click on photos to enlarge) Thirty years separate these two pictures series. Same rider, two generations of horses. The black and white series illustrates International caliber horses. (All the photographs have been taken during international jumping and three day event competitions.) At this time, even the best training techniques were only capable to exploit the horses’ natural talent. As a result, performances relied heavily on anti-inflammatory, joints supplements and available therapies. Today, better horses are achieving greater performances but like yesterday, athletic achievements rely heavily on drugs and therapies. ”The riding has not become better,” in the sense that modern horses are not better prepared for the efforts than were prepared their ancestors. The color series illustrates the practical application of better education. Genetically less gifted horses are performing as well as their International counterparts because their education prepares more efficiently their physique for the effort.

In all disciplines, good horses can reach greatness.

Larger Video click HERE

Video: Lafayette (1974 – 2007)

This horse was 27 years old at the date of this video recording. He was retired from a three day event and jumping career. While not eminently talented for the specialty, Lafayette learned dressage because he was too old to jump but mentally too young for retirement.

Lafayette’s performance at the piaff easily compares with contenders of the 1996 Atlanta Dressage Olympics.

This situation demonstrates the promising progresses that can be made by adjusting the training principles to the actual knowledge of the equine physiology. An elderly retired jumper compares easily with younger, genetically more talented, highly specialized, and much more expensive horse because his education prepared him for the athletic demands.

A New Level of Thinking

“The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” (Albert Einstein)

Preparing horses for modern competitions with old riding and training principles creates even greater dependency on joints supplements, drugs, and therapies.

Dysfunctional horses perform out of their talent but at the cost of their soundness. Functional equine athletes combine greatness and soundness. There are multiple financial and ethical reasons to create functional horses.

In 1976, James Rooney demonstrated the correlation between gait abnormality and injuries. “The gait abnormality created by a specific lesion is the gait abnormality that will cause the lesion.” We have further observed that the source of the abnormality leading to lameness was previously altering the hoses’ ability to perform.

Video, Dominique, (1969 – 2005)

The back muscles’ imbalance that previously hampered this horse ability to perform tempi changes was the first sign of an abnormality that later created navicular syndrome. Addressing the back muscles’ imbalance we restored soundness and allowed the horse to master tempi changes.

Video, Rio

The abnormality that condemned this horse into mediocre gaits and absolute incapacity to perform the piaff lead to back muscles’ contractions so intense that the horse was improperly diagnosed as “neurologic.” By recreating symmetry between the right and left side of his back muscles, we uncovered the horse’s real gaits and his outstanding talent for the piaff.

Video, Cocoa

He was diagnosed with “Kissing Spine.” As a result, he was lame and violent. The diagnosis is like a death sentence, as there is no cure. The problem was solved in less than 6 months.

Conventional thinking says “it’s impossible.” Such recoveries are effectively impossible integrating modern scientific discoveries to old beliefs. The recoveries are indeed possible updating traditional views to actual knowledge of the equine physiology.

Case Studies,

We have documented these “impossible” recoveries. We complete the documentation with diagrams, computer animation helping to understand in which circumstances the gymnastic exercises are efficient. The result is a series of mind boggling, entertaining, and educational DVD.

Training Program

“It is possible to defeat failure by analyzing its causes and correcting them, not by studying the conditions of success” (Henry Greber)

Changing the bit or adding a martingale is studying the conditions of success. We are analyzing and correcting the source of the difficulties. Our training program creates functional athletes. They excel at difficulty levels previously untouchable and their greatness extends into their soundness.

Great attention is given to the rider’s education. Through the training program, horses evolve considerably. The task of furthering the evolution rests on the rider. The rider’s education is included in the training fee and Jean Luc’s clinic program offers continuing support to all of these horses and their riders.

Clinics

“One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” (Arnold H. Glasgow)

Jean Luc’s eye is proverbial. He can see gaits or performances abnormalities before they create pathological damages. Analyzing the horse’s performance, Jean Luc is capable to isolate the source of the difficulty and create a gymnastic program addressing the problem. Jean Luc’s teaching echoes long after the lesson. He explains how the horse’s physique works allowing riders to keep up with the evolutions that will likely occur during the weeks following the clinic.

Newsletter
(Drowning the Fish)

When political or financial personalities would rather keep the truth somewhat muddy, they drown the story into prolific, ambiguous, and contradictory statements. In French language, the tactic is referred to as “Noyer le poisson,” (drowning the fish.)

In reference to the “Rollkur,” the equestrian world excelled into “drowning the fish.” Years into the controversy, proponents or opponents base their opinions on undocumented statements. Pertinent and objective research studies exist. They do not address hyper neck flexion but explain how the biological structures involved function, as well as the amount of strain they are designed to handle.

The trademark of our newsletter is to provide information allowing one to construct a founded opinion.

“Etudes”

An “etude” is a piece of music intended to develop skill in technique.

The practical application of equine research studies commences with the studies. They are published for the scientific world and are truly inapplicable. A study of the studies translating specialized terminology and explaining how the findings modify training philosophies and riding techniques, is necessary. We refer to this work as “Etudes.”

“Respect for tradition should not exclude the love of progress.” (Colonel Danloux, 1931) It is by understanding why our ancestors interpreted visual impressions and physical perceptions the way they did and how recent discoveries modified their beliefs, that better horses can be better trained.

The etudes are for riders, trainers, and judges who truly respect horses and hence, have the intellectual curiosity to understand how the physique of the athletes they ride, train, or judge, effectively works.

“Good to Great”

Video
Gaits and performances analysis of elite horses have identified characteristics that distinguish great performances. Most of these characteristics can be learned. This series analyzes great performances, and explains how the characteristics of great performances can lead good horses to greatness.

Equestrian Art

“I dream my painting and then I paint my dream.” (Lucien van Gogh)

Likewise, the scientific components of great performances are first conceived in the rider’s mind and then paint one touch at the time into the horse’s intelligence.

Too often, the equestrian art yields to beliefs that satisfied members of the cult but are viewed as ugly by the general public. This refreshing series is about “beauty;” the purity of the horses’ gaits and the elegance of their athletic performances.

The pertinent interaction between equestrian art and equine science demands a dream team

the "Equestrian Art" and the "Science of Motion."

Equestrian Art,

is Helyn of Pixiport's forte,
Helyn created one of the worlds most powerful art web site,Pixiport (over 200 of the finest artists in the world, and over one thousand art galleries.(1999-2008) Helyn of Pixiport promotes traditional arts such as painting, sculpting, and writing. A large department emphasizes the artistic integration of advanced technologies, digital photography, kinetic sculptures, etc. .

The pertinent task of combining Art of Movement and Science of Motion demands a special Training Center.

Science of Motion

Together

Photograph by David Mendelsohn

Together, they render the equestrian education pleasant, subtle, attractive, efficient, pertinent, and genuinely humoristic

The pertinent task of combining Art of Movement and Science of Motion demands a special Training Center. Would you like to see where all this work is created:

Virtual Tour
Video, Carol Lemonde created “Shamrock Lee”