Balance and Movement: Not Balance vs Movement!!

I just had a light bulb moment! I’ve been confused as to why a few people have been arguing that there is no such thing as balance before movement. I have just realised that it may have all come down to a problem with the English language and a cheeky little word called “before”!!

Imagine you read an article called "Balance vs Movement” and come out feeling confused. It talks about the idea of "balance before movement” versus “movement before balance." The confusion arises because of how people interpret the word "before."

In one sense, "before" can mean “more important than” or “better than” like when you say "I would always choose healthy food before fast food." But when you talk about French methods in riding, saying "balance before movement," you mean something different. You're saying you teach balance first, like how you'd brush your teeth before bed—not that balance is more important than movement, any more than brushing teeth is more important than going to bed!!

Both French and German riding methods value balance and movement equally, but they approach it differently. French methods focus on achieving balance first, then allowing forward motion. German methods, on the other hand, start with forward motion and then work on balancing within that movement.

So, the debate isn't about which is more important—balance or movement—but rather about the sequence of using these in training. I teach balance first, in halt and walk, but I won’t go into why because I’ve covered that in other posts!

Just to show you that I value movement equally to balance, here is a picture of movement and balance working together in perfect harmony to put a smile on our faces while I have my lightbulb moment!