.

April 20th-21st

 

East Greenwich RI

East Greenwich RI

Contact Debrah

marshpoint31@cox.net

 

 

April27th-28th

 

Quebec, Canada

artdumouvement@hotmail.com

 

May 4th-5th

 

Thistle Ridge Equestrian Center

Contact-Pamela A. McKnight 

pmcknight2510@gmail.com

phone-910-629-3099

 

 

 

 

This is the last month for the introductory price for the IHTC (In Hand Therapy Course) , price goes up to full price in May. The private Facebook IHTC group has added so much with Jean Luc daily discussions with our group. No questions  unanswered. Read below a few of the testimonials from our IHTC members,. This is a large growing community of trainers, therapists,Vets, owners, farriers, professors  and more. Join the movement for a better way!

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss peoples." (Eleanor Roosevelt) Members of the IHTC-SOM group discusses ideas and greatly benefit form the discussions. Mini welcome Beth as a new member of the group saying, "ask a lot of questions. I learn so much from these discussions". Beth did right away stimulating an all day discussion that was great for every body. There is one group in the internet which does not talk about other peoples at all because there is so much knowledge to be talking about. Albert Einstein wrote, "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think". Based on factual documentation, that we provide, members of the IHTC are learning to think and therefore guiding the horse thoughts toward the body coordination allowing utmost performances and soundness. The private facebook forum of the IHTC is a win win situation. 

Sincerely,
Editor Helyn Cornille
Science Of Motion

When the technology of embryo transplant started, the idea of utilizing draft breed as surrogate mares was attractive. Babies would have more room for gestation and birth. Soon, stories surfaces that babies having the blood line for world class movement exhibited short strides lifting the knees like mommy. A foal imitates his mother as he will, years later imitate his trainer in the round pen. If the trainer spent enough time in the round pen, the horse will lift the knees, pick up the canter, raises the head imitating the trainer gestures. There is little intelligence involved in the process and once wired for imitation, the horse's brain has great difficulties processing the complex body coordination orchestrating efficiently the horse's physique for the athletic demand of the performances. The value of an educative technique is not teaching the gesture but instead, instructing the body coordination preparing efficiently the horse's physique for the gesture. Round pen techniques are teaching gestures and when the horse physique pays the price for executing movements without proper coordination of his physique, this type of imitative education hampers the horse's mental capacity to process adequate body coordination.

 

James Rooney wrote, "A major cause of lameness is lameness." A move executed without adequate body coordination induces abnormal stresses on limbs joints or back structures. Over a period of time, repetitive abnormal stresses cause injury. The best therapy is of course correcting the kinematics abnormality inducing abnormal stress. This is one application of the science of motion. Such education engages the horse's intelligence. The horse's mind is always under two contradictory influences. One is explorative, the other is conservative. In spite of a large size and weight, a horse cans run faster and further than most of his predators. In order to overcome the contradiction between speed and weight, nature created sophisticated adaptations such as small muscles and long tendons. The  distal limb of the horse has been shown to function like a pogo stick, storing and returning energy in long, spring-like tendons throughout the gait cycle (Biewener, 1998; Wilson et al., 2001). Down to the filaments composing the connective tissue inside the muscle belly, the horse's physique is a model of energy saving and recycling energy. This aspect of the horse's physiology as well as neurophysiology is working in our favor. Asked the right question, the horse's brain looks for the most efficient possible response.

 

The other aspect of the horse's mental processing works against proper coordination. The horse lives in the moment. He instinctively protects muscle imbalance, or morphological flew, or protective reflex contraction or other issue. Basically, a horse protects a problem or a memory instead of working it. The horse's initial reaction is always executing the move protecting his physical condition or bad memories. This aspect of the horse's mental processing works against sound education and when the training technique does not address specifically the horse's issue, the horse executes the move protecting his physical handicap or bad habit. If for instance, the horse does have an inverted rotation of the thoracic vertebrae, which is very common, he will have difficulties bending in one direction. He will lean more toward the inside of the bend, or he will shift the croup toward the outside or other solution that the horse's mind will have imagine in order to protect his condition. Training techniques which believe that a circle does bend the horse are very na�ve. So are training techniques which limit the rider's task to the studious application of the correct aids. The horse will initially respond to the "correct aids" protecting his physical condition or bad habit. Mimicking the trainer lifting her knees in the round pen, the horse does not perform the "passage." Instead, the horse is a dysfunctional athlete executing a pantomime for which his physique is improperly coordinated. Even greater are the damages created in the horse's mental processing. Wired for imitation and gestures, the horse's brain will have great difficulties focusing on the body coordination optimally adapted to the athletic demand of the performance.     

 

I saw recently several cases where the physical damages caused by this type of round pen work could have been easily corrected addressing the vertebral column dysfunction leading to the limb 'injury, but the horse's mind was wired for imitation and not capable of thinking about properly coordinating his vertebral column mechanism. One of the cases exhibited stifle lameness. The horse mimicked the handler. When the handler cantered next to the horse, the horse picked up the canter. When the handler trotted, the horse trotted too. When the handler lifted her knees, the horse executed a pseudo passage. It was a parody of passage. The horse lifted the knees but the back was arched and contracted and the hind legs did not increase their decelerating activity. Basically, it was circus tricks.

 

What I saw right away was a problem with the right stifle. The horse's owner was aware of the problem and asked for a gymnastic program that could fix the problem. In itself, the stifle problem would not have been very difficult to fix, but this type of training exposed then its irreversible damages. The handler was hoping that with her "advanced" round pen type of training, the in hand reeducation would be easy. The bad effect of teaching to the horse to do tricks without educating properly the physique for the athletic demand of the performance was the cause of the stifle problem and the fact that the horse was trained to execute all kind of moves without learning how orchestrating properly his physique compromised the reeducation through in hand work. Whatever the woman was doing, the horse executed one of the moves that he knew. I suggested that she tries riding the horse hoping that the horse's memories would not translate too much the tricks that he had learn in the round pen with the riding situation. Effectively, the horse's mind was less focused on executing all kind of moves once under the saddle. However, as soon as the horse recognized the movement, shoulder in, or half pass, or canter departure, the horse executed the move as he learned with this type of training and therefore, the horse remained dysfunctional further hurting himself.   

 

Since centuries great masters have warned against what they refer to as the false practice. "Unfortunately, it is definitively much easier to turn to false practice than to achieve what is correct." (Fran�ois Robichon de la Gueriniere, Ecole de Cavalerie, 1731)  The question is, WHAT IS CORRECT? Classical trainers think that they are correct. Competitive riders believe that they are correct. The German school thinks that it is the only correct way, so does the British, French or Spanish school. They all miss the point. What is correct is the ability of educating and coordinating efficiently the horse's physique for the athletic demand of the performance and since knowledge of the equine physiology evolves, "what is correct" does evolve. In terms of collection for instance, "what was correct" fifty years ago is archaic in the light of new knowledge.

 

Through better understanding of the horse's gaits and performances, we can correctly develop and coordinate the horse's physique for the effort. Prior to Fran�ois Baucher, classical masters regarded the flying change as a difficult performance. Executing the flying change in the balance required for the "levade," is effectively difficult. Baucher understood that working the horse into a more horizontal balance rendered the flying change easier for the horse. Thanks to his faculty to regard dressage movements in respect of their physical challenge instead of simply the gesture, Baucher was the first to perform the tempi-changes. The ones who refer about themselves as Baucherist, do not truly understand Baucher. They talk about flexion of the jaws because it does not require any skill to move the hands, but they miss the master's true teaching. Baucher was indeed a precursor in many aspects but the most important part of his work is the ability to prepare efficiently the horse's physique for the athletic demand of the performance. With greater knowledge of the horse's physique, the ability to create a functional athlete is much greater today than it was before and training techniques promoting the education of gestures without focusing on the coordination of the athlete's physique precisely adapted to the nature of the effort are truly a return to the dark ages.

 

 

 

READ ON

 

Jean Luc 

 

 

When you enter the IHTC, you feel that you are one century ahead of all other programs. But when you realize that the IHTC program is about the practical application of actual knowledge, you take conscience that the other programs are indeed, one century behind. 

ITHC3 addresses the long and low theory from the perspective of the limbs kinematics. The study outlines the picture of a horse working long and low, which, according to the trainer shows that the horse reaches with the neck and swings the back. The study compares limbs kinematics of the horse working long and low with limbs kinematics or normal horses. The kinematics abnormalities resulting from the lowering of the neck are identified and potential injuries resulting from these kinematics abnormalities are clearly explained. 

The demonstration is impeccable, highly educative, entertaining and humoristic. IHTC3 opens a perspective that no one ever addressed before. At the end of the DVD one might think, I which I knew all that before I submitted my horse to such training system. This why the IHTC imposes itself as the "must have" education program. The course may save you from ineffective training techniques and save your horse from career ending injury. The IHTC is about understanding the horse's physique, how to better prepare the horse's physique for the athletic demands of modern performances and how advanced scientific discoveries can be applied.

 

The IHTC approaches your education from three different angles, biomechanics, practical application, and cases studies. The cases studies demonstrate how reeducations are achieved addressing the root causes of abnormal stresses. The main course, the practical application working in hand and/or riding the horse, familiarizes you with advanced concept, demonstrating that these advanced concepts are not out of reach but instead, are easily understandable with concentration and ethic. The word ethic is used in reference to the fact that the horse will suffer if we don't have a sound understanding of the horse's functional anatomy and therefore, the ability to prepare the horse's physique for the athletic demand of the performance. This education is the task of the biomechanical study presented with each installment.

 

A few testimonials from IHTC group members:

 

 

Hi Everyone, I just want to welcome all the newcomers and say to you..you are lucky and on a good path...you are on a journey...it's of trip of no return because once you know what you didn't know before, you can't go back. Gone are the days of...(excuse me for being rude) "Yank and Spank"(old style of half-halt),gone are the days of "marching your horse forward at a quick walk" , gone are the spurs, the running your horse around on a lunge to get the "kicks" out, the driving seat, the squeezing of the hands, holding the whip with a closed hand,the heels driving down, the kicking with the legs, the trotting around to "warm up", the inside leg to outside rein, the leg yield, the carrot stretches, the long and low neck and head to "stretch and relax" the horse's back, the pulling of the front legs to adjust the girth area, the Spanish Walk,hock injections.....there are sooo many other things you can do for and with your horse that you will learn from IHTC. ..such as slowing the walk, having the horse light in your hand whether on his back or by his side, feeling a connection not based on dominance and control but a partnership, not being afraid of what the horse might do but feeling what the horse IS doing right at that moment...learning to live in the moment..just as the horse does...not using driving aids and creating stress on the hocks, understanding what is causing lameness and how to correct it,...mindful and bonding exercises vs stall rest..there is sooo much to IHTC...don't be afraid to ask questions..I've asked the same ones. JC always gives great explanations...there is no question he has not been able to answer for me as he is a master at what he does...This is a wonderful group of very supportive people. It makes me happy to see so many new members...because that means more happy horses out there. :))) Brenda N

Susan Hopf This is so very true - cannot state it any better. SOM and IHTC is the future of horsemanship - available right now.
 

 

Since Helyn sometimes shares conversations from the IHTC (In Hand Therapy Course) FB group I thought I would let all those interested in SOM and Jean Luc's work know just how much the course has done for me, my horses, my students and their horses. Having a true understanding of how the horse functions makes working with these grand beasties so much easier. The course work itself is complex but JL's complete knowledge and understanding of all subjects presented allows him to impart the science with clear and accessible language. The materials are well documented with diagrams, videos and photographs. The FB group is an amazing bonus as those taking the course write in and discuss their progress and questions. Since beginning this course I no longer have to doubt whether my training is correct - getting to know the horse's body and mind leaves all doubt behind and with JL's continued support every horse I work with improves. My students begin and end their lessons with wide-eyed wonder as they accomplish much with very little effort. This is not to say that the work is easy but it is much easier than applying a system of aids that don't really work but create compliance from our horses due to their very generous natures. The compensations created with antiquated training melt away and the horses regain new found comfort and soundness. Worth every penny and without question the future of horsemanship available today.Susan H. 

 

Wow.  There's just so much to talk with you about in regard to the In Hand Therapy Course...

I guess to answer your first question, yes, I use the information every single time I work with my horse.  Or other horses for that matter.  The depth of the material is amazing...

 

Let me back track a little to give you a better understanding...

I began riding 35 years ago.  I became a massage therapist almost 15 years ago.  -I'm a licensed massage therapist and my practice revolves around massage therapy for both horses and horsemen.  I'm an equine veterinary technician and I've been blessed with the  good fortune of working with some of the best equine sports medicine veterinarians in the country.  Continuing education is incredibly important to me. Once a year, almost every year for the past 15 or so years, I've traveled across the country searching for the best, most up to date courses on equine anatomy, physiology, sports medicine & rehabilitation, saddle fitting, etc. etc.

The area I live in has a fairly high population of professional horsemen from a wide range of disciplines.-From flat racing and steeplechase to polo, carriage driving, eventers, dressage, etc.  We even have a few eventers who are veterans of the Olympic Team.  -As you can imagine, there's no shortage of options for clinics and lessons.

 

Trust me, the only reason I'm telling you all this is to point out the fact that I've done my homework in regard to my choice to study with Jean Luc.

 

This calibre of education is very, very difficult to find.  Yes you can certainly find pearls of wisdom

with various horsemen and/or veterinarians.  But as I said, the depth and the quality of education Jean Luc is offering is priceless.  I've been trying to find a program like this for years.  You'd be hard pressed to find someone who not only understands anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and equine psychology as well as he does BUT ALSO has a gift for teaching and sharing it.  AND has the career riding experiences that he has.

 

As I mentioned, there are numerous riding instructors in my area.  And again, very, very few of them can train a horse, especially to the higher levels and keep the horse happy and sound.  That's honestly what I love the most about studying with Jean Luc.  As a vet tech and a massage therapist, I can't tell you how often I hear clients talking about joint injections.  It's almost a given that horses who are competing end up having their hocks and stifles injected.  That's just not a path I want to travel with my horse.  -Too often as a massage therapist I have felt the muscular strain and fatigue that's the "accepted" result of many training programs.  I was looking for a much more educated approach...an approach that would offer a stronger, healthier horse.  I wanted a training philosophy I could feel confident in passing along to my clients.  I want to be helpful to them and to their horses in offering rehabilitation options if they do have injuries. -I'm guessing you've either met or seen photos of the Cornille's horse, Chazot?  -take a look at the muscular development from the time he left the race track and first arrived at their farm to the way he's built and carries himself today.Those pictures will tell you alot.

 

Yes, I've been to numerous clinics that Jean Luc has taught here in Pennsylvania and I've traveled to Georgia for I believe the 3rd Immersion Clinic.

 

In fact, we're in the processing of organizing another clinic here in PA, hopefully early this spring.  The information is certainly not difficult to understand.  -You do need to be open to the fact that many of the training philosophies we were taught as young riders has been proven to simplynot be true.  You're going to learn new concepts.  If you're going to attend an Immersion Clinic, depending on how confident you are in equine anatomy, I would suggest brushing up on it before you go.  There's alot of information presented throughout the weekend and it will be much easier to absorb and process if anatomy is second nature.

But seriously, there is no need to take my word for any of this.  Spend some time riding with Jean Luc.  Your horse will tell you he's happy.

And your horse should have the final say!

Kindest regards and very best of luck to you!

D.P

 

Most of those of us currently enrolled would be considered the freshman class. We are the Beta version, hence the current cost. I am an Equine Therapist, so for me the concentration is on performing the work in hand, as compared to the riders in the group who will focus on the work from in the saddle. The science of equine  motion is the same regardless.  We have a group on facebook which serves as both a forum and support group. The variety of questions is great because other people are always coming up with things you might not think of and that broadens the experience. Some of us have become regular friends on facebook as well, so that we can chat outside of the forum. We all keep an eye out for when Jean Luc is doing a clinic in our area so we can see the well spring of SOM in action. For me it is not easy and I have seen some of the DVD's multiple times and still go back to them. It is rewarding though, when you go back and realize how much more you see. What is really amazing though is the way you begin to experience seeing a horse. It is kind of funny when you see a horse standing there and you find yourself thinking, move already so I can see what kind of horse you are. I am not a rider, but even I can watch someone bouncing all over the place at the trot  and wonder when the horse is going to go lame, because I see it as a biomechanical issue. LW

 

 

Hello, As a recent graduate of veterinary school at the ripe age of 52, I just wanted to comment on science of motion. I went to veterinary college specifically looking for the sort of approach you have developed for rehabilitating horses and for preventing injury in the first place. It is what I imagined doing as veterinarian. For four years as a student I looked for someone would even acknowledge that such an approach was possible let alone had any idea how to go about it. Helping a friend recently trying to rehab a horse with an SI dysfunction led me randomly on a search that allowed me to discover scienceofmotion. Speaking as a veterinarian and lover of horses, I am so thankful that you have dedicated your lives to creating this body of information and are willing to share it with the world. Best wishes, Dr. Timothy Rogers DVM

 

Welcome, and we thought we were on to something with the immersion clinics, IHTC adds a new dimension. If immersion brought technicolor to your world with horses get ready for surround sound and 3D. Louis Wild

 

The first month's packet is wonderful as it is going even deeper into the knowledge needed to really understand the kematics of the horse. I have even found that studying it, I can look up scientific articles describing the way muscles work which help me to start to grasp the whole concept.

 

The more I see and learn, the more I am convinced that this is the only way to truly help the rider help the horse. They are the ones that have constant contact with the horse and in order to try and show them this true way, one must have an indisputable knowledge of the scientific facts regarding the horses biomechanics. The In Hand Therapy seems the best way to help the rider help the horse. Rosemary Crowley

 

 

Sound locomotion demands precise coordination between forward swing of the hind limb around the hip joint and dorso-ventral rotation of the pelvis. In his quantitative study on Swedish Warmbloods comparing back and limbs kinematics of good and bad movers, Mikael Holmstr�m observed greater pelvis rotation on above average movers. "The undulation of the pelvis was larger in the horses with good trot and increased in passage." 

The hind limbs and the pelvis have to move in the same direction. When the hind limb swings forward, the pelvis rotates dorso-ventrally. When the hind leg moves backward into the pushing phase, the pelvis returns into a more horizontal position. Pelvis and limb movements are proportional but soundness demands their precise synchronization. The problem is that it is possible through whip or spurs to create deeper engagement of the hind leg without adequate pelvis rotation. The kinematics abnormality places the horse at risk of stifle problems and sacroiliac strain. 

A horse engaging the hind legs without using the vertebral column properly will further the forward rotation of the femur around the hip joint. While rotating around the hip joint, the femur undergoes simultaneously an inward rotation around the tibia. This rotary movement of the femur occurs toward the outside, (medial-to-lateral,) during the swing phase and toward the inside, (lateral-to-medial,) during the support phase.

As the protracting hind leg swings forward, the stifle extends and the usual medial-to-lateral rotation occurs. "If the extension is carried on beyond about 143-145�, there is a final lateral-to-medial twist, which rotates the patella medially and hooks the medial patellar ligament over the medial ridge of the femoral trochlea. The stifle is "locked" and flexion prevented." (James R, Rooney, Biomechanics of lameness in horses, 1968) This is the mechanism of accidental locking of the patella. 
That you can witness on this document. The stifle is locked so the hock is locked as well as the fetlock. The horse impacts on the toes and the limb remains rigid like a stick. 

To unlock the stifle, the quadriceps muscle contracts, lifting the patella as the biceps contracts, pulling the patella laterally. The horse's quick reflex contractions prevent accidental locking of the patella but induce stride after stride of abnormal stresses on the joint. 

---- At the canter, both hind legs swing forward simultaneously. The canter is therefore a gait where the pelvic and sacrum rotate dorso-ventrally around the lumbosacral articulation. 
Jean Luc Cornille (Excerpt from IHTC3)

The Science of Motion training program is restoring soundness and competitive skill even when other approaches have failed. Shelly had a chronic case of Sacroiliac Joint. She was lame with the right hind leg and responded positive to all tests at the exception of pressure on the tuber coxal. Shelly owes her full recovery to the determination and intuition of her owner Julie. Julie Reich did not believe the advises of numerous professionals telling her that the mare had no physical issue, "It's in her head." Of course not it was not in her head. The problem was an inverted rotation of the thoracic spine which placed the thoracolumbar column and therefore sacrum and pelvis in the wrong alignment in relation to the direction of the motion. Consequently, repetitive abnormal stresses were induced on the sacroiliac joint and the joints' stabilizing mechanism worked dysfunctional inducing protective reflex contractions and pain.

Shelly is now sound, calm, cooperative and scheduled to go back home in two weeks. Julie spent a full week at the center learning how to ride her newly sound horse. The experience went very well. Julie fully understood the concept and her skill allowed her to ride her horse very well. Julie is confident that she will be able to continue the horse reeducation and I agree with her. They will be reunited soon.

Mini cooper is her nick name because she is small surrounded by giants such as Chazot, Manchester, and Caesar. An accident turned her into a monster almost dangerous to handle. Victoria has been educated by a knowledgeable trainer and both knew that it was not a behavior problem. Victoria realized that the SOM approach was her horse's sole hope and decided to send her horse for reeducation. Yes it was a problem of torsion in the thoracic vertebrae that rendered mini cooper disconnected in her back. The physical pain created by the two problems triggered her reactions. One month in her reeducation, mini cooper is now sound, exploring comfortable gaits and behaving with great intelligence and kindness.

Tooey is scheduled to arrive May 12. As today, the next opening for hour training program is June first.

The horse are trained every week days and exclusively by Jean Luc. Once their education or reeducation is advanced, we encourage the rider to come and learn how to ride their new horse. When the rider feels confident that he or she will be able to carry on the recovery program, the horse goes back home. 

We only take two horses at the time as reeducation demands diligence and time. The rider has to be prepared for changes. Successful reeducation cannot be done applying the principles of riding and training that created the problem.

The monthly fee, including the rider's lessons is $2800 per month (training and boarding). We ask for a deposit of $1000.00 which cement the official reservation. The rest, $1800 is paid at the arrival of the horse. Payments can be made by check (Science of Motion LLC), or through our Paypal account.

For more information about our requirements about vaccination, worming and other issues please contact us.  Helyn@scienceofmotion.com, or 706 485 1217

Due to the limited number of availabilities, we encourage you to contact us rapidly for scheduling.

.

Often in the history of riding, experience exposes phenomenon that are not substantiated by scientific researches. During my competitive career in jumping and three day event, I used studs when the footing was unstable. Over time and involving a large number of horses, I noticed alterations of the limbs kinematics and problems with the fetlocks and even the coffin joint. It was not at this time any study substantiating my suspicion, but the observation was consistent and I became more and more reluctant about using studs. Later, I made the same observation with shoeing devices like rubber half ball, often use for snow. The rubber creates a braking action altering the kinematics of the hind and front legs when it is used in the footing of an indoor ring. Some footing creates more braking action than other. This is a personal observation. I rarely make any comment about it because this is not scientifically proved, but I feel that I can share it in the context of the IHTC under the name of experience. 

The hoof is a quite sophisticated shock absorbing mechanism. Its full function depends on two imperatives. One is the quality of the hoof balancing, which maximize efficient functioning of the hoof structure. The second essential, is the subtle education and coordination of the vertebral column mechanism which determine duration, intensity, frequency and direction of the forces induced on the hind and front limbs and therefore, absorbed by the hooves. Problems occur when the raining techniques are unable to orchestrate the horse's vertebral column mechanism and consequently the forces acting on the legs. Problems occur also when podiatrists go beyond their field of expertise. I have seen over and over horses progresses severely hampered by shoeing or trimming theories that were based on the hoof structure and alignment of the distal bony column but unrelated to horse's overall body movements and in particular the relation between vertebral column mechanism and limbs kinematics.

In 1980 Leo Jeffcott wrote, "The biomechanics of the vertebral column, although very complex are of vital importance because they form the basis of all body movements." Nobody really understood the importance of Jeffcott's statement; not the equestrian world and not the veterinary world. Direction, intensity and frequency of the forces acting on the hind and front limbs, and therefore proper or abnormal kinematics, originate primarily from the work of the thoracolumbar column's muscles. Conventional equitation only permits elementary control of the horse's back muscles. At the contrary, an equitation updated to actual knowledge of the equine vertebral column mechanism, allows subtle orchestration of the main back muscles. We refer to this equitation as the Science of Motion because it is a science opening totally new perspective in terms of athletic performances and therapies.

Conventional equitation leads the horse to injuries because modern as well as classical views do not prepare efficiently the horse's physique for the athletic demands of the performances. At the contrary, focusing on muscular development and coordination specifically adapted to the effort's specific demand, allows the equine athlete to perform at the top of his talent while remaining sound. The application to therapy is quite obvious. Most injuries are the outcome of repetitive abnormal stresses. Injecting the hocks only help the hocks' joints dealing with abnormal stress. The therapy is only a band aid as long as a more complete therapy, the science of motion, identifies and corrects the root cause of abnormal stresses.

Science Of Motion/Jean Luc Cornille

 

Chazot Speaks

Activating the horse's hind or front limbs with a dressage whip or a bamboo pole is like teaching passage trotting a horse in shallow water. The horse will lift the knees and the hocks giving to illiterate the illusion of passage. The horse will also arch the back disconnecting limbs kinematics and vertebral column mechanism. Instead of a performance sublimating the horse's athletic abilities through sophisticated coordination of his physique, the move became a dysfunctional gesture degrading the horse's talent and exposing the horse's physique to abnormal stress and consequent injuries. The danger of not knowing was already hampering equine performances at the birth of classical training. Fran�ois Robichon de la Gueriniere, (1688-1751) regarded lack of knowledge as " the main reason for the small number of well-trained horses and the lack of ability presently seen in the majority of those people who call themselves horsemen."   

La Gueriniere also distinguished athletic achievements executed with, "ease, balance and grace that are the properties of the good horseman and the result of extensive progressive study of the science," from dysfunctional imitations where the horse executes the move but is not adequately coordinated and developed for the physical demand of the performance. For centuries, the aim of academic equitation has been restoring the ease balance and grace that the horse possessed before the addition of the rider's weight. At la Gueriniere's �poque, scientific knowledge was at its infancy and training techniques attempted preparing the horse for unnatural situation, carrying a rider, through the refinement of natural reflexes. With greater knowledge, it became apparent that the rider's weight was more disturbing than previously believed and that the horse's vertebral column mechanism as well as limbs kinematics adapted to the burden of the rider's weight. The problem is that the horse's adaptation is very likely to be incorrect exposing the horse to abnormal stresses and consequent injuries. The reason is the discord between the search for comfort and the power of old habits that is conflicting in the horse's brain.

Click to enlarge

"When we want to believe a proposition, we ask, 'Can I believe it?' and we look only for evidence that the proposition might be true. If we find a single piece of evidence then we are done. We stop. We have a reason we can trot out to support our belief. But if we don't want to believe a proposition, we ask. 'Must I believe it?' and we look for an escape hatch, a single reason why maybe, just maybe, the proposition is false."(Tom Gilovitch)

As well, a horse trots around the training ring with the neck high or low or overly flexed because the rider or the trainer or both have found in classical or modern literature a single piece of evidence that supports their belief. Contemporary with classic equestrian authors, the Marquis of Condorcet (1745-1794) believed that the study of anatomy was already completed. Modern science exposes the naivety of Condorcet's idea and scientific research appears to be the safe reference. After all, Linus Paulin describes fundamental principles of scientific research, analysis of cause to effect, factual documentation of test hypothesis, as "the search for truth." (Linus Pauling, 1954 Nobel Price in Chemistry)

Yet, scientific researches are conceived and executed by human been and therefore, investigations and findings are influenced by human nature. For instance, in their etiology of navicular syndrome, Roy Pool, Dennis Maegher and Susan Stover wrote, "Various theories proposing different specific causes for navicular syndrome generally reflect the particular bias or investigative technique of the proponent." (Roy R. Pool, DVM PhD, Dennis M. Maegher, DVM PhD, Susan M. Stover, DVM, PhD, Pathophysiology of Navicular Syndrome. Veterinary Clinics of North America. Equine Practice - Vol5, No 1, April 1989)

Both, scientific discoveries and never the less, the practical application of scientific findings, are subjected to our intuitive judgment. If we want to believe that scientific conclusions are accrediting the pyramid of training, we will find a single piece of evidence or two that will satisfy our tuition. Even mental and physical abuses such as hyper-flexion of the upper neck can be supported with scientific data. As well, if we rather believe that the true is in the classic approach, we will find evidences supporting our faith. Then, and instead of beneficiating from the progresses of science, the horse will be submitted to our school of thought.Jean Luc Cornille

As you know, sometime I look in Jean Luc work picking up paragraphs that I think are interesting. This is part of a study that is going to be part of our IHTC's January installment. It is a very interesting study analyzing from the kinematics of the hind and front legs all the way to the work of the back and upper neck muscles, how the horse's body deals with the lowering of the neck and consequent increased load on the forelegs. 

This is the silhouette of a horse working long and low. This is not an exaggeration. This is the exact copy of a picture extracted from a video promoting the lowering of the neck. The author sees a horse reaching with the neck and swinging the back. This opinion is far removed from reality. If we analyze the horse locomotor mechanism from the alighting hind leg to the muscles involve in the lowering of the neck, we see a totally different picture. In fact a very damaging picture will surface. We start here with the kinematics of the alighting hind leg.

The horse is at the trot going into the fly period before landing on the right diagonal, (left hind leg and right foreleg). The left front leg is still carrying a lot of weight, which is not surprising considering the orientation of the horse's body. The horse is heavily on the forehand and consequently the horse has to adapt the kinematics of the hind and front legs to such imbalance on the forelegs. For comparison, we place the picture of a horse working at a normal balance.

 

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Jean Luc's competitive career is as distinguished as it is diversified. Competing at national and international levels in dressage, steeplechase, stadium jumping and three-day events, he has won extensively in all specialties collecting several gold, silver and bronze medals. Notably, Jean Luc won the individual and team gold medal at the military world championship of Fontainebleau in 1975. In 1971, he won silver at the world championship of Punchestown. The following year, he was member of the winning team at Bokello. However, Jean Luc feels that his greatest success lies in his ability to intuit the physical and mental condition of each horse the day after their victories.

 

A 1968 graduate of the Equestrian Military School, Le Cadre Noir de Saumur, Jean Luc received intensive training from Joseph Neckerman, Willy Schulteis and Hans Gunter Winkler. In 1972 and 1976, respectively, he worked closely with Michel Cochenet to prepare two Olympic teams for the national three-day event. Margit Otto Crepin, the French and Olympic Champion, is one of Jean Luc's most prominent dressage students.