Immersion Program
Immersion Program
A Special Place for a Special Education
Jean Luc Cornille
Eatonton Georgia
I recently had the privilege to participate in my first SOM Immersion clinic. If you haven’t been you need to go! Jean Luc has a charming way of creating a story for his listeners as he educates them on the kinomatics of the horse. His effective teaching methods and the recollections of his own past experiences while learning of the horse were utterly mesmerizing! I clearly didn’t understand what I was getting myself into! This was an encounter that I hope to experience again. I had never participated in this type of a learning community before and I didn’t know what to expect. The chance to observe another’s methods and to learn how well those methods worked and the ideas of possibility turned out to be amazing! My sheer excitement at connecting what I had previously learned through JLC’s media teachings and actually being able to evolve and grow in the presence of Jean Luc and the rest of the Immersion community was just downright awesome! I tried my best to “Educate my Eye” during the weekend and wondered how could I learn all of what Jean Luc was teaching? On the flight home I realized that I had attained a higher level of observation while I was there! Thank you Jean Luc, Helyn and to all of the Immersion 6 group. Tammy Payne
Some thoughts on the Immersion experience. It has been my good fortune to attend several of the Immersion Clinics. Thinking about them puts me in mind of what my major professor told me in preparation to be his T.A. on a series of environmental field trips. Everybody will be focused on the destination and what is going on with them. Hopefully they will notice on the way, not everything outside the window looks the same. Maybe they will notice the trees. Then, not all the trees are the same. Before the next trip we will include an introduction to tree identification. On that trip they will see oaks,hickories,pines and poplars and notice they grow in different places. Then we will talk about environment and plant communities. The next trip they will "see" oaks and hickories on the ridges,pines on the flats and poplar with sychamores along the wet bottoms with the streams. The idea being that we see, learn to look and attend, ask questions, find answers, alter our perception and see more in exactly the same place next time. Each time thru the loop more insights are possible. In the Immersion Clinics we of course start with what each of us sees when a horse is in motion or interacting with a person and go from there. The only thing that I would add to that, is John Luc would insist that we get off the well traveled road, stop the bus and get out and walk in those woods.Louis Wild
Video of Immersion 6 end of last day a discussion
35% Discount for Vet Students
Contact helyn@scienceofmotion
Immersion 6
Friday May 25 th , Saturday May 26 th and Sunday May 27th
Immersion 5, (February 17, 18, 19, 2012) marked the unity and maturity of an exceptional team. Dr. Betsy Uhl, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Mike Gallagher (Farrier), Dan Burle from Equine Tec and Jean Luc Cornille. The three days turned into advanced discussions that continued to educate and delight the participants.
Lucien Cary wrote, “When it is not necessary to change, it is not necessary to change.” So we keep the same team but approach new subjects for Immersion 6.
Friday May 25th,
Sculpting a Beautiful Horse
The ability of the artist to express the beauty of the human form is predicated on a profound study of the science of anatomy. (Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519)
The horse’s muscular development is an open window to the quality of the training approach. The needed knowledge is functional anatomy and not simply where the muscles are but how they function and above all how they can be developed. On a large TV screen, you will see where the main limb and back muscles are situated. We start with a picture of the horse and then peel back, layer by layer, to expose the most important muscles. In the training ring you will learn how the muscles are developed and coordinated through educated motion. Immersion is a program designed to further knowledge and efficacy of both riders and therapists. The demonstration will therefore be done mounted for the riders and working in hand for the therapists.
Saturday May 26th, two workshops running simultaneously.,
(Work in Hand, Beginner to Advance) Therapy Through Motion &
Gait Analysis for Better Shoeing.
Therapy Through Motion (Work in Hand)
Helyn and Jean Luc Cornille
Educated motion is a new form of therapy recreating, in motion, the therapeutic manipulations typically executed on standing horses. The study in the classroom explains how the Therapy Through Motion furthers the benefits of those standing therapies. A muscle never works alone. For each contraction there are compensatory contractions, muscles that stabilize the joints, others who redirect forces and so on. The same muscle can produce forces in different directions. According to the length of its fascicles or the percentage of its elastic elements a muscle may work better at the walk or at the trot. Educated motion allows proper work and coordination of a targeted muscle group but in their real context; which is in conjunction with the simultaneous work of all of the other muscles. For example, the biceps femoris is the only pelvic limb muscle with substantial elastic elements. A slow trot may target the muscle more efficiently than the walk. The semimembranosus is an adductor, therefore, a gymnastic exercise focussing on simulatenous propulsion and adduction of the hind leg should target the semimembranosus over the two other muscles of the hamstring, which, at the contrary, are abductors.
The practice is made on three horses, working at three different levels:
Beginner: Arpege, (Thoroughbred and Chazot’s mother).
Intermediate: Caesar, (Selle Français).
Advanced: Manchester, (Hannovarian).
We can also define the horses by size; small, medium and large.
Saturday May 26th (and running simultaneously with above.
Gait Analysis for Better Shoeing.
Equine Tec & Mike Gallagher
Equine Tec (Dan Burle and his team) created a fantastic gait analysis program. Their vision was to create a program that is accurate, easy to use and affordable and they succeeded.
Mike Gallagher is an experienced farrier who is using the program. Together Mike and the team of Equine Tec are going to demonstrate and explain how advanced analysis of impact, brake over and push off can greatly enhance the accuracy of the farrier work and subsequently the horse’s ability to perform at its utmost potential while remaining sound.
Participating horses will be observed and analyzed by Mike and Dan and their findings discussed.
Sunday May 27th Building muscles: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Betsy Uhl, DVM, PhD, DipACVP
Extensive knowledge, superb presentation, outstanding illustrations are the trade mark of Betsy’s discussions. Betsy is going to bring you inside the muscles, how the cells work, how they transmit forces through connective tissues, how they act on the bone structure and what happens when things can go wrong.
As a veterinary pathologist, she is aware of the latest discoveries about muscle structure, function and disease, and has the talent to make advanced scientific discoveries easy to understand. Her collaboration with Jean Luc has enabled the muscular skeletal changes and lesions observed on the necropsy floor to be correlated with how the horse actually moves, which has rarely been done.
At the end of the day, Betsy, Mike, Dan and Jean Luc will engage a conversation combining gait analysis technology, correct or corrective shoeing and the influence of hoof balance on gait kinematics, bone and muscular development and pathology.
Report on Immersion 5
At the close of (almost) each Olympic event, the then president of the Olympic committee declares the last event as the best Olympics ever. This does not mean that the previous Olympics were bad, but celebrates, instead, the progress made by the athletes as well as the organization of the event. We can say that Immersion 5, which was held February 17, 18 and 19, 2012, was the best ever. The choice of the subjects, the knowledge and enthusiasm of the speakers and the participation of the auditors was so great that as the event came to its end we found that everyone seemed quite reluctant to depart. Immersions are a very unique journey and so it was destined to continue.
Dr. Betsy Uhl, once again enlightened the group with a highly informative discussion on Navicular Syndrome. Betsy’s research on the history of this disease uncovered pertinent findings. The disease appeared in the 17th century when they started to pave the roads. Already in the 17th century, veterinarians were practicing neurectomy. Betsy and Jean Luc are currently working on a DVD about Navicular syndrome. From the causes to the cure the Navicular Syndrome video is promising to be a complete revolution on prevention and treatment.
Mike Gallagher was brilliant as a speaker and educator. He has extensive experience on shoeing for performance and shoeing for soundness. Mike is knowledgeable and secure enough to admit that much of what was once thought to be so is no longer correct. His knowledge and his stamina fill up the mind of each participant creating a unique atmosphere in the conference room. One of the questions involving limb kinematics obliged Mike to ask Jean Luc to enter the discussion and they bounced together from one idea to the other for the delight of the participants.
Jean Luc approached a very real issue, SI (sacroiliac injuries). The discussion explained in detail anatomy and function of the sacroiliac joint exposing pertinent facts. The Sacroiliac joint is stabilized by a strong system of ligaments. The ligaments are situated above, below, ahead, behind and in between the joint. On these ligaments are inserted muscles that are involved in the hind legs’ decelerating and propulsive activity, as well as forward transmission of the thrust generated by the hind legs through the thoracolumbar spine. Stability or instability of the sacroiliac joint is related to proper or improper coordination of the horse’s whole physique. A very detailed transcript of the lecture was given to the participants. They also had the opportunity to manipulate a pelvis and sacrum feeling how the sacroiliac joint transmit forces and can be stable or unstable. Clearly, the opportunity to manipulate the sacroiliac joint helped each auditor to fully understand how the SI J does function. This prompted Jean Luc to rewrite the whole transcript adding more pictures and details for the ones who do not have the opportunity to be here for the Immersion. The DVD “SIJ” for sacroiliac joint is now ready and has become a very large and outstanding document.
There is no doubt that Immersion 6 will be the best Immersion ever. We keep the same team and approach very pertinent subjects. We have created Immersion to further the knowledge provided in the context of clinics. The program is now offering knowledge and information that cannot be found anywhere else. Instead of losing time and money in the show ring, receiving uneducated information from antiquated judging standards, spend the weekend with us. Your horse will greatly appreciate your new knowledge.
Register for IMMERSION 6
REGISTER HERE
Feb 17th, 18th and 19th 2012
Prices are $225.00 per day
Immersion 5
Friday February 17th Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th
Biomechanics of SI Injuries
At the 19th century, the Prussian cavalry elevated the horses’ head and neck completely. The experiment lasted a few decades and was then abandoned. The untold story is that the total elevation of the horses’ neck engendered an alarming level of back injuries. Today, an equally alarming level of sacroiliac injuries is affecting modern horses. Would it be possible that rushing the horse forward onto a low neck posture could induce Sacroiliac strain?
Friday February 17th is SI Day.
Sacroiliac strains result in most instances from repetitive abnormal stresses.
In the class room, manipulating the skeletons, and working the horses in hand or under the saddle, Jean Luc is going to guide you through;
- Understanding the kinematics abnormalities inducing dangerous stresses,
- Feeling or identifying visually the kinematics abnormalities leading to SI problems.
- Learning how to correct or avoid these kinematics abnormalities.
Saturday February 18th is Horse Shoeing Day.
Everyone knows the terminology, break over, egg-bar shoes, medio-lateral balance, clips, etc. Do you know that different techniques can be applied for each one of these shoeing peculiarities? Would you like to know how each technique does influence the hoof capsule? What about a full day with an experienced farrier willing to explain?
Mike Gallagher has spent decades on the shoeing stand of the show ring making time after time, the miracles allowing doubtful horses to perform well in their next class. The miracles are in fact shoeing techniques modifying the dynamics involved in the hoof and lower leg. When Mike meet Jean Luc he was delighted to have, from the perspective of the horse limbs’ kinematics and explanation of what he was doing out of intuition, skill, and experience.
Mike will explain you the break over phenomenon from the shoer perspective. Jean Luc will explain at which instant of the stride the break over occur and how longer toe or too short toe might disrupt the horse’s capacity to push off.
Shoeing is the platform of proper movement. However kinematics peculiarities demands specific adaptations of the shoeing technique. For instance, Mike will explain the dynamics of egg-bar shoes, Jean Luc will explain why some kinematics peculiarities cannot deal with egg-bar shoes. For once a horse shoer and a trainer can sustain simple as well as highly technical discussions staying in their own field of knowledge and respecting each other expertise.
Mike and Jean Luc have developed a strong friendship. The only field where they compete all the time is humor.
Sunday February 19th is Navicular Syndrome Day
Betsy Uhl, DVM, PhD, dip, is inviting you inside the navicular bone. In her brilliant previous presentation, (Immersion 4) Betsy emphasized the fact that instead of focusing on the cartilages, one should focus on abnormal stresses on the bones. More and more, studies demonstrate that lesions appear on the bones before altering the cartilages.
With Immersion 5, Betsy is furthering the discussion by showing how the inside of the distal sesamoid bone deteriorate before lesions appears on the surface, creating navicular disease. Abnormal stresses are the root cause of navicular syndrome and the best prevention as well as the best therapy is an equitation and training technique focusing on creating proper kinematics. The purity of the gait has always been Great authors’ focus. However, the purity of the gait have been distorted by judging standards evolving further and further away from the horse’s biological mechanism. The truth lies in the horse’s physiology, the knowledge of which evolves constantly. With an advanced specialist such as Betsy, one does have the opportunity to learn the horse’s physique effectively functions.
As a rider with classical training Betsy has learned to feel the difference between proper and improper movement. As a Pathologist, Betsy has the opportunity to study pathological changes created by uneducated training techniques. Betsy and Jean Luc are actively working together to understand how abnormal stresses can be prevented allowing new cells to be properly specialized and therefore, allowing the remodeling process to operate efficiently.
We have limited capacities in terms of participants. Reserve your place early.
How shoeing techniques influence limbs kinematics, how Sacroiliac Strain occurs, how Navicular Syndrome develops. Three specialists. Betsy Uhl DVM. PhD. Mike Gallagher Shoeing and Jean Luc Cornille science of motion, who appreciate each other’s competence and can discuss openly in a friendly atmosphere.
Hotels close to farm:
November 18th,19th & 20th
Immersion
(We have created the ultimate learning tool)
Providing the science behind riding and training techniques is the trademark of Jean Luc’s teaching. Clinics are successful because Jean Luc teaches how to adapt riding skills and knowledge to the horse’s peculiar needs. This distinguishes Jean Luc method from the usual submitting the horse to the system.
A program needed to be created to go one step further, allowing riders, trainers and therapists to fully comprehend how the practical application of most advanced equine research studies can further horses’ performances and restore soundness.
We created Immersion: a property, an atmosphere and a use of equipment allowing a full immersion into advanced scientific knowledge and the practical application of such knowledge.
Between the training ring where the rider working the horse or the therapist working in hand, learns the feeling of proper body coordination, and the class room where one can visualize the vertebral columns and body parts with computer animations how the horse’s physique effectively works, Immersion is the ultimate learning tool.
Immersion I, II and III have already furthered participants’ knowledge and propensity to apply new knowledge, both in hand and under the saddle. Along the years, we will continue this program exploring new subjects and returning sometimes to the most interesting topics.
The next Immersion is scheduled Friday November 18, Saturday November 19 and Sunday November 20.
On Sunday 20th, Dr. Betsy Uhl D.V.M., Ph.D. Dip ACVP, will be our guest speaker, sharing with us pertinent observations made in the necropsy room in relation to lateral bending and transversal rotations of the horse’s vertebral column. Sunday’s topic will be the shoulder in, which is described by his inventor as “a movement oblique and circular” (Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere) . Centuries later, Jean Marie Denoix demonstrated that lateral bending was always associated with a movement of transversal rotation. “In the cervical and thoracic vertebral column, rotation is always coupled with lateroflexion and vice versa.” (1999). Betsy’s talk will introduce the unique perspective of verifying through manipulations in the necropsy room the veracity of advanced theories.
We plan to invite guest speakers into our Immersion Program as much as possible including prominent veterinarians, breeders, farriers, etc).
The topic of Friday 18 will be the Science of Motion’s Work in- Hand. Introduction for some, advanced study for others, the in-hand technique can be used as an education for riders and trainers, and as a therapy. This is, for the therapist, a unique opportunity to further their work by placing the horse in motion.
Saturday 19 will be the day of study. Horses brought to the Science of Motion because conventional as well as alternative approaches could not identify the root cause of their problems. Consequently they failed to rehabilitate these horses, and they will be analyzed in great detail until a sound working hypothesis can be suggested, and a gymnastic program can be proposed.
One day will be how to use the Science of Motion’s Work in Hand in the rehabilitation of injured horses
Another day will be about Cases Study. One, two or more horses will be analyzed for their lameness or lack of performance. Solutions will be proposed and experimented in the training ring and then explained in great details in the class room. As for Immersion I, II and III, lunch and humor will be provided.
The third day will focus on a specific gymnastic exercise. The November Immersion will analyze in great details the Shoulder In. 
The move is frequently used for rehabilitation as well as performances. For instance, the gymnastic of the shoulder in is particularly efficient for horses jumping with the knees close from each other over the jump.
The presentation will include;
For non-riders as well as rider, the Science of Motion’s Work in Hand allows educating the horse to properly coordinate his vertebral column mechanism.
Contact us 941-539-6207 helyn@scienceofmotion.com
Prices: Each day is $400.00
10AM to 3 PM
Hotels close to farm:
One to One Immersion Program
Would you like to come one day or two, (week days,) for in depth analysis and education with Jean Luc Cornille?
The Science of Motion’s Equestrian Center is now ready to accommodate horses and riders for private lessons.
