“There is a better way.” Painting from Elzbieta Jezewska.

twitter facebook google pinterest
linkedin

Elzbieta is also a talented rider and a member of the Science of Motion®. Once one has evolved from the equitation of gestures (aids), creating a dysfunctional horse that executes movements for which his body is not athletically prepared, to an equitation of subtle nuances in muscle tone, (tensegrity) which then creates the body coordination optimally adapted for the athletic demand of the move, you then understand that the riders depicted in the painting are black reminiscences of the dark age.

There is a better way. Each horse as well as each rider is different. There is not one neck posture that will have the same effect on different horses. As well, there is not one rider position that will fit everyone’s physique. The rider position is a blue print, an approximate description to guide each rider toward his or her own integrity and neutral balance. By freezing riders in the “correct posture”, deep seat, high cantle and oversized thigh block saddles hamper subtle communication with the horse.  As well, forcing the horse’s neck into a given posture alters proper function of the horse thoracolumbar spine. 

Paraphrasing Dennis Overbye, “The joy of physics isn’t in the results, but in the search itself.” The joy of riding and the beauty of the equestrian art is not in stealing a blue ribbon out of a talented but dysfunctional horse. The joy of riding and the art of the equestrian endeavor should and can be found in creating the body coordination that allows the horse to perform at ease, soundly and at his or her utmost potential.

“Premier athletes can be dysfunctional. In fact, many of the most gifted athletes are incredibly dysfunctional…The potential benefits of innovative techniques, advanced technology and new training methods cannot -and do not- compensate for dysfunctional athletes’ inability to perform to their fullest potential.” (Pete Egoscue, Pain Free Thru Motion) Judging standards reward dysfunction as they only view the appearances. They are not aware of the underlying biomechanics factors. To win in a show judging criteria have to be known as they define the way movements have to be presented in the ring. They are not by any means a valuable training technique. Premium athletes, humans or equines, will naturally be dysfunctional. They will perform out of their talent protecting whatever muscle imbalance, morphological flaw or other issue that can be presumed as their “body state.” The aim of a better training approach is to develop and coordinate optimally the horse physique for the athletic demand of the performance.

The saddles that freeze the rider in a posture that does not fit the rider’s physique hamper the rider’s talent. As well, the neck postures that freeze the horse’s posture is a body alignment that does not fit the horse function. “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.”  (W. Edward Deming) Failure to upgrade riding and training principles to actual knowledge saturates the equestrian world of opinions that condemn talented horses to a career below their real potential and early lameness. “The true purpose of arts education is not necessary to create more professional dancers or artists. It’s to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who have curious minds, who can lead productive lives.” (Kelly Pollock)

In a world where politicians and human values have reached the lowest level in human history, horses can teach us the value of beauty, integrity, ethics, kindness and intelligence. Science provides the knowledge to prepare the horses for the athletic demand of the performance. Breeding programs have also given birth to horses talented enough to perform in spite of poor education. The choice is ours, exploiting their talent until lameness ends their career, or teaching them how to coordinate and use their physique efficiently.

Compared to the ephemeral and questionable glory of stealing a blue ribbon out of a talented but dysfunctional horse, the joy of leading the same talented horse to full expression and sound expression of their talent is infinitely superior. The first half of the Science of Motion’s on line education, explains how the horses’ physique effectively functions. Classical literature was based on visual impressions, experience, and the knowledge available at this time. The lines of the classical books are full of biomechanical errors, but between the lines is the wisdom, the experience that great authors have attempted to express based on the knowledge that was available to them. True classical is upgrading the wisdom of our predecessors to actual knowledge.

Balance for instance cannot be achieved shifting the weight backward. The reason is that in motion, the horses do not shift the weight backward. In collection, the weight on the hind legs does not increase. What increases is the duration of the hind legs decelerating phase, which is the sequence of the stride where the alighting hind limb resists gravity and inertia stored in tendons, fascia and even muscles, creating an elastic energy that is used during the next sequence of the stride for propulsion. Balance is then mastered by the work of the back muscles which have the capacity to convert the thrust generated by the hind leg forward through the spine into horizontal forces and upward forces. The first half of the IHTC, which is the Science of Motion online course, explains how the horse controls balance, straightness, forwardness, impulsion, etc.

The second half of the Science of Motion® course is fascinating. Each movement, from shoulder in to piaff, to tempi changes, is approached placing in parallel the view of classical authors and how actual understanding of equine dynamics and biokinematics view the same movement. Wisdom and science are then working together to better train better horses.

Dressage movements were originally gymnastic exercises aiming at developing and coordinating equine athletes for the athletic demand of war, urban life and art. However, even when dressage movements were gymnastic exercises preparing horses for other performances, many trainers limited their knowledge to the appearances, “making the horse do it”, instead of coordinating the horses’ physique to benefit from the gymnastic exercise. “Unfortunately, it is definitively much easier to turn to false practice than to achieve what is correct.” François Robichon de la Gueriniere, Ecole de cavalerie, 1731)

As knowledge evolves, “what is correct” evolves. Actual understanding of the athletic demand of dressage movements is far more elaborate but also efficient than the descriptions made by our ancestors. Complexity can be clearly explained; this is the aim of the Science of Motion. Complexity cannot be simplified. Indeed, simple is the leading cause of lameness. The equine biological mechanism is a marvel of complexity and understanding how to guide the horse brain toward optimum coordination of the horse physique, “what is correct”, is the real teaching of our ancestors and a joy and an intimacy with the horses that cannot be attained with the submission to the correct aids.

The Science of Motion® explains tensegrity, elastic energy, force transports, which are the new understanding of equine gaits and performances. It is empirical to teach and believe that elongating muscles enhance the amplitude of the gaits and performances. Elastic energy is stored and reused, forces are transported, fascia enhances the work of the muscles. There is an integrity of the rider and the horse body that is the essence of efficiency and soundness. This is the practical application of modern science. This is how horses can perform soundly, effortlessly and at the best of their talent.

Most riders have the skill to work at the level of subtle nuances in muscle tone, but such equitation cannot be reached integrating new knowledge to old beliefs. Riders who are ”critical thinkers”, who have curious minds, who can lead productive lives, are home at the science of motion. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, it demands courage and a touch of genius to go the other way. Many know intuitively that more forward, more weight on the bit, more etc., are all a dead end street, but the system wants them to find comfort in simplicity.  

The system wants them to believe that injecting the hocks is normal maintenance. The Science of Motion explains that identifying and correcting the source of the kinematics abnormality stressing the hocks is a more efficient and rational approach. The Science of Motion not only explains but teaches how to do it. Motion microscope therapy is a branch of the Science of Motion applying to equines the concept of exercise therapy that is successfully applied to humans. Quite obviously, the movements need to be approached not from the perspective of the judging standards but from a sound understanding of the biomechanics factors. The Science of Motion® approach to kissing spine is identifying and correcting the muscular imbalance causing dysfunction of the horse’s thoracolumbar spine and occasional contact of the dorsal spines. For the ones ready to do the work, the approach is incredibly successful but of course cannot be combined with a horse working long and low or a saddle placing the rider in a driving seat position.  

The motion needs to be studied like under the microscope, as well as how the horse executes the move. The knowledge is fascinating and the practical application of new knowledge is even more fascinating. The base of the neck of the horse in the front part of Elzbieta’s painting is well developed and oriented. The necks of the horses in the dark age are constrained and poor. There is a better way and we have created a course allowing anyone committed to the horse to better train better horses.

Jean Luc Cornille

Thoroughbred---Thoroughbred---Hanoverian---Selle Français

Contact helyn@scienceofmotion.com for information on Science Of Motion® IHTC course or for the Macel Saddle.