Jean Luc Cornille, 370 CROOKED CREEK Road, Eatonton, GA (2025)

11/09/2025

Quantum Riding.

Quantum mathematics transcends the classical notions of physics. Biotensegrity surpasses the classical notion of riding. Quantum mathematics requires a departure from intuitive logic. Biotensegrity necessitates a departure from traditional notions of riding and training.
Light, for instance, demonstrates both wave-like and particle-like properties. When observed as a wave, it exhibits interference and diffraction patterns. However, when analyzed as particles, photons exhibit quantized behavior and discrete interactions with matter. This duality challenges classical notions of physics, which generally categorize entities distinctly as either waves or particles. Classical notions of riding generally associate performance with obedience. Biotensegrity demonstrates that many elements of a horse's athletic performance, including fascia lines, closed kinematic chains, and muscle synergies, are not controlled by the rider’s aids.
The rider-horse duality, which leads to sound performances, is a partnership that gives more credit to the horse’s mental processing and willingness. A horse can execute the same movement using different muscles. We cannot control which muscles the horse uses, but we can feel which combination produces better movement. We can reward the horse when he executes the best movement, but that is too simplistic. By observing and analyzing the horse's overall body coordination, we can identify and recreate the conditions that lead to optimal performance,
Considering that the horse’s solution might be better than the dogma we have been trained to apply is a departure from the traditional notion of riding and training. We also need to expand beyond the linear theories to which we have been conditioned such as balance being a backward shift of the weight over the haunches or tearing of the lower legs’ long tendons is an elongation beyond the normal compliance of the tendon. Tendons are auxetic, they expand simultaneously in multiple directions. In the study ” Mechanical and possible auxetic properties of human Achilles tendon during in vitro testing to failure on the human Achilles tendon,” Christopher V. Nagelli and all observed a remarkable degree of medio-lateral auxetic behavior. We think longitudinally when, in fact, lateral forces and vibrations are significant causes of failure. The advantage of advanced knowledge is that we can prevent injuries by addressing the real problem instead of submitting the horse to traditional beliefs. We can reduce the intensity of lateral shifts and vibrations, creating authentic balance.

Authentic balance cannot be achieved by shifting the weight backward. Actual knowledge demonstrates that balance is a forward concept where the thoracolumbar spine muscles manage multidirectional forces around the center of mass and above the base of support. The language is foreign to classical thinking, but familiar to the horse. Indeed, it is the horse who processes efficient body coordination, if we create conditions guiding the horse mental processing toward efficient coordination of the horse’s physique.

In regard of the traditional concept of obedience, this is a quantum leap which includes accepting that the horse is willing, capable of feeling touches that we don’t have the sensitivity to feel, and process sophisticated body coordination. Most premier human athletes are talented but dysfunctional. If not corrected, the dysfunction limits the athlete’s potential and leads to injury. The horse is not different. We have knowledge of the performance’s athletic demands, and we need to teach this knowledge to the horse. Teaching first-grade kids is easy as they know nothing. Teaching fifth grade teenagers is difficult as they know all. The horse does not have an ego problem, but protects instinctively morphological flaws, muscle imbalance or other issues such as memories. We can ignore the horse’s protection and resort to obedience. The horse will submit finding a compromise which, over time, develops pathology.

Reducing lateral shifts of the tendons and vibrations, can be theoretically included in the concept of straightness, but in a dimension that is not approached in any school of thoughts. From the simpler understanding of straightness placing the shoulders in front of the haunches, we need to evolve to the concept of channeling the forces moving the horse’s thoracic spine between our upper thighs and the steadiness of our whole physique. This is Biotensegrity, integrity of our whole physique and subtle nuances in muscle tone. It is easier to channel the forces through our whole physique than synchronizing mechanical actions, but we need to evolve from the order of priorities to the understanding, that balance, forwardness, straightness, lightness, all develop simultaneously. It is a gradual orchestration of the horse’s whole physique. All the priorities interact, each adjustment at one end of the horse’s physique triggers adjustment of the whole physique. We are not different. We cannot have soft hands if we are not in neutral balance over our seat bones, with proper tensegrity of our whole physique interacting with the horse forces and energy through subtle nuances of our body tone. If we think which muscles, should I use, we are locked in mechanical thinking; actions-reactions, that are far away from the horse’s comfort zone and can only trigger protective reflex contractions.

We have no physical difficulty riding at such level of subtlety if we dish the aids and communicate with the horse through nuances of our whole-body tone. Quantum mathematics transcends the classical notions of physics. Quantum riding transcends the classical notions of training. If we practice shoulder in and the horse expresses difficulties bending the thoracic spine to the right, we consider the components of lateral bending, latero-flexion, transversal rotation, and longitudinal flexion. If the horse carries the trunk low between the shoulder blades, he will have difficulties bending the thoracic spine laterally. If the low carriage of the trunk is coupled with a preferential rotation shifting the dorsal spines to the left, the horse will have difficulties bending the thoracic spine to the right.

The horse cannot complete this level of analysis, but we do. We might have to lift the trunk between the forelegs before asking for lateral bending of the thoracic spine. This is a very simple example. It could be for instance that the transversal rotation that is part of lateral bending causes the horse difficulty bending the thoracic spine to the right. We can stimulate transversal rotation by asking for adduction of the right hind leg. The horse will react positively if the adjustment that we create eases the ex*****on of the performance. Other adjustments such as balance and slower cadence might be necessary. It is a conversation where we analyze the horse’s reaction as a partial answer to our question.

Resisting a gait or performance is not behavior. Resistances are expressions of pain or discomfort that we must identify and correct. If we believe that repeating a movement educates the horse’s body, we insist on practicing the right shoulder in and the horse intensifies or switch protections. One way or the other, pathology will develop and we inject the joints hoping that the horse will perform better. He will for a short time as hyaluronic acid or corticoids ease the pain, but they also accelerate the development of arthritis. The cure resides in our ability to transcend our classical notions.

Jean Luc Cornille

10/29/2025

SCIENCE OF MOTION 2026
Many riders could perform at a higher level if they evolved from mechanical thinking. When I write at “a higher level,” I don't think about Piaffe or Tempi-changes; I think about the capacity to develop and coordinate at every level the horse's physique to meet the athletic demands of the performance.
Schools of thought don't teach this aspect. They teach how to make the horse perform. Superior horses are like premium human athletes. They perform because of their talent, but they are dysfunctional. They perform well for a short time, then need joint injections to last a little longer. Most equines and humans underperform and are injured because riding and training techniques focus on performance rather than the athletic demands.
At all levels, we have today the knowledge of the athletic demands of performances. That is the gift of Biomechanical research. Trying to apply new knowledge based on principles of riding and training, elaborated before the actual understanding of human and equine physiology, damages the horse, the rider, and the new knowledge. The way to respect tradition while respecting the horse and ourselves is to evolve in our thinking. The parts don't fix the whole; the whole fixes the part. Biotensegrity is an obvious and necessary evolution. The shoeing and the saddle fitting are helpful parts, but they don't fix the whole.
Human and equine body function are very complex, and the knowledge evolves constantly. In humans, what was true ten years ago is now outdated. Curiously, the riding school of thought resists and even denies progress to protect tradition. If we respect the horse, if we respect ourselves, we need to upgrade the wisdom of our ancestors to actual knowledge. The difficulty is that the upgrade is more of a drastic paradigm shift. If we respect ourselves, we can do it. Betsi, Michelle, and I have taught about the problem from different angles: the scientific, emotional, explanatory, practical, and complex aspects of human nature. There is not one solution, as each one of us processes intellectually and physically differently. We plan for 2026 to go deeper into the science, analyze the emotional aspect, expand the explanation, and approach the practical application, considering the complexity of human nature. This is why it will be only one course, as we plan to use advanced science and technology to provide broader and more profound explanations and suggestions.
Last year, Chazot, looking at my work on the computer over my shoulder, was frozen in a picture. Often, I looked at him as if his presence and energy helped me to explain better. This year, the technology visualizes what was not possible to express through words.
Jean Luc

10/26/2025

Girth

10/23/2025

Intuition and Experience Suggest, and Science Explains

At the end of her presentation, Michelle explains how the wrong alignment of the bony column, combined with impact forces, increases tension of the impar and suspensory ligaments and compression on the bone. I observed a kinematic abnormality in the horses that I rehabilitated from navicular syndrome. The abnormality is shown in this picture. It is the same horse at the same sequence of the stride, during and after his rehabilitation from navicular syndrome. During his rehabilitation, the cannon bone was too far forward in relation to the fetlock’s palmar flexion (see the left picture). The kinematic abnormality induced excessive pressure on the deep digital flexor tendon, impar and suspensory ligament, and distal sesamoid bone, as Michelle describes. After his rehabilitation, as the horse was sound, right picture, the improved balance corrected the kinematic abnormality, reducing the stress on the ligaments and bones.
Intuition is not infallible, and science explains. I wasn't entirely wrong in my belief, but I wasn't right either. I know now that the kinematics abnormality originated from excessive weight on the forelegs. The advantage of this understanding is that my rehabilitation focused more on the overall balance and less on correcting a kinematic abnormality, which was the limb's adaptation to excessive loading. I could have protected my belief and focused on the hoof, as many do, and ultimately, the horse would have suffered.
Jean Luc

10/21/2025

I posted today in the Science of Motion's Navicular Syndrome online course, Michelle Osborn's Second Masterpiece on the Navicular apparatus. As Michelle advances in her detailed explanation of navicular construction and function, the Science of Motion approach becomes increasingly clear. The hoof alone cannot prevent or rehabilitate the problem. Jean Luc Cornille
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/.../navicular_online...

10/19/2025

REHABILITATING A HORSE FROM NAVICULAR SYNDROME IS A CONVERSATION THAT INVOLVES THE HORSE'S WHOLE PHYSIQUE.

In the 1890 USDA special report on navicular disease, the report emphasizes that the navicular apparatus, including the digital cushion and the spring of the fetlock joint, could not withstand the intensity of the impact forces if they were not primarily dissipated by the elastic muscles that bind the shoulder to the body. Modern motion-capture and inverse-dynamics studies agree that vertical and shear forces transmitted down the limb originate in trunk motion—not solely from ground reaction. Work out of Utrecht (2023) and Michigan State (2024) models the thoracolumbar mass as a primary driver of limb loading vectors. These studies are some of the many studies that support my claim that “the hoof does not balance the horse; it receives and manages what the body sends.”
MRI and gait-analysis correlations now confirm that abnormal DDFT loading patterns precede visible bone change. Horses with compensatory axial-rotation patterns in the back show predictable asymmetries in distal-limb flexion timing. That ties directly to the Science of Motion premise that spinal dysfunction distorts limb trajectory, increasing cyclical strain on the navicular apparatus.
My insistence that static hoof angles miss the dynamic picture parallels the shift in orthopedic research toward “dynamic hoof balance”—capturing mid-stance and break-over motion. Current kinetic mapping shows that two hooves with identical static angles can have wildly different peak-load directions once the trunk’s oscillation and rider load are included.
Shoe supports natural correction once trunk re-balances; “corrective” mechanics can later block adaptation. I have observed the phenomenon for every horse. Once the thoracolumbar spine dysfunction started to be corrected, the corrective shoeing blocked the horse's evolution. I evolved then toward correct shoeing.
Subtle postural communication (not mechanical aids) recalibrates fascial tensegrity. It demands skill and knowledge to rehabilitate a horse from navicular syndrome, but most riders have the skill to evolve from the correct aids approach to subtle nuances in muscle tone. The theoretical knowledge is insufficient; the practical application of advanced science is a different dimension than a knowledge weaver posting a study. Each horse reacts protecting his actual muscle imbalance, morphological flaw, or other issue. The horse’s mental processing is primordial for a successful rehabilitation. This demands extensive experience. I don’t mean three or five horses; I mean thousands of horses. Not necessarily thousands of cases of navicular syndrome. Each rehabilitation is different, and the more extensive the experience, the greater the chances of success. This is why the Science of Motion’s Navicular Syndrome rehabilitation program encourages conversation and video analysis. No horse owner can have the necessary experience, but we do, and we are willing to share. One who decides to rehabilitate his or her horse diagnosed with a navicular issue can benefit from our experience. Many horses can be rehabilitated, but it is a serious journey with many variables and questions along the way.
Contemporary biomechanics is converging toward the Science of Motion’s direction—accepting that spinal motion and coordination dictate limb loading vectors. Forces acting from the body down are the true magnitude drivers of navicular stress. Purely mechanical “corrective” shoeing is palliative, not curative, unless paired with trunk-level rehabilitation. But biomechanics lacks the whole-horse approach that the Science of Motion has described for decades. It is necessary to evolve from biomechanics to biotensegrity.
Subtle nuances in muscle tone recalibrate fascial tensegrity and are easier to apply than mechanical aids. Restoring soundness is a gift that we give to the horse and ourselves. It is an intelligent, ethical, and fascinating journey that benefits not only riders who rehabilitate their own horses but also those who aim to prevent the problem.
Jean Luc
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/.../navicular_online...

10/17/2025

The Practical Application of Advanced Science Serves the Horses and the Riders’ Talent.

Already in the seventies, I focused on the relation between the thoracolumbar spine and limb function. I was in the competitive world performing at a world-class level. I rode superior horses, and I felt that I could better serve their talent. Every top rider around me was satisfied with the classical approach. I suppose my background as a gymnast led me to expect a deeper understanding of the horse’s physiology and my own bodily functions. I learned very early that it was politically incorrect to question tradition, even for better results, so I praised the classical approach, but practiced a more advanced approach. I researched, experimented, succeeded, and failed. I became capable of competing with horses, rejected by experienced high-level riders. I knew that it was not a matter of skill; I regarded some of these riders as more talented and experienced than I was.
I helped a renowned vet to rehabilitate an Olympic jumper, and the vet was intrigued by what I was doing. The vet asked me one day, “You changed the front limbs’ kinematics of the horse!” I responded, Yes; he could not be sound moving the way he moved. The vet said, “Yes, I agree, but how do you do that? I told him from the back. The vet laughed and said, ”I don’t question what you say; I can see the results, but you've blown away what I have always been told; it is the legs that create back problems.”
For decades, I did both: I prepared horses for performances in the show ring and I rehabilitated horses from all types of lameness. The work was essentially the same. The dysfunction that hindered the horse from performing a specific movement was the same dysfunction that, if not corrected, would cause lameness months or a year later. I tailored the approach to each horse, but the general idea was the same; I recreated proper body function, whether the horse came for uncurable lameness or difficulty performing a single flying change or the Piaffe.
The horses’ partnership profoundly changed my view of the equestrian world. The partnership involved horses that were having difficulties performing a movement, as well as those in rehab for lameness. Once the horses realized they wouldn't be asked to perform in pain, they explored the coordination of their physique with me, allowing them to move and perform pain-free. I measured, working with these horses, the extent of their willingness and the extent of the damage caused by the concept of unconditional obedience to the rider’s aids. Horses that expressed difficulties performing a movement were treated as rebellious and disobedient. They expressed difficulties expecting help, and they received punishments. They found ways to minimize the pain and the aberrant limb kinematics, which they used as a compromised, developed pathology.
The greatest metamorphosis was the riders. They bring their horse to me as their last resort. The system betrayed them and their horses, and they no longer revered the chains that imprisoned them. As I taught them how to keep their horses sound, the riding was sometimes complex and challenging. They could ride at a sophisticated level because their minds were free from the constraints of traditional thinking. They no longer expected the shoeing and therapy to be effective because they had not been. They knew that their horse’s soundness was in their hands, and they realized that they were better riders than the system wanted them to believe. They also realized that their horses were better than the system told them and that it was the system that crippled their horse. They rebelled against the brainwashing strategy of the equine industry, and went home with a sound horse, and kept their
horse sound.
Jean Luc

10/16/2025

I have been explaining for 40 years that spine dysfunctions are the root cause of limb kinematics abnormalities, and the same reductionists who criticized the thought are now trying to take the credit. What they don’t know yet is that thoracolumbar spine dysfunction cannot be corrected through the traditional principles of riding and training.
Even if a large athlete, the horse can feel touches too subtle for a human to feel. The horse's comfort zone lies in a dimension that the refinement of traditional rider aids cannot reach. We have the scientific knowledge to communicate with the horse at such a subtle level, but correcting thoracolumbar spine dysfunctions is beyond the scope of mechanical thinking. In biomechanical thinking, the parts fix the whole. In biotensegrity thinking, the whole fixes the parts. We can effectively correct limbs’ kinematic abnormalities by identifying and correcting thoracolumbar spine dysfunction, but not in the way reductionists advise.
Jean Luc

10/14/2025

Knowledge and experience enable elegance in the delivery.

Next week in the Science of Motion’s Navicular Course, Michelle Osborn, MA, PhD, plans to go deeper into her navicular enthesis organ presentation. There are soft tissues that have never been explained and are often the cause of lameness. Paraphrasing Albert Einstein, "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think”. The real value of a teacher is not simply presenting facts, but mastering the subject deeply enough to guide the students’ mental processing toward efficient application. Knowledge and extensive experience enable a delivery that guides the students’ minds toward a deep and refined understanding. By students, I mean riders and horses. As a rider, we don’t apply facts efficiently if we don’t understand and feel the whole body function. As well, the horse does not benefit from advanced knowledge if our delivery does not respect the horse’s personality and mental processing. Facts delivered with extensive experience benefit riders and horses. This is why the Science of Motion is often imitated but never equaled.
Jean Luc
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/documents/navicular_online_course.html

10/13/2025

The left picture is a utopia. The hoof does not balance the whole horse. The right picture is reality. The hoof is a structure at the end of the digit that absorbs considerable forces acting from the body down the leg and the navicular apparatus.

Corrective Shoeing is Useful but not Enough

Corrective shoeing has existed for over 200 years, yet many horses continue to be affected by the problem. The navicular bone is inside the hoof, prompting the belief that the cure is in the hoof. But if we think at a dynamic level, the distal sesamoid bone and the deep digital flexor tendon absorb and manage considerable forces acting from the body down to the leg. Ground reaction forces indeed act all the way up to the serratus ventralis muscles, but ground reaction forces are infinitesimal compared to the forces loading the digit from the body down to the leg. The intensity of the ground reaction forces results from the intensity, frequency, and direction of the forces loading the hoof from the body down to the leg. Reducing the intensity, frequency, and direction of the impact forces is more efficient than concentrating on the structure that absorbs the forces. Correct shoeing and efficient equitation are necessary for a successful recovery.
I use the term “correct shoeing” because, as the rehabilitation progressed and the horse started to correct the limb kinematic abnormality, loading the navicular apparatus, the effect of the corrective shoeing hampered the correction of the limb kinematic abnormality through proper function of the thoracolumbar spine. At one or two months in the horse’s rehab, the corrective shoeing became a handicap, and I opted for correct shoeing.
In one week, Michelle will post her second anatomical study of the navicular apparatus. Michelle will delve deeper into her study, highlighting the importance of the forces that load the limb from the body down to the navicular apparatus. Through more profound knowledge and accepting responsibilities, the rider greatly multiplies the horse’s chances to recover from navicular issues and, even more importantly, prevents the development of navicular syndrome.
Jean Luc
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/documents/navicular_online_course.html

Jean Luc Cornille

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