Leg Up Equestrian Enterprises

The Intelligence of Elasticity: Stiffness, Cadence and Mechanotransduction
“Suspension and amplitude are not created by stretching and relaxation, but through the appropriate coordination and stiffness of elastic structures.”

— Jean Luc Cornille

Movement is not created by muscular contraction alone.

The horse's body functions as an integrated system in which muscles, tendons, fascia, joints and other connective structures interact continuously with gravity, ground reaction forces and inertia.

Within this system, muscles may work concentrically, eccentrically or isometrically while tendons and other elastic structures deform, store energy and return part of that energy during locomotion.

This interaction between muscular force and elastic structures is fundamental to efficient movement.



The Stretch-Shortening Cycle
In many athletic movements, an active lengthening of the muscle-tendon system precedes shortening. This sequence is commonly described as the stretch-shortening cycle.

The principle can easily be observed in human athletics.

During throwing, jumping and running, the athlete does not produce power through one isolated muscular contraction. Movement results from a precisely timed sequence involving multiple body segments, muscular actions and elastic structures.

The horse is different anatomically from the human athlete, but the fundamental principle remains relevant: efficient locomotion depends upon the coordination of force throughout the entire body.

The hind limbs, back and forelimbs do not function as independent mechanical units.

They function as parts of a coordinated system.

The rider cannot directly control each muscle, tendon or deeper structure involved in this process. The rider can, however, influence the conditions under which the horse's nervous system organizes them.

This distinction is fundamental to intelligent equine training.

We do not manually position the deeper structures.

We create the conditions allowing the horse to coordinate them.



Elastic Energy
The horse's limbs are remarkably specialized for economical locomotion.

Long tendons associated with relatively short muscle fibers allow portions of the limb to function as elastic energy-storage systems.

As the limb accepts load, elastic structures can deform and store strain energy. As loading changes, part of this energy can subsequently be returned.

This reduces the amount of muscular work required for locomotion.

The horse therefore does not move efficiently simply because muscles contract harder.

Efficient locomotion depends upon when force is produced, how force is transmitted through the body, how tissues deform under load, and how effectively elastic energy is stored and returned.

This is considerably more sophisticated than the traditional opposition between contraction and relaxation.



Stiffness Is Not Rigidity
The word stiffness is often misunderstood in equestrian language.

Stiffness does not necessarily mean rigidity.

In biomechanics, stiffness describes the relationship between an applied force and the deformation of a structure.

A structure that is excessively compliant may deform without efficiently returning useful energy. A structure that is excessively rigid may be unable to accommodate the forces and movements required of it.

Athletic efficiency exists between these extremes.

The horse continuously adjusts the stiffness of muscles, tendons, joints and the body as a whole according to the mechanical demands of each instant.

This is functional stiffness.

It is not muscular rigidity.

Nor is it relaxation.

Rigidity and slackness represent two extremes. Neither describes efficient athletic locomotion.

The athletic horse needs sufficient stiffness to resist inappropriate deformation, transmit forces and utilize elastic recoil while retaining the mobility necessary to coordinate the next phase of the stride.

This is why the traditional instruction to simply make the horse “relax” provides an incomplete explanation of efficient movement.

The objective is not relaxation.

The objective is coordination.



The Horse's Natural Cadence
The efficiency of elastic energy storage and return depends strongly upon timing.

This brings us to one of the most important elements of athletic training:

cadence.

Every horse has PLEASE CLICK LINK TO READ ON much more to read! :) https://scienceofmotion.com/documents/mechanoresponsiveness_22.html

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