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In Hand Biomechanics Dressage Course

Simple 25

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General subjects, Monthly.

January 25, Forward Movement. Forward movement is not how fast the body moves forward but how well the hind legs’ thrust is managed forward through the thoracolumbar spine to create balance control, sound front and hind legs’ kinematics and performances,  

February 25, Balance. A considerable evolution has been made from our ancestors’ linear theory of shifting the weight over the haunches. The familiar theory is false. Balance is the capacity of the back and other muscles to center the force above and around the Center of Mass.

Humility is a superpower that too many people lack. It demands humility to achieve balance control because traditional beliefs rest on false theories. If we have the humility to question our beliefs, we have the superpower to teach the horse authentic balance.

March 25, Lateral Bending and Transversal Rotation. In the cervical and thoracic spines, lateral bending is always coupled with a transversal rotation, shifting the dorsal spines toward the inside of the bend. The rotation can be proper or inverted. Inverted rotation is the root cause of poor performance and lameness issues, including navicular syndrome. Appropriated gymnastics can correct inverted rotation.

April 25, Straightness. The meaning of straightness needs to be upgraded to actual knowledge. Straightness, thinking the body and the spine are straight, is a metaphor, as, in motion, the equine thoracolumbar spine is never straight. Straightness is the faculty to channel the forces in the direction of the motion.

May 25, Frequency. A bridge can be destroyed if it vibrates at the wrong frequency. Each horse has his own frequency, and our efficiency relies on our ability to match the horse’s frequency.  

June 25, Understanding Tensegrity. Horses and riders are tensegrity structures. Dr. Donald E. Ingbe revealed that molecules, cells, tissues, organs, and entire bodies use ‘tensegrity’ architecture to stabilize their shape mechanically and seamlessly integrate structure and function at all size scales. A change of tension anywhere within the system is instantly signaled everywhere in the body.

July 25, The Rider’s Position. The study compares the classical seat, where the rider’s body weight is acting back to front, and the neutral seat, where no shift of the rider’s weight disturbs the tensegrity relation between the rider and the horse. 

August 25, The Rider’s Upper Thighs. The rider’s upper thighs are the most important part of the horse’s physique. Our body communicates with the horse through the upper thighs, and the forces acting through the horse’s physique act on our body through our upper thighs.  

September 25, The Softness of the Hands. The softness of the hands involves our fingers, forearms, arms, and shoulders. Our arms’ softness is related to our body’s steadiness over our seat bones. Adequate tone of our body and mind concentrated on partnership instead of control.   

October 25, The Half Halt at the Age of Biotensegrity. The biotensegrity half halt is a brief hand action up and forward, almost like an up and forward vibration. The actual understanding of the horse’s body function does not support the theory of half halt, shifting the weight backward.

November 25, The Hoof and the Back. Hoof measurements and associated theories rest on incomplete data. They don’t consider the direction, intensity, and frequency of the forces acting from the body down to the hoof. Gravity acts from the body downward, and the rider influences these considerable forces. Ignoring these forces questions the value of the measurements focusing exclusively on the forces acting from the hoof up to the legs. Instead of releasing his responsibility to the hoof care provider, the rider must be conscious of his influence.  

December 25, Synchrony. The evolution from obedience to the rider’s aids to an interaction of forces between the horse and the rider through subtle nuances in muscle tone involving the whole physique demands to evolve from reductionist thinking, inside leg outside reins, to a higher dimension where the rider’s whole physique guide the horse’s mental processing and physical intelligence toward efficient coordination of the whole physique. Elizabeth Uhl, DVM, PhD, Dip, ACVP, explains how concepts like synchrony are the new conversation between the horse and the rider.

Some subjects are the same as Simple 24 but upgraded to new knowledge.

 

Discussions, Weekly

When a new Scientific discovery is presented, or questions make us realize that we need to explain a subject in further detail. We, the members of the SOM Team, post special interest subjects.

 

Practical application to jumping

A jumper is an athlete like a Dressage horse. The athletic demand for jumping performance is specific. While many aspects of horse education can help jumper athletes, there are differences demanding an advanced understanding of the horse’s body function for the specific demand for jumping performances. The horse’s style, in particular, needs to be respected and improved and not be altered to fit a stereotype. We will address the specific athletic demands of jumping performance in every subject discussed in the course.

The Simple 25 Forum

The forum continue on the same basis as in 2024. You can ask questions and send videos for analysis.

The fee for the course remains $50.00 per month.

Simple 25 starts officially in January 2025. You will have to renew the inscription for 2025.

Simple 24 will continue until December 2024.

Jean Luc Cornille. Science of Motion

Simple 25 PLUS

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The young horses’ program. Daily videos This is Simple 25 PLUS the young horse program together.

Rubaux is three years old. He will be four in 2025. Donato is two yerars old. He will be three this coming year. Karyn Meserve bred both horses. The young horse program shows in daily videos, one day Rubaux, the other day Donato, how intelligence, respect, and gentleness can educate young horses.

Rubaux will learn how to lunge, be introduced to the work in hand, the saddle, athletically developed, and, when athletically ready, Rubaux will learn how to carry a rider efficiently.

Donato will learn the Science of Motion’s work in hand, which is much more sophisticated than walking by the horse’s side. The process creates situations that make Donato comfortable, with my body moving gradually from his head to his back, where the saddle would be. He will feel and respond to my nuances in muscle tone. I will direct his mental processing toward greater control of his physique. The Biotensegrity approach differs from the usual obedience techniques. I will guide his mental processing toward efficient physique coordination by asking the right questions. I will create situations, cadence, frequency, balance, and body alignment likely to guide his mental processing toward efficient physique coordination.  

Talking about science is one thing. Applying science is another dimension. The young horse program explains and shows how a young horse’s education can be done through pure and friendly partnership.

Jean Luc Cornille. Science of Motion

 

“Master one 25”

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Master One 25

Mater One 25 combines the Study of simple dressage movements, the Meditation sessions teaching how to coordinate the horse’s physique for the athletic demand of the performance, and the Science behind the horse and the rider’s performances.

Two monthly documents.

One Document is “Practical application of Biotensegrity.”

January 25. The Shoulder In. Around 1731. François Robichon de la Gueriniere summarized his predecessors’ work by creating the Shoulder In. The gymnastic of the Shoulder In is useful when applied to the actual understanding of the horse’s body function. Incorrect frequency, inappropriate angle, and lateral bending coupled with inverted rotation cancel out the benefits of the Shoulder In.

February 25. The Practice of the Shoulder In. Meditation Session. We are trained to communicate with the horse at a superficial level. If we concentrate on subtle perceptions, we can feel the first stage of a contraction before it becomes a contraction that shifts the shoulders or the haunches. The value of the shoulder in is the horse’s capacity to channel all these minute forces in the direction of the bend. The accuracy of our conversation with the horse working on the shoulder relies on our capacity to feel, assist, and influence minute variations of forces.

March 25. The Half Pass. Crossing the forelegs above the knees is at the same superficial level as injecting the hocks; it focuses on symptoms and ignores body coordination. The bending of the thoracic spine and rotation of the dorsal spines in the direction of the motion is Half Pass’s difficulty and athletic value.

April 25. The Practice of Half Pass. Meditation Session. During Half Pass, a passive rotation is converted into an active rotation in the direction of the motion. We don’t feel it if we expect to feel a rotation. We become sensitive to it as our physique refines its perception and our brain is aware of the athletic demands of half pass. We all can feel and work at this level with adequate training. We enter a world that classical education does not permit us to reach.

May 25. The Renverse. Occasionally. I use Renverse coupled with Shoulder In. The move is a valuable gymnastic if we understand the athletic demand and the conditions where the horse benefits from the gymnastics exercise.

June 25. Half Pass on the Circle or Large Pirouette. Half Pass on the circle can be beneficial to engage the hind legs and enhance the horse’s balance. Gymnastics is effective if we understand the forward transmission of the outside hind leg’s thrust forward through the thoracolumbar spine and associated rotation. When our mind “visualizes” the athletic demand, our physique can assist the horse in his mental processing.

July 25. Circle Bend to the Outsice, CBO. Many trainers have used the Circle Bend to the Outside, but the move has never become a dressage movement. The reason is that the Science behind classical literature does not permit understanding the benefits of gymnastic exercise. The move creates a contradiction, and the compensation for the contradiction benefits the horse. The study guides you step by step through the mastery of the CBO.

August 25. Canter Departure. The quality of the Canter Departure opens, years later, the door for the Tempi One Series. It is primordial to coordinate efficiently the horse’s physique for the athletic demand of the Canter Departure.

September 25. Counter Canter. If properly executed, the counter canter can be a valuable gymnastic for the horse’s thoracolumbar column.

October 25. Single Flying Change. The single flying change is the portal for the Tempi Two and Tempi One series. Understanding the single flying change’s athletic demand and coordinating the horse’s physique for the effort is primordial.

November 25. Harmonic Tensegrity. Force vectors dictate morphological outcomes, metabolism, and the physiology of all bio-systems. Humans and Equines are biotensegrity structures. Harmonic tensegrity allows efficient interaction of forces with the horse.

December 25, The Hands. We spend the first five years of our riding career learning how to use our hands and the next seventy-five years learning to use our whole physique instead.

Special emphasis is made on the “Meditation Practice” on the Shoulder In and the Half Pass as they are more intensively used gymnastic exercises. The “Mediation” will be addressed with each gymnastics exercise.

Practical Application to Jumping. The practical application of jumping is discussed in each publication.

A jumper is an athlete like a Dressage horse. The athletic demand for jumping performance is specific. While many aspects of horse education can help jumper athletes, there are differences demanding an advanced understanding of the horse’s body function for the specific demand for jumping performances. The horse’s style, in particular, needs to be respected and improved and not be altered to fit a stereotype. We will address the specific athletic demands of jumping performance in every subject discussed in the course.

The Second Monthly Publication is “Science,” By Elizabeth Uhl, DVM, PhD, Dip, ACVP

January 25. How Biotensegrity Changes Everything

February 25, The Architecture of Life is Tension Based

March 25. Sensing Forces, The Sixth Sense

April 25. Why are Joints such a Funny Shape?

May 25. How Biotensegrity Embodies the Brain

June 25. Controlling the Force

July 25. Is Tension Always Bad?

August 25. Joining Forces Part One

September 25. How do Horses and Riders Coordinate their Movements?

October 25. In Preparation

November 25. In preparation

December 25. In Preparation

Discussions, Weekly When a new Scientific discovery is presented, or questions make us realize that we need to explain a subject in further detail. We, the members of the SOM Team, post about subjects of particular interest.

The Training of a Young Horse. Bi-Weekly. Devina D’Or is now a sport horse. You assisted her daily introduction to the saddle, the lunge, the work in hand, and the backing. Devina now commences her education as a riding horse. Bi-weekly, you will follow her education.

The Master One 25 Forum

The forum continue on the same basis as in 2024. You can ask questions and send videos for analysis.

Conditions and Fee.

The fee for the Master One Course remains $60.00 per month.

Master One 25 starts officially in January 2025. You will have to renew the inscription for 2025.

Master One 24 will continue until December 2024.

 

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The young horses’ program. Daily videos

Young horses are capable of sophisticated metal processing. Intelligently challenged, their brain learns to work in harmony with humans. By contrast, a young horse’s brain learns protective resistance when forced to obey.

Rubaux is three years old. He will be four in 2025. Donato is two yerars old. He will be three this coming year. Karyn Meserve bred both horses. The young horse program shows in daily videos, one day Rubaux, and the other day Donato, how intelligence, respect, and gentleness can educate young horses.

Rubaux will learn how to lunge, be introduced to the work in hand, the saddle, athletically developed, and, when athletically ready, Rubaux will learn how to carry a rider efficiently.

Donato will learn the Science of Motion’s work in hand, which is much more sophisticated than walking by the horse’s side. The process creates situations that make Donato comfortable, with my body moving gradually from his head to his back, where the saddle would be. He will feel and respond to my nuances in muscle tone. I will direct his mental processing toward greater control of his physique. The Biotensegrity approach differs from the usual obedience techniques. I will guide his mental processing toward efficient physique coordination by asking the right questions. I will create situations, cadence, frequency, balance, and body alignment likely to guide his mental processing toward efficient physique coordination.

Talking about Science is one thing. Applying Science is another dimension. The Young Horse Program explains how a young horse’s education can be done through gentle and friendly partnerships.

This option is referred to as “Master One Plus.” The fee is $75.00 per month. $60 Master One, $15 The young horse’s program

 

“Master Two 25”

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The higher level of “Meditation.”

Paraphrasing Leo Tolstoy, freethinkers are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their customs, privileges, and beliefs. This state of mind is not common but is essential for refined equitation. We can all work at this level, and it is a superior pleasure to work at this level.

I talk about a higher level of meditation because high concentration allows us to feel and redirect minute shifts and changes in the horse’s physique. We need a sound understanding of the performance’s athletic demand to comprehend what we feel. Master Two 24 explained the physical demands of the Piaffe, Tempi Changes, Canter, pirouette, and Passage. Master Two 25 goes one step further. The body control we need to achieve is not reachable through natural reflexes. The solution is within ourselves but at a more sophisticated level. Our physical intelligence develops muscle synergies, closed kinematics chains, allowing us to feel and act at a level untouchable through traditional approaches.

At the Science of Motion’s training center, horses work at every level, from elementary to Grand Prix. We apply to Master Two, the approach that has been successful in Simple and Master One 24. We record and show the daily work and the different phases guiding the horse’s mental processing, physical development, and control needed for higher-level movements. The confidence that the horse develops through the gentleness of our interactions frees the horse’s mind from the fear of doing wrong and allows subtler processing.

As riders, we are as traumatized as horses by the archaism of our education. We apply formulas and interpret the horse’s reaction regarding the formula’s theoretical effect. A horse can execute the same movement using different muscles and fascia combinations. So is the rider. I show the way I do it. This does not mean you must do it exactly the same way. If the horse responds efficiently, how your physique asked the question was effective. Don’t break the rule as an artist before you know the rule as a pro, but don’t allow the rule to numb your intuition. It is a mistake to fit the horse to our beliefs, and it is a greater mistake not to consult the horse.

Adequate muscle synergies develop in response to the horse’s mental processing guided by the pertinence of our questions. The dumb summary of this sophisticated interaction is the concept of obedience. An obedient horse is unfit for the athletic demand of high-level movements. So is a rider obeying the rules.

Master Two studies four movements, Piaffe, Tempi changes, Canter Pirouette and Passage. Three months on each subject gives the time to review on video how the study of a simpler movement prepared the horse’s physique for the athletic demand of high-level movements.

Master Two’s main teaching is that a training technique that does not prepare a horse for the athletic demand of high-level movements does not efficiently prepare a horse for less difficult movements. The horse’s talent might compensate for the ineffectiveness of the training approach but pathology is likely to develop.

Master Two makes you realize the rider you are and the horse that you own. Master Two also teaches humility as humility is the superpower that we need to apply new knowledge efficiently.

Jean Luc

Master Two is offered at a Monthly payment of $70.00

Contact helyn@scienceofmotion.com