German Training Scale for Dummies

LOL

The German Training Scale consists of six main elements:

Rhythm
Relaxation
Contact
Impulsion
Straightness
Collection

Rhythm:
Somewhere between 'all-4-feet-firmly-planted-in-ground' and 'flat-chat-racing-gallop'.

Relaxation:
The mental and physical state that becomes impossible to achieve when horse is at risk of attack by a white-arena-fence-rope-cobra, mare-munching-letter-marker, or seriously-spooky-centre-line. Oh, and the horse murdering gremlin waiting to pounce from under the judge's car, of course.

Contact:
The death-grip assumed by the rider when the horse performs a Salinero-esque halt.

Impulsion:
The spring in the step brought about by anticipation of the nasties that prevent 'relaxation'.

Straightness:
How the horse SHOULD be, as opposed to:

the quarters being swung so far to the outside that strike-off onto the correct canter lead is a failure before the rider can even contemplate giving the aid.
the inside shoulder being dropped so badly that the rider is slowly but surely slipping off sideways.
the neck containing more kinks than the back of an unfit, middle-aged woman after riding big, warmblood movement for the first time.

Collection:
The shifting of weight from the horse's front end to back end, usually right before the horse launches into a capriole that catapults the rider into the judge's windscreen.