Immersion Two

A Special Place for a Special Education

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There is a lot more into the work in hand than just walking next to the horse. The feeling of a horse adjusting the work of his back muscles to the tone of the handler's back muscles is fascinating. This is the first step, or maybe it would be more appropriate to say, the first steps of a deep (r)evolution. For riders and trainers these first steps are initiating the evolution from dog training such as seen with typical dog training, (obedience to the rider's aids), to athletic training, (preparing efficiently the horse's physique for the effort). For the therapist, the experience opens a new era in the capacity of reeducation; placing the therapies in motion.

In response to popular demand, Immersion Two Is a three day event.

Friday June 10, Saturday June 11, Sunday June 12, 2011. The weekend is set-up to introduce the work in hand to therapists, riders and trainers as well as in furthering their knowledge and practical application of this work in hand. June 10 is a repeat of Immersion One. June 11 is a pertinent analysis of the horse's locomotion. A video animation educates one in distinguishing and understanding the braking and pushing phase of the hind and front legs. Sunday 12, the work in hand intermediary level, teaches how to further the horse's collection and introduces the practice of shoulder in and half pass.

One can come for one day or two or three.

The trademark of the Immersion program is to provide the knowledge that supports efficient practical application. Friendly, casual, informative and always with humor, the week end of June 10, 11,and 12 is set to be an even greater success than Immersion One. 

The Science of Motion's Certification program is going to be based on credits gained through Videos, clinics, books and Immersion programs. Each day provides credits toward the qualification.

Friday June 10

Lunging with tradition

Decarpentry Second Manner.

Emphasis is made on the horse's natural cadence, proper

mechanism of the horse's vertebral column and spontaneous

and efficient placement of the horse's neck. The technique

allows the addition of straight lines in order to diminish the side-

effects of lunging.

Work in Hand

The science of motion approach.

Introduction to the work in hand. Hands on practice with Manchester.

Video; One Hand on his Shoulders.

Discussion; How the horse's vertebral column really functions

Working documents; Mechanico-Responsiveness, (text). Lunging with Decarpentry, (text and DVD).

Saturday June 11

Forward

In order to win in the jumping ring as well as the dressage ring, one needs to go fast. The purpose of this Immersion session is to assess the mechanical overloads induced on the front and hind limbs as well as vertebral column by the demands of modern competitions, and how to efficiently prepare the horse's muscular system for these demands. 

Classic authors have always warned, "Do not confuse speed with impulsion." Modern dressage promotes intense forward motion, which is technically speed. Both parties deeply believe that they profess the true and both parties use expressions such as thoroughness through the back, carrying weight on the haunches, without understanding underlying biomechanics factors. At the contrary, scientific measurements demonstrate that balance is not achieved with the hind legs carrying more weight but instead increasing the duration of their support phase. Also, the greatest amount of upward propulsive force is not produced by the hind legs, but instead by the forelegs. "In horses, and most other mammalian quadrupeds, 57% of the vertical impulse is applied through the thoracic limbs, and only 43% through the hind limbs." (H. W. Merkens, H. C. Schamhardt,G. J. van Osch, A. J. van den Bogert, 1993).

These concepts are difficult to understand and even accept in the line of conventional thinking. Instead, these concepts became obvious when riding principles and training techniques are analyzed in respect to the advanced knowledge of the equine physiology.

"Forward" is a journey, literally, where forward movement is analyzed in light of pertinent scientific discoveries; how hind and front limbs produce forward motion. How the horse's vertebral column converts the thrust generated by the hind legs into forward movement and balance control, how to define speed, what is the biomechanics of impulsion, etc.

On one side of the camera, there is a horse and a man who show the differences between forward movement and fast forward motion. On the other side of the camera there is a woman who's artistic sense and mastery of computer technology transforms, through slow motion and subtle animations, a life demonstration into a superb education. What you are about to see during this journey has never been showed before. You will end the day with a perspective updated to actual knowledge. Your journey with your horse will no longer be performing until lameness. Instead your journey will be about furthering soundness through better performances.  

Sunday June 12

Work in Hand

Intermediary Level

There is much more to the work in hand than just walking next to the horse.

The first step is to experience the extraordinary feeling of a horse adjusting the work of his back muscles to the tone of the handler's back muscles.

The next step is to work the horse. In this Intermediary level, you will    

learn -   How to further the horse's collection, 

-    Introduction to the shoulder in

-    Introduction to the half pass

The discussions will explain Collection, Shoulder In and Half Pass in light of the most advanced knowledge of physiology. 

He arrived this morning with a strange smile and announced, I am going to work your titin. He went in the tack room preparing the saddle and Manchester could not stop laughing. Recovering his breath Manchester teased, I cannot wait to see you in a tutu. I corrected him, a little vexed. He did not say tutu, he said titin. Manchester replied, titin sounds to me like a cut-off tutu.

He then walked out of the tack room carrying the saddle and understood by the way I looked at him that he owed me an explanation. Hetold me, titin is a protein filament that is involved in the spring elasticity of your muscles. He lifted then one finger like a professor and recited a full sentence that he had memorized. "Titin functions as serially linked springs that develop tension when stretched. There are multiple titin isoforms that vary size and stiffness, which explains the elastic-stiffness diversity across vertebrate muscle." (1)

As he brushes my front legs, he often tells me that I have small feet and almost too fine forelegs for my size. You grew too fast my dear. This was not your fault. The peoples who owned you feed you for performance too early in your life. They wanted you on the racetrack as soon as possible and doing so, they showed poor knowledge and low ethic.  A horse of your size should never have been on the racetrack. The only thing we can do now is to increase the density of your bone structure, the strength of your sole and hoof wall, as well as the tone and elasticity of your muscles tendons and ligaments. Thanks to recent research studies, great results can be achieved in the matter through the use of eccentric muscle contractions.

Walking by my side or riding me, he does multiple exercises walking very straight, quite collected and slow down the hill. He started gymnastics in hand. I guess he was concerned by the intensity of the muscular work and used his own body as a test. After all, he was walking down the same hill. I remember the third day of this gymnastic; he was touching his thighs above his knees telling me thathe was feeling the work in his knee extensors muscles. I was ready to tell him that he was confusing knee and stifle, but remembered that in terms of comparative anatomy a human knee is an equine stifle. Anyway, we both voted for a light work out this day. 

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