The ideals of the GTS have a lot of merits and every horse in any discipline can greatly benefit from what it tries to teach. But without the underlying foundation of focus, clarity, and softness which underpin each element, it is nothing more than a series of mechanical exercises than has little benefit and bears little resemblance to good training.
KEEPING THE HORSE IN THE HORSE
If a horse just out of the wild and untouched by humans is the most horse-like horse a horse can be, is our ability as horse handlers measured by how much of the horse we keep inside the horse during the training, or is it measured by how well we manipulate a horse to be of use and value to our needs?