I have only a little understanding, but it seems to me that this discussion is hopping around because of limited understanding of Baucher or the “French method” (and there are of course several), and the (understandable) inclination to try to grasp the differences by reference to “normal” dressage. The trouble is, that we treat the FEI rules as THE RULES, handed down by on high. But there is nothing sacred in these rules, and they have been revised several times, each time becoming, I think, rather more German (and perhaps more suited to German horses.) When we think dressage, we think German dressage, even when we don’t realize it. It is what we compare all dressage against, even how we determine what is “classical”. But if we have curious minds, we might try to see dressage from a different angle. But if we try to immediately judge its procedures and outcomes by THE RULES, we will learn nothing. When faced with two very different systems, one must understand how they work internally, and how they work in their own context, before trying to make a definite comparison.
I thought maybe I could help a little, since I have been pouring over Philippe Karl’s Twisted Truths of Modern Dressage (really really interesting by the way, even if you’re wary of this whole “French thing”, it will make you think!) for the last few months, trying to understand it. I am hoping to get a hold of Racinet’s books soon, and then maybe I will want to retract all this!
But: the three main principles of Baucher’s 2nd method, filtered thru Philippe Karl, as I understand them:
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Balance before movement.
The first step is to relax and balance the horse (thru flexions, esp. the cession de mâchoire, below) and then to send it forward. If the horse loses balance or begins to resist the hand, one backs off and re-establishes balance and relaxation at the walk or halt before proceeding. These flexions also lay the groundwork for developing straightness.
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Hands without legs, legs without hands
The are (almost) always used seperately, although often in close conjunction. Impulsion is generated from the leg, which the horse is expected to sustain without continued pressure. The first step in training is to teach the horse the meaning of these aids, e.g. legs, which he does not inherently understand. As the legs create forward motion, they are (almost) never used for anything else, e.g. for half-halts or halts. Half-halts are achieved through the hands lifting up rather than thru a combination of hand & leg. He quotes La Guérinière:
“The demi-arrêt [half-halt] is carried out by holding the curb hand close to you with the nails turned a little upwards without completely stopping the horse, but only holding and supporting the forehand when teh horse leans on the bit or even when we want to increase ramener or colleciton…if it leans too much on the hand, demi-arrêts must be more frequent and pronounced, only using the curb hand without any help of the calves or the legs; on the contrary we have to release the thighs because otherwise the horse will lean even more on the forehand.”
This use of the hand (lifting, rather than contracting backwards) is cession de mâchoire, and is a flexion achieved first in hand, then mounted, then in movement. You ask for the jaw to release by lifting the hand so that the snaffle acts only on the corners of the mouth, and not on the tongue. The hand releases, and maintains the light contact created as long as the mouth remains mobile. When the jaw stiffens, it is repeated. The goal is create a reflex anticipation, with the horse yielding its mouth more and more quickly and maintaining the soft, released mouth for longer, with the aid becoming increasingly more subtle. In this way the hand gently creates relaxation when it has been lost. PK specifies variations for horses who go above the bit or which lean on the hand. The hands therefore are not always low, and they always follow the horse’s mouth.
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The ideal is “descente de main et de jambes”
That is, the ceasing to act of hand or leg, the horse being “on parole”, to test that the horse is not being held up or pushed forward, but is sustaining the movement himself. It shows relaxation, balance, impulsion.
Légereté, lightness, is this quality of mobilizing the jaw (“tasting the bit”) which produces softness in the hand, together with impulsion that does not require sustained pressure from the legs.
BTW, supposedly the 2nd method is set out in “Methodic Schooling of the Saddle Horse according to the Last Teachings of F. Baucher, collected by one of his students, 1891” by François Faverot de Kerbrech. Something else to read!
Again, not an expert. Corrections welcome.
:),
Steph
