Reflections on the German Training Scale

from a classical perspective

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        Since the German Federation has come to be viewed as either the originators of dressage or the destroyers of it (depending on what 'camp' your in) I feel compelled to comment on the German Training Scale. First, let me say that I find both of these views rather overstated. Dressage theory and technique were well formulated before the founding of the German National Federation. The fact that so many refer to The Training Scale as if it were a biblical map for dressage only reveals the limited education available to dressage riders today. On the other hand, to criticize Germany for taking so seriously the task of educating its riders is quite unfair. Conversation over whether certain ideas hold up in practice is quite a good thing, but taking it to the point of vilification or idolization prevents any productive exchange of ideas.
     Strictly speaking, from a classical point of view, the German Training Scale itself is not classical, but the concepts behind it are. My own ideas on the German training scale were developed over a long period of time. I thought long and hard about The Scale, because there were aspects of it that I could not understand in the light of actual experience - such as why a linear scale or pyramid? When I had finally formulated precisely what my views were, I had one of those remarkable moments when I found that others before me (classically minded) had formed nearly identical ideas. As a guideline to help one examen the qualities a correctly trained dressage horse should display, the individual elements of the German training scale are quite useful - rhythm, relaxation, contact, schwung [throughness], straightness, suppleness, collection. That being said, the omission of the most fundamental of all qualities - Balance - is quite glaring.
     Balance ought to be the foundational element of the scale, and must remain a fundamental principle throughout training. The first task of the young horse is to regain his balance under the weight of the rider. As the rider develops the horse (we hope)  the horse's balance moves further rearward, culminating in self-carriage and collection. This improvement in longitudinal balance goes hand in hand with the development of lateral balance, which itself is dependent on straightness and expresses itself in suppleness. Personally, I believe disregard for balance as a fundamental aspect of training is behind many false practices in dressage today. It is a pity the Germans did not think to place Balance on their scale at the base of their pyramid. This disregard for balance as a foundational principle of training can be seen in the German manner of riding a young horse. I once made the mistake of taking a young horse to a German clinician (with the result that I had to re-school my horse for several days afterwards in order for her to regain her balance and to respond properly again to my half halt). I was asked to literally run my horse around on her forehand (I'm sorry, I was going to try to explain why, but find I don't know the purpose of this training method). Running the young horse at break neck speed in order to teach him to ‘go forward‘, or to 'reach' for the rider's hand, or to work through his back (just guesses) does not teach him any of these things, as it greatly disturbs his balance, and without balance non of these other nice qualities can exist. In fact, a horse who feels a lack of balance will often himself take to running at break neck speed for fear of toppling under the weight of the rider. This makes no sense, but if you can picture yourself carrying a heavy weight which has unbalanced you, you will remember that your response will be to scramble under that weight in order to 'catch it' from underneath. Some young horses have much the same reaction, only it is through slowing down the hurried, choppy footfall and encouraging the horse to take energetic but unhurried steps underneath himself that he will actually regain his balance. A horse is moving ‘forward’ in dressage terms when he is taking well-engaged, energetic steps with his hind legs and responding promptly to the rider’s leg aid. The concept of ‘forward’ does not necessarily involve speed, which can actually dissipate the energy of the horse’s hind end as the steps become short, choppy and uneven, and the horse’s weight falls more onto his forehand - in short, unbalanced. As far as stretching the horse is concerned (encouraging him to lengthen his topline) running him around on his forehand only causes tension - not the relaxation, hind end engagement, and reaching for the bit necessary for proper stretch.
     Straightness: Once the horse has reasonable balance, the rider must then start to address the horse's crookedness. All horse's (like all people) are not symmetrical side to side. The horse will likely never be perfectly straight, but riding the horse straight is an absolute prerequisite to both suppleness and proper contact. Placing straightness way at the top of the training scale after contact and throughness is quite baffling to me. A crooked horse will be heavy in one rein and ‘reluctant’ to take contact on the other (unable to fill that rein because he cannot stretch his body into it on the hollow side, due to carrying too much weight on the opposite shoulder and forefoot). Inability to achieve unilateral contact with the reins prevents even elementary training from proceeding in a way that is beneficial to the development of the horse. Likewise, attempting to further the horse’s training before he has become reasonably straight will actually increase the crookedness of the horse, and will result in much tension and resistance, possibly leading to the breakdown of the horse. Perhaps this is the reason far too many well-bread horses break down in the first few years of training, and many average but reasonably conformed horses ‘get stuck’ at the very lowest levels.
     The reader may have noticed that the description in my last blog of connection sounds a lot like the German concept of Schwung (called throughness in English). In a nutshell, connection being the energy created by the horse’s hind end, traveling through the horse’s body over his back, into the rider’s hand via the reins connected to the horse’s mouth - like a continuous electrical circuit. Connection, as I’d prefer to call it, not only connects the horse to the rider, it also connects the horse’s hind end to his front end. The rider’s hand, and also his seat, become like a valve on a circuit regulating the flow of energy from the horse‘s hind end. I think it most unfortunate that the German Federation has separated the concept of contact from that of 'throughness'. This may give the unsophisticated rider the impression that contact is a quality that exists only between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth, when in fact, the energy of the hind end and the transmission of that energy through the horse's body are the alpha and omega of contact, and these concepts should not be separated.
     I do agree with The German scale on the placement of collection at the top. All of these other nice qualities do culminate in collection, if the horse has been properly schooled in balance. So what about the rest? Balance first, then straightness, then everything else develops hand and hand - contact, suppleness, schwung - and they are refined over many years, resulting in collection (and did I mention that balance is not something once achieved, now forgotten, but always remains a cornerstone of training).
     So what about rhythm and relaxation? To me these are more of a 'tone' - a reflexion of the quality of the other elements, and not so much a schooling goal in themselves. Some riders have good natural rhythm and so do some horses, but I do not think that rhythm is something you 'school' a horse to. If all of the other elements discussed above are attended to, particularly balance and straightness, the rhythm will be good. If we are considering the even footfall of the horse as part of the German concept of rhythm, then straightness and balance are absolute pre-requisites of rhythm, as it is the crookedness of the horse which causes his feet to travel unevenly (or sometimes poor rider technique, as in the case of a lateral or ‘pacing’ walk). I discussed relaxation in my last blog at length. I hope it was obvious that this is also a 'tone' - a natural result of correct riding. Again, some horses have more naturally relaxed temperaments and it will show in their bodies, and some horses are considerably more excitable and prone to holding tension in their bodies. When given a more excitable horse, it is the task of the rider to modify the training program in whatever way necessary to help the horse feel mentally at ease, bringing the horse along in a way which will not cause him to hold tension in his body. If a horse is not relaxed, it is a direct reflexion on the rider’s ability and sensitivity. With a sensitive horse, relaxation is not a once achieved now accomplished event. Such a horse will always respond more acutely to stressors by holding tension in his body. It will be the daily task of the sympathetic rider to lead that horse in both physical and mental relaxation. Although we do not ‘teach’ the horse to ‘be’ relaxed, we can and should teach the rider the art of relaxation, since the horse will mirror the rider. In the properly schooled rider they are a result of tact and feel. The horse will be relaxed (both in his muscles and in his mind) if the rider's aids are given in a way that does not cause tension or confusion. Tension is not a natural attribute of a young horse (such as crookedness). It is always caused by the rider. Even though a more sensitive horse is more prone to both muscular and mental tension, it is the rider who provokes it under saddle. There may even be times when tension is not the result of poor rider technique, but a response to a poorly fitting saddle or some other physical cause - again, the responsibility of the rider. A rider who does not investigate the reasons why a horse might be unusually persistent in holding tension in his body has failed that horse in a very fundamental way. Good horsemanship involves a myriad of skills in addition to riding if we expect the horse to truly be an athlete.
     I hope I do not give the impression that I actually dislike the German Training Scale. The biggest problem I have with the Scale is not the elements, which can and should help the rider evaluate the correctness of her training efforts, it’s the scale itself. By placing these qualities on a pyramidal scale one following the other, too many riders misunderstand the interconnectedness of these qualities. This can lead to schooling the horse in a manner which is rigid or unthinking. I do not know, but I imagine the German Federation fleshes out these concepts to riders in its programs through in-depth study. Perhaps it is even taken for granted that balance is an underlying principle of every one of the elements, and the reason it was not included on the scale was because it is so obvious (one can only hope). That would make the scale a handy check list for the already educated rider. But, the uneducated rider who attempts to use the scale as his road map to training the horse may very well fail in some fundamental ways, leading to frustration for both horse and rider.  In short, there is no substitute for an in depth classical education. All of these concepts  (perhaps not the words themselves) have been known to good horsemen for centuries. The fundamentals of these concepts, as well as their inter-connectedness, are still taught today by classical teachers. Classical writings on horsemanship are full of detailed descriptions as to what these concepts actually mean - what they look like, what underlies them, how they function biomechanically, their inter-connectedness, the skills the rider needs in order to cultivate them, etc. I do understand that for people living in a fast-paced society accustomed to using google maps on their phones in order to get places faster, a handy pyramid that can be used like a road map for dressage must seem both familiar and somehow comforting. I would challenge those same people to reflect on what attracted them to dressage in the first place. I’d venture that for many it was because they had hoped dressage would deepen their communication with their horse, allowing them to achieve a connectedness approaching oneness with their equine companion. Surely it should be obvious to anyone that such a sublime state cannot be achieved by strict adherence to a pyramid of concepts, any more than a monk can achieve union with God merely by reciting the ten commandments. I do not wish to malign the familiar and beloved pyramid. I’m hoping merely to remind riders to reach further, strive harder, look deeper, and to not give up their dreams if the pyramid fails to be the stairway to enlightenment they had hoped it would be.

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