What's Missing From the Dressage Training Scale? | Linda Tellington-Jones

Why does the dressage training scale start with rhythm, when a horse that isn't fit, balanced or calm can't give you rhythm at all? Linda Tellington-Jones, creator of TTouch and longtime collaborator of Olympic gold medallist Klaus Balkenhol, rebuilds the training pyramid from the ground up. Condition first. Balance before rhythm. And a walk she links to the Spanish Riding School's "third walk." 🎥 FREE Helios Harmony Intro Course: https://longridehome.com/onoutpout 🌟 Linda Tellington-Jones & TTouch: https://ttouch.com 📚 All Books Mentioned: https://longridehome.com/books 🎟️ Xenophon Press, code 7greatCUSTOMER (7% off): https://xenophonpress.com The training scale came out of the German cavalry manual HDV 12 and is usually drawn as a pyramid: rhythm, relaxation, contact, impulsion, straightness, collection. Too often it gets read as a ladder you climb one rung at a time. Linda explains why she added balance underneath it, and why the condition of the horse, physical and emotional, is missing from it altogether. Rupert brings a historian's eye to the conversation: HDV 12 itself describes schooling horses on 10-degree slopes, and Balkenhol, a mounted policeman who trained his own horse to the Olympics, built fitness on the beat, not in deep sand. Linda draws on more than 20 years of working with the Balkenhol family and on her book Dressage with Mind, Body & Soul. This isn't about throwing out the training scale. It's about giving it a foundation. In this video, you'll discover: ✔️ Why Linda puts balance beneath rhythm, and what's still missing: condition ✔️ The six-week hard-fit routine before any arena work ✔️ What HDV 12 says about schooling on slopes ✔️ Conditioning in the arena: solid cavaletti set at angles ✔️ TTouch and the "heart hug" before you ride into a busy arena ✔️ The half walk, labyrinths, and balance as loss and retrieval 🕛 Timestamps: 00:00 – Linda Tellington-Jones and the training scale 02:43 – Dressage with Mind, Body & Soul and Klaus Balkenhol 04:38 – Balkenhol's nervous passage horse 05:54 – Why the pyramid misses condition 06:21 – Balance first, and a six-week hard-fit plan 08:26 – Conditioning a horse in a dressage ring 09:01 – HDV 12 and schooling on 10-degree slopes 10:30 – Solid cavaletti set at angles 11:04 – Emotional condition and tense arenas 12:17 – TTouch in the stable before you ride 13:14 – The heart hug for the rider 15:04 – The half walk and the Spanish Riding School's third walk 16:23 – Labyrinths, boundaries and the pillars 18:27 – Why balance comes before rhythm 19:09 – Asking, not lifting: how high and how long 20:34 – Stirrup timing, then release long and low 21:18 – Balance as loss and retrieval 22:43 – A diagonal aid that releases the back 📺 Related Videos: 🔹 Master Horse Hindquarter Activation Without Extra Leg Pressure!:    • Master Horse Hindquarter Activation Withou...   🔹 The ORIGINAL Half Halt according to La Guérinière | Inside Rein Explained:    • The ORIGINAL Half Halt according to La Gué...   🔹 Dressage Is Only 2 Easy Patterns!:    • Dressage Is Only 2 Easy Patterns!   🗂️ Playlists: The Old Masters of Dressage – From Ancient to Modern:    • The Old Masters of Dressage - History - an...   Discussions with Richard Williams about Classical Texts:    • Richard Williams - Xenophon Press   Live Free Ride Free Podcast:    • Live Free Ride Free with Rupert Isaacson   Equine Assisted World:    • Equine Assisted World with Rupert Isaacson   👤 About Long Ride Home: Rupert Isaacson is a horseman, bestselling author, and founder of Helios Harmony — classical horsemanship rooted in the Old Masters. Iliane Lorenz specialises in bitless riding, rider seat development, and mounted dressage. Together they share ethical, effective riding that puts the horse first. 👍 Like, Subscribe & Share to support classical horsemanship. 💬 If you could rewrite the training scale, what would you put at the very bottom: condition, balance, or something else entirely? #LindaTellingtonJones #TTouch #TrainingScale #KlausBalkenhol #ClassicalDressage #HeliosHarmony #RupertIsaacson #HorseTraining #Horsemanship #LongRideHome Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links in this description may be affiliate links. If you use them to make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting our channel!