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Surfers have up to 22% higher bone density in their arms, ribs and spine than sedentary folks. This is because padding out and riding uses muscles that cue bones to thicken. However, leg-bone density is only marginally better with surfers.

Superficial thinking would have imagined that at contrary, surfing would have increased the bone density of the legs. In the same line of thought, one would have believed that the arms and back of the weight lifters are the strongest parts of the weight lifter’s body. In reality, the power of a weight lifter is, for a large part, in a high percentage of fast twitches of the thighs muscles. The limbs push on the ground to lift the weight. One Olympic weight lifter athlete stated, “Anyone of us can easily jump and reach a basketball hoop from a standing position under the hoop.”

Dressage, which real meaning is “education,” has deviated from its original purpose. Movements are truly gymnastic exercises, which, if practiced with a physique properly developed and coordinated for the effort, further the athlete’s development and coordination. Unfortunately, movements look spectacular or fancy and they have become finalities. Techniques have then been developed making the horse executing the appearance of movements without understanding the underlining biomechanics factors. For instance, the fundamental principle of locomotion and never the least performances, is the use during the swing phase, of an elastic strain energy stored in the long tendons, aponeurosis and muscles belly during the stance. Uneducated trainers compensate or more exactly try to compensate insufficient elastic strain energy produced during the stance by acting on the hind and front limbs with a whip. They mimic the gesture without understanding the body coordination allowing the horse to perform the move soundly and efficiently. Same can be said with lateral movements. Lateral bending is always coupled with a movement of transversal rotation of the thoracic vertebrae. The rotation can be proper, which is sound, or inverted, which exposes the horse to numerous limbs kinematics aberrations. Gimmicks such as moving the horse’s body side way with a probe, mimic the move creating dysfunctional horses associating lateral bending with an inverted rotation.

Tricking the horse into the move has become the norm. “Most dressage manuals describe the training of passage and piaff but very few explain how the horses perform them.” (Mikael Holmström Dissertation, Upsalla, 1994) While advanced research studies offer the opportunity to prepare the horse physique for the athletic demand of the performance, many opt for what centuries earlier François Robichon de la Gueriniere denounced as, “The false practice.”  “Unfortunately, it is easier to turn to false practice than to do what is correct.” (Ecole de Cavalerie, 1736) The practical application of actual scientific knowledge offers the unique opportunity to fully understand “how the horse performs the move” and soundly prepare the horse physique for the athletic demand of the move. Instead, competitive riders buy a better horse expecting that the horse’s talent would compensate for the inaccuracy of the training approach. The classical approach is guilty of the same lack of evolution. Antiquated principles are repeated under the name of tradition letting the horse physically unprepared for the athletic demand of the move. This is not classical riding; great authors have always been on the cutting age of available knowledge. “Respect for tradition should not prevent the love of progress.”(Colonel Danloux)

In the forum of our educative course, the question came about “half pass” being “haunches in” on the diagonal. Of course, I responded that half pass was absolutely not haunches in on the diagonal. I was surprised to read that this false concept was regularly taught. Members of our educative course had enough knowledge to be suspicious about the theory but they told me that such comparison was regularly made and taught.  In superficial appearance, there might be are some similarities, but the biomechanics of the vertebral column and limbs kinematics are totally different. This type of superficial education might trick the horse into a move looking like half pass but does not allow the horse to perform with a physique properly coordinated for the athletic demand of the move. The outcome is a performance below the horse’s potential and a horse’s physique exposed to abnormal stress and consequent injuries.

 "Science allows us to look at natural processes with a different eye and to understand how things work.” (Marc Kaufman)

This picture of a horse practicing haunches in illustrated the problem of inverted rotation commonly associated with the move. On this picture, right lateral bending is coupled with a rotation shifting the dorsal spine to the left. The red line starting at the horse sternum and passing through the dorsal spines of the whither emphasizes the direction of the rotation. When the dorsal spines are shifted to the left as illustrated on this picture, the ventral part of the vertebral bodies is facing right and the rotation is technically referred to as “right rotation.” This is confusing as the rider is seated over the dorsal spine. On this picture, the rider feels a rotation of the dorsal spine toward the left and the scientific terms for such rotation is right rotation.

The proper rotation should be in the other direction. At the contrary on this picture on Haunches in, right lateral bending is coupled with an inverted rotation. Proper rotation associates instead lateral bending with a rotation shifting the dorsal spines toward the inside of the bend. “In the cervical and thoracic vertebral column, rotation is always coupled with lateroflexion and vice versa. In the thoracic spine, as is the case during lateroflexion, the spinous processes bend in the concavity.” (Jean Marie Denoix, DVM, PhD)

During half pass right, right lateral bending has to be coupled with a rotation shifting the dorsal spines toward the inside of the bend. Both the picture and the diagram created by Jean Marie Denoix, illustrates the proper direction of the rotation. Right lateral bending is normally coupled with a rotation shifting the dorsal spines toward the inside of the bend, (left rotation.) (Denoix’s original drawing illustrates left lateral bending. The picture has been flipped over for easy understanding. This is why the text is inverted.)

The front horse on this drawing illustrates half pass executed with inverted rotation of the thoracic spine. This inverted rotation results from the thought that half pass is a haunches in on the diagonal. Based on this erroneous thinking, the horse executes half pass with an inverted rotation. By contrast, the horse on the back of the picture executes a correct half pass combining right lateral bending with the proper rotation. Both horses might have the same score in the show ring since transversal rotations associated with lateral bending are not acknowledge in the judging standards. The difference is that the front horse executes a compulsory for which his physique is not properly coordinated. The predictable outcome is lameness. This horse will have to have hock and stifles injected on regular basis due to the stresses that the move induces on the limbs and vertebral column structure. By contrast, the horse executing half pass with a physique properly coordinated for the effort will perform at the top of his talent furthering the strength, suppleness and elasticity of the limbs and vertebral column muscular system. This is the difference between superficial thinking and riding and training and equitation and an education focusing on the source of the problem.

This is what competitive as well as classical training is about. “In order to attain excellence in this art, it is necessary to be prepared for the difficulties encountered in the practice by a clear and firm theory.” (François Robichon de la Gueriniere, 1688-1751) Competition can be an art. Once in a while a rider and a horse are properly coordinated for the athletic demand of the move. The problem is that if they win the heart of the public, because the horse performs at ease adding his style and personality to the move, they rarely win because judging standards reward superficial appearances. Classical riding rarely goes beyond appearances as well asking dysfunctional horses to execute moves for which they are not athletically prepared.

 In terms of soundness and therapy, the difference is considerable. Horses don’t possess inherently the body coordination optimally adapted to the athletic demand of modern performances. This is true for all type of equine athletic performances. A horse does not need to learn how to execute the move; a horse needs to learn how to develop and coordinate his physique for the athletic demand of the move. A horse does not need a trainer or a rider knowing how half pass is supposed to look like. A horse needs a rider and a trainer understanding the biomechanics of half pass, or shoulder in, or flying change, or piaff, or a jumping performance.

Limbs kinematics and vertebral column kinematics are intimately related and when half pass is executed with inverted rotation of the thoracic vertebrae, repercussions are inducing abnormal stresses on hips, stifles, hocks, fetlocks and even coffin joints of the hind legs. The muscular system of the thoracic spine is altered as well and since balance control and therefore the weight loading the forelegs is directly related to proper or improper vertebral column mechanism, half pass executed with inverted rotation of the thoracic spine is a compulsory further damaging the physique of a dysfunctional horse. By contrast, half pass executed with proper transversal rotation is a gymnastic furthering body control and coordination. This is true classical, which is class.

Jean Luc Cornille

Photo of Jean Luc Cornille