Training Program

(Impossible is only impossible within the limits of conventional thinking).

Equine training program.

SOM’s Training Program

 

The Science of Motion training program is restoring soundness and competitive skill even when other approaches have failed. Shelly had a chronic case of Sacroiliac Joint. She was lame with the right hind leg and responded positive to all tests at the exception of pressure on the tuber coxal. Shelly owes her full recovery to the determination and intuition of her owner Julie. Julie Reich did not believe the advises of numerous professionals telling her that the mare had no physical issue, “It’s in her head.” Of course not it was not in her head. The problem was an inverted rotation of the thoracic spine which placed the thoracolumbar column and therefore sacrum and pelvis in the wrong alignment in relation to the direction of the motion. Consequently, repetitive abnormal stresses were induced on the sacroiliac joint and the joints’ stabilizing mechanism worked dysfunctional inducing protective reflex contractions and pain.

Shelly is now sound, calm, cooperative and scheduled to go back home in two weeks. Julie spent a full week at the center learning how to ride her newly sound horse. The experience went very well. Julie fully understood the concept and her skill allowed her to ride her horse very well. Julie is confident that she will be able to continue the horse reeducation and I agree with her. They will be reunited soon.

Mini cooper is her nick name because she is small surrounded by giants such as Chazot, Manchester, and Caesar. An accident turned her into a monster almost dangerous to handle. Victoria has been educated by a knowledgeable trainer and both knew that it was not a behavior problem. Victoria realized that the SOM approach was her horse’s sole hope and decided to send her horse for reeducation. Yes it was a problem of torsion in the thoracic vertebrae that rendered mini cooper disconnected in her back. The physical pain created by the two problems triggered her reactions. One month in her reeducation, mini cooper is now sound, exploring comfortable gaits and behaving with great intelligence and kindness.

The horse are trained every week days and exclusively by Jean Luc. Once their education or reeducation is advanced, we encourage the rider to come and learn how to ride their new horse. When the rider feels confident that he or she will be able to carry on the recovery program, the horse goes back home. 

We only take three horses at the time as reeducation demands diligence and time. The rider has to be prepared for changes. Successful reeducation cannot be done applying the principles of riding and training that created the problem.

The monthly fee, including the rider’s lessons is $2800 per month (training and boarding). We ask for a deposit of $1000.00 which cement the official reservation. The rest, $1800 is paid at the arrival of the horse. Payments can be made by check (Science of Motion LLC), or through our Paypal account.

For more information about our requirements about vaccination, worming and other issues please contact us.  Helyn@scienceofmotion.com, or 706 485 1217

Due to the limited number of availabilities, we encourage you to contact us rapidly for scheduling.

 

I recently sent my 12yo OTTB mare (Grace) to Jean Luc for training. It was by far, the single best thing I have done for Grace since she became mine 8 years ago. 

I sent her to Jean Luc asking him to help her to stop leaning on the bit. Her problems were just as you might imagine. Among other things, she grabbed the bit strongly, contracted her back, had many compensating behaviours like leaning so heavily on her left shoulder it bulged out. She was very stiff in her body. Her transitions were uncomfortable to say the least. We rarely asked for canter because it seemed to cause her such discomfort. She was stiff and somewhat reactive when her back was palpitated. 

She is a kind, good mare, very smart with an excellent work ethic and tries her best but there were limits to what she was willing to do because of her body discomforts. She had raced and been a Hunter prior to her current dressage work. She has a couple of mild "kissing spine" areas so it is key to her long term well being that she consistently lift the back instead of contracting it. 

Jean Luc worked with her for 4 months. And he worked a miracle as far as I am concerned. Grace could be the poster child for Jean Luc's  approach that says correct work resolves body problems.  

First and foremost, he realized and taught us that she was fearful of pressure on the bit. He taught us that if the hands stay still and are simply used to feel what she is thinking and NOTHING else, she would relax into her work and become soft and light. He worked with her to educate her back and to encourage her to become light and balanced. His approach was always patient and calm. When she made mistakes, he simply worked to help her thru it, never becoming annoyed and never, ever using the bit for correction but instead thinking about what caused the error and using correct balance and tone in his own body to help her learn. 

She is home now. She looks fabulous. Her total body muscling is phenomenal and proportionate. She stands SQUARE! Her attitude is exceptionally happy and calm. We believe this is because she feels really good. She is lovely in her work and so long as we "never, never, never pull" (quote from Jean Luc) on her mouth, we can get her to be balanced and light and her work can continue here at home. It is lovely and I am so very grateful. 

Some personal learning that I think is worth sharing:

First, it takes longer than you might think to reeducate and change a horse's long held habits and protections. What we originally targeted to be a 2 month endeavor I decided to extend to 4 months. Trying to force the training into the shorter time frame would have frightened Grace and success would have been limited. 

Secondly, do not underestimate the need for the human/rider component to change. And of course change of long held habits is tough for us humans too. So expect to need to reeducate yourself to ride differently. This does not happen in a minute, so true commitment and planning are required. 

And finally, expect that Jean Luc's methods are not mainstream and you will meet with some negative chatter from the surrounding horsey world. However, I encourage you to shut them out and give this approach the time it needs to work. Grace is proof positive it works! 

In hind sight, my only regret is that I didn't let Grace stay for another month or 2 of training.

Karen 

Downingtown, Pa.

Hello! I am writing you on behalf of Jean Luc (JLC) and Helyn Cornille with Science of Motion.  I have personally known Jean Luc since I was about 10 years old!  He is a wonderful person with a talent that is like no other! He has the ability to correct horses issues biomechanically rather than with harsh medical treatments that only mask the symptoms - they do not correct the problem. 

Originally, I sent my mare Opal, whom was six at the time, up to him for some basic balance work and re-education of her movement.  We were having extreme behavioral issues with her to the point that she was at times violent.  She would become violent when I would ask her to trot or turn to the right.  She did have an accident in the pasture when she was 3 years old, which caused her to create imbalances and incorrect compensations with her body to handle the discomfort.  I sent her to JLC for three months.  He changed who she was.  She was able to move comfortably and willingly.  Don't get me wrong, she still had a long way to go, but she had improved so drastically, that I was in shock. I wanted to send Opal back to him for more training.  I wanted more!

I had JLC come to my farm in July of 2013.  I had Opal home for about a month to a month and a half at that point.  Diva, Opal's mom was diagnosed with bilateral ring bone (which is very rare) at the age of 11.  We tried injections of cortisone and hylauronic acid, we did acupuncture, massage, corrective shoeing, more corrective shoeing, stall rest, pain medication -- you name it, we did it with no expense spared.  My vets informed me that it was time to send Diva to surgery for her ring bones or euthanize her because she was in so much pain and had no quality of life. They weren't sure she would survive surgery.  She was overweight because she developed ulcers easily and had to be fed regularly, but she could NOT walk so she couldn't exercise.  She was put on thyroid medication to lose weight so she would survive the surgery!  There were two surgeries involved eight weeks apart.  Each surgery was going to be quite extensive with eight weeks of a full leg cast and over a year of in stall recovery. The vet had never done a bilateral ring bone surgery and wasn't sure she would survive both being done - she would likely founder.  I know my mare -- she would not have survived the surgeries, but I was going to give her all I had. JLC left Sunday night. On Monday morning, I was taking Diva to surgery and Opal back to JLC for more training.  When he looked at her, he said he MAY be able to help her and it was worth a try to avoid surgery.  So, I put 100% of my faith into JLC and cancelled her surgery.  I drove both of my girls up to his farm in Georgia in July, and they are still there!  Amazingly, Diva is taking sound steps in the pasture and while being RIDDEN under saddle!!!  She is doing exceptionally well and gets better every day.  Each time he works with her, she takes more sound steps.  Her recovery will be slow, but it is steady and she is comfortable.  She has quality of life.  She even plays in the pasture again! Opal is doing great too!  She is moving more balanced every day and is building muscle.  She is getting ready to begin her canter work (mommy would like for that to happen)...I should say - when she is ready, she will begin her canter work!

As for the care that they get at their farm...it is exceptional! They are fed five times per day.  They always have hay in front of them with clean water.  The feed and hay that are provided are top of the line and are of high quality.  I even took hay home with me when I brought Opal home the first time!  Helyn and JLC are constantly in the barn.  They do night checks (with a 10pm feeding) often times up to 11pm at night!  They have video cameras on every stall that record the horses.  They provide a ton of carrots as treats and give each horse individual attention and love.  Since the day I purchased Diva when she was 2 and I delivered Opal 7 years ago, they have never been out of my sight.  They have always lived with me.  They are the only people I trust with my horses.  The only ones I would trust to be around them and to train them.  There is no violence or yelling or anger.  Everything is inviting and accepting.  Patience and slow movements are always executed! Everything there is sweet, calm, and patient.  The people that they hire to help with the stall care/horse care are always monitored and treat the horses with the same care they do. 

When JLC had come to my farm, he looked at my gelding Flame who had some injuries from the race track.  He was always uncomfortable.  With the exercises JLC gave me, I was able to show him how to move comfortably.  He was able to gallop, canter, rear, and buck while he played in the pasture!!!! Something he had not done in years! Sadly, he passed away 9 days ago - and he looked the best he had ever looked!!!!!

If you have any hesitation at all to send your horse to JLC, please know that the horse is going into the best hands possible.  He allows the horse to learn to move in a way that is biomechanically correct and comfortable for them.  He saved Diva's life - that I am 100% positive about.  When I was there in November, I sat on Diva....that was one of the happiest moments that I have had in a long time.  He defeated the odds of all the vets I have met.  He is a miracle worker - but it is because he has done an incredible about of research regarding the equine body mechanics. 

Be prepared.  He will change your entire way of thinking about horses.  Your entire way of thinking about how they move biomechanically, how they exist emotionally.  Horses live in the moment.  They live moment to moment -- this changed how I ride because I no longer think about what happened three minutes ago under saddle because they aren't thinking about it either!  He asks them to think and to have emotions.  He asks them to be a horse!!!!! He changed certian aspects of how I ride...and I'm much more comfortable.  My back injury is doing significantly better as well.  They have an in-hand therapy course that I would highly recommend.  It helps me to understand what he is teaching my horses and myself when I go to get lessons on them from him.  I will be forever grateful to  JLC and Helyn with Science of Motion because they provided Flame with a comfortable end to his life, and have given Diva her life back, and have given me a beautiful mover in my baby!  The suspension she has now is incredible! She floats above the ground when she moves.  Its breathtaking!!! Victoria Pass

Science of Motion Training program.

 helyn@scienceofmotion.com

706-816-7259