Respect

Training Philosophy Volitional Learning Are you happy with your horse riding experience? Preface Advanced Horsemanship Advanced Horsemanship 2 Advanced Horsemanship 3 Imitation verses Intelligence Reeducating Gestures verses Energy Creating a functional horse Reeducating a horse Less is Better Equine Anatomy verses Equine Anatomy A New Generation Of Riders False Practices False Practices 2 Sophisticated Equine Education Technical discussion with Leanne False practice 3 Wear and Tear oversimplifications Functional Anatomy Class-Sick The Miracles of the Science of Motion2 Xenophon 2014 The Science of Motion Work in Hand Gravity The rational for not touching the horses’ limbs Amazing Creatures Fundamental Difference The Heart of Science The Meaning of Life The Meaning Of Life part 2 The meaning of life PT3 Meaning of Life part 4 Meaning of life part 5 The Meaning of life 6 Quiet Legs The Root Cause The Source Meaning of life pt 7 Relaxation verses Decontraction The Tide Meaning of life pt 8 Mechano-responsiveness Mechano-responsiveness PT 3 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 4 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 5 Mechanoresponsiveness Pt 6 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 7 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 8 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 9 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 10 Mechanicalresponsiveness PT 11 Mechanoresponsiveness PT 12 Mechanoresponsiveness 13 Specialized Entheses Mechanoresponsiveness 14 Mechanoresponsiveness 15 Mechanoresponsiveness 16 Mechanoresponsiveness 17 Skipping Mechanoresponsiveness 18 Mechanoresposiveness 19 Mechanoresponsiveness 20 Mechno-responsiveness 21 Mechanoresponsiveness 22 Strategic-learning The Fake Line Mechnoresponsivenss 17 Simple Disobedience The Hen with the Golden Eggs Mechanoresponsiveness 23 Class Metronome Chocolate Mechno 24 Stamp Collecting Mechanoresponsivenes 25 Meaning of Life pt 9 Mechanoresponsiveness 26 Meaning of life 10 Meaning of life pt 11 Mechanoresponsiveness 28/Equitation & Science Mechanoresponsiveness 29 Meaning of life 12 Meaning of life 13 Mechanoresponsiveness 30 Mechanoresponsiveness 31 Meaning of life 15 Mechanoresponsiveness 32 Mechanoresponsiveness 33 Mechanoresponsiveness 34 Meaning of Life 17 Meaning of Life 18 Mechanoresponsivenss 35 Meaning Of Life 19 Style Respect Passive Aggressive Time to get out of the museum Mechanoresponsiveness 38 Meaning of Life 36 Harmonic Tensegrity The Norm Slow Down

 

Respect




If one talks to a caterpillar how to fly, the caterpillar will downgrade one’s words to his crawling technique. It will disagree, it will post frustrated comments in social media. It will look for others to keep crawling with him. After the metamorphose, the same words will have a totally different meaning, but many resist going through the metamorphose.


A horse can learn how to fly but not by perpetuating crawling techniques. Traditionally, the amplitude of the stride is attributed to larger angular variations of the limbs joints. In the same line of thoughts, forwardness is associated with greater undulation of the thoracolumbar spine. Instead, a new level of thinking points efficiency in motion toward optimal use of elastic energy. “Most of the length change required for the work of locomotion, occurs not in the muscle fibers themselves but by elastic recoil of the associated tendons and muscles aponeurosis.” (The role of the extrinsic thoracic limbmuscles in equine locomotion. R. C. Payne, P. Veenman and A. M. Wilson. J. Anat. (2005) 206, pp 193-404). A horse can learn how to fly maximizing the storage and re-use of elastic energy.


“Elastic structures, like tendons and ligaments, store energy when elongated. This energy is released when they return to their normal length. .” (Mechanical Analysis of Locomotion, Liduin S. Meershoek and Anton J. van den Bogert). The elastic energy stored in tendons, aponeurosis, muscles, fascia during the decelerating phase of the stride is used propelling the horse’s body into the airborne phase. Nature is more sophisticated than equestrian culture and paraphrasing Monsieur de la Gueriniere, helping the equestrian art with the support of science demands upgrading the equestrian art to actual scientific knowledge. 


Traditionally, power absorption, (the absorption of impact forces), is attributed to eccentric contraction. The following sequence of the stride, power production, is credited to concentric contraction. A more efficient and economical approach can be created maximizing storage and reuse of elastic energy. “Power absorption is not always associated with eccentric contraction but can also be caused by elastic energy storage in tendons and ligaments. The subsequent power production can originate from the release of elastic energy instead of concentric muscle contraction.” ((Liduin S. Meershoek and Anton J. van den Bogert, Mechanical analysis of locomotion, 2005)


The metamorphose from caterpillar to butterfly changes the meaning of every words. Ease and effortlessness are no longer related to stretching, relaxation greater angular variation of the limbs joints. Indeed, ease and effortlessness are the outcome of optimized storage and reuse of elastic energy. The question might be, how can we enhance storage and reuse of elastic energy. The answer commences with Kim McMillen’s beautiful poem that Charlie Chaplin read for his 70th birthday.


 “As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody if I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.



One cans teach piaff activating the hind and front legs with a whip. There is no respect; one just forces his desire even if the time is not right and the horse is not ready. Piaff demands a complex and precise coordination of the whole physique allowing maximum storage and use of elastic energy. Without advanced education, the horse does not maximize storage and reuse of elastic energy and riders resorts to dysfunction and disrespect, activating the limbs with a whip. 


“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” (Margaret Mead) As well, a horse must be taught how to think in terms of effortlessness and efficiency, not just to obey. A horse must be taught how to coordinate his physique for the athletic demand of the move, not just executing the move. Science knows how the horse cans maximize storage and reuse of elastic energy, but the horse in unlikely to figure the optimal coordination as his mind process initially protecting whatever morphological flaw or muscle imbalance altering his body state.


The stretch-shorten contraction phenomenon is a finding of modern science that can teach the horse’s brain how to process in terms of efficiency through ease and effortlessness. When an eccentric contraction is immediately followed by a concentric contraction, when the frequency, the direction and the intensity is correct, the energy stored into the muscle and associated tendon by the eccentric contraction, cans reduce considerably the intensity of the following concentric contraction. “The ability of the muscle-tendon units to recover elastic strain energy is apparently energetically so advantageous that the most economical stride frequency in running may be set by this key component alone.” (Paul C. LaStayo, PT, PhD. John M. Woolf, PT, MS, ATC. Michael D. Lewek, PT. Lynn Snyde-Mackler, PT, ScD. Trugo Relch, BS. Stan L. Lindstedt, PhD. Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Their contribution to injury, prevention, rehabilitation, and sport. Journal of Orthopaedic & sports physical therapy. 557-571. Volume 33, NUMBER 10, October 2003)


We refer to the practical application of this phenomenon as the “Pignot jog”, as Rene Pignot, who was a steeple chase trainer, trotted his horses at their natural cadence, for the purpose of gaining greater ease and elasticity spring, decades before the phenomenon was scientifically explained. There is a cadence, proper to each horse and usually slow, where the elastic energy stored in the muscles, their tendons or aponeurosis and associated fascia during the eccentric contraction, reduces considerably the need and intensity of the following concentric contraction. The horse trots effortlessly with greater suspension and amplitude. Impact forces are absorbed storing elastic energy in tendons and ligaments. The subsequent power production originates then form the release of elastic energy instead of concentric contraction.


Once the horse’s brain discovers efficiency through ease and effortlessness, the brain starts to think in terms of efficiency through greater use and orchestration of all the systems. To understand this process of mechanoregulation, we must take into account that living organisms, such as man, are constructed from tiers of systems within a system within a system.”  (Christopher S. Chen and Donald E. Ingber. Tensegrity and mechanoregulation: from skeleton to cytoskeleton, 1999) The existence of discrete networks within discrete networks in bone, cartilages, tendons, muscles and ligaments, optimizes their structural efficiency as well as energy absorption.


The subtle orchestration of the numerous system demands an equitation and a training psychology engaging and respecting the horse’s intelligence. The whip can impose our desire but cannot orchestrate the sophisticated network of numerous systems. We can remain at the level of educated monkeys riding caterpillars. We can also understand the practical application of equine biomechanics and partner with the horse in the mastery of tensegrity and elastic energy and ride a butterfly. Jean Luc Cornille