm reminded of the Bugs Bunny cartoon (Knighty Knight Bugs) in which Yosemite Sam rides a dragon, tries to make it stop ("Whoa, mule, whoa!"), and when it does, it stops on a dime. The difference is that the dragon lowers its head and tail, so its whole body is parallel with the ground and Yosemite Sam flies forward and off, after bouncing on the pointed scales.

I am, of course, exaggerating, as I was only going from a trot to a walk, and I slid forward perhaps an inch or two. Still, it got my attention.

For those not familiar with the music, think "popular ballet suite around Christmas." And yes, I did look up the score, which was surprisingly challenging (the Internet is full of stolen music, but not much musical scores).

Finally, I also realize that the "half halt" command in dressage is far more complex and doesn't mean simply "slow down" but again, humor takes precedent. images/Drawings/Sketches/half-halt.png