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I want to select a few chapters from his book that describe Baucher's method without trying to deny or cover up its weaknesses. Since this cannot be done on just a few pages, I will do it in several instalments. This week begins with an account of the effet d'ensemble.
General Albert Decarpentry, Baucher et son ecole, Paris 1948, pp. 49-54:
"The fundamental technique of Baucher's method is the effet d'ensemble, which pursues the primary goal of his formula: to annul the instinctive forces."It consists of the simultaneous application of the driving and restraining aids, in such a way that the opposition of forces makes the latter annul the effects of the former completely.
"Thus, driven forward by the legs, while being pulled back by the hand (footnote: "pulled" appears to be the right word to characterize the action of the hands in the effet d'ensemble, as it is defined in these terms in the 'Derniers Enseignements' ...'approaching the torso with the bridle hand' p. 21 - and this definition is difficult to reconcile with his: 'always this, never this' of Baucher's final moments), the horse must remain completely immobilized by the effet d'ensemble.
"This opposition has to be done gradually. The forces used by the rider, 'always equivalent', must be as small as necessary in the beginning, in order to avoid any disturbance. By and by, the rider intensifies them, until he reaches the maximum strength in their application, while the horse's immobility remains unchanged at the halt, and the gait remains unchanged, if he is in motion.
"Before researching this balance of opposing forces, Baucher prepares it by proceeding separately for the forehand and the hindquarters, for the regulation and the development of the strength of the superior and inferior aids.
"By regulating their direction, he assures himself of the means of disallowing the horse any use of his body which would deflect the opposition of these forces that must be neutralized by the opposition.
"With their development, he takes the power of the effet d'ensemble to its limit. By bringing the horse's forces into play, demanding them up to their limit and containing them, he lets him experience the futility of any efforts to escape the constraints of the aids. The absolute domination over his instinctive forces, and, consequently, over his morale, is thus realized. The horse has "all four legs tied", as Baucher put it. Convinced of his helplessness, he is "tamed", and the effet d'ensemble is thus similar to the containment gadgets that were invented for the same purpose, from the twitch to the Barnum longe, via the pillars, the 'work' of the marechals, the system of Rarey, and the hippo-lasso of Raabe.
"The preparatory procedures for the effet d'ensemble are basically the 'flexions' of the forehand and of the hindquarters. Their common purpose is to make sure the rider has the means to place either exactly in the direction and position he intends to give them.
"The rigorous imposition of the opposite direction renders it impossible for any forces to escape by deviation. The imposition of the posture determines the intensity of their effort and makes it possible to carry the latter to the degree that corresponds to the imposed posture.
"As far as the forehand is concerned, it is the shortening of the lever arm that is formed by the neck, its 'coiling up' towards the torso, which achieves the backward shift of the center of gravity that slows down the forward progression of the body mass, when it is pushed forward by the hindquarters.
"This is the result that the 'direct flexion' aims for, which leads towards the Ramener (poll flexion, TR), where the rein action has the advantage of addressing the bars perpendicularly when the hand is in the normal position, resulting in maximal efficiency.
"The lateral flexions essentially aim at ensuring the straightness of the neck, by providing the means to combat any lateral neck bend, through bending in the opposite direction. Incidentally, they contribute to stretching a part of the muscles that prevent the ramener, and in addition, they thus prepare the direct flexion.
"The horse still possessess in his jaw a center of resistance against the constraints of the hand, regardless of his neck position, which he uses, e.g., when he coils up. Reducing this ability to resist is the object of the 'jaw flexions', which force the horse to yield to the pressure of the bit by opening his mouth, when the tongue is mobilized right at its root underneath the poll, which thus becomes relaxed so that it, in turn, facilitates the direct flexion.
"In the progression of these three basic flexions, the ramener must of necessity come last, because its success depends in part on the results of the two others.
"Thus "flexed" - the opponents would call it: displaced, disconnected - the neck can no longer evade the ramener, nor can the jaw evade the relaxation. Together they form an adjustable brake whose braking power can be increased to the point of blocking completely the forward release of the springs of the hindquarters.
"But Baucher is not content with having made the hand an unsurmountable barrier. He also wants it to have a power that is directed backward, that is able to move the body mass backwards, and to impose the continuity of its backward displacement.
"It is the exercise of the reinback that accomplishes this. But he does not begin with his exercise until after the lateral mobilisation of the haunches, which on the one hand facilitates their backward movement, and on the other hand allows the rider to prevent their escape to the side.
"For the haunches, the flexions consist of rotations of the croup around the shoulders, which enable the rider to displace the former with respect to the latter at will, so that the haunches are forced to dispense their efforts exactly in the direction of the shoulders.
"The rotations therefore play the same role for the haunches as the lateral flexions for the forehand.
"The reinback is to the haunches what the direct flexion is to the neck in some respect. One of its effects is to increase the effort of closing the joint angles of the haunches, thus bringing about an increase in the compression of its springs, whose release then determines the intensity of the impulsion.
"The comparison between these two preparations, that of the forehand and that of the haunches, brings out a certain correspondence between them, which ought to lead to an equivalent development of the forces that are intended to counterbalance each other in the effet d'ensemble.
"Now, this equivalence in the result of their preparation can well be considered accomplished with respect to straightening out lateral evasions, through the effect of the lateral flexions that are applied to the forehand as well as the hindquarters. But the equivalence ends here, and the situation is far from being the same where the development of their forces is concerned.
"After shifting the center of gravity backwards as a result of the ramener, the hand furthermore receives through the reinback a decisive power from front to back. On the other hand, nothing comparable is achieved in the preparation of the hindquarters. No exercise is practiced in order to develop the intensity of the forward release of the haunches, and to give the hind legs a propulsive force that is equivalent to the retropulsive force of the hand.
...
"There is no exercise of moving forward from the leg in Baucher's method that corresponds to the moving backward from the hand which the reinback imposes. (footnote: This inequality of the preparations of the forehand and the hindquarters has preoccupied many of Baucher's students, even the best ones. Gerhardt suggests the 'frequent use of free gaits' as a remedy, as well as 'quick starts upon spur attacks'. Count Alexis d'Abzac recommends giving the horse a 'good gallop' immediately after the flexions. On finds nothing of the sort in Baucher's writings. Only in his 'derniers enseignements': 'If one touches with both calves, and their simple contact does not immediately bring or restore the desired result, one touches with both spurs at once, without opposition from the hand. One repeats these little attacks until the desired result is obtained... That way, one gives the horse a great finesse towards the legs...' Finesse, certainly, but power?)
"The 'equivalence' of the forces, which is so insistently recommended by Baucher in the effet d'ensemble, can thus hardly be completely established in their opposition, and the difference in their intensity can only result in the detriment of the impulsion.
"This is one of the pitfalls of the method, and many of Baucher's students were unable to avoid it. The forces that are developed by the hand, pulling or resistance to pulling, are very different by nature from the forces that are developed by the legs, pressures or kicks, so that the rider can find a dynamometer for them in himself. It is therefore by their effect on the horse that he must judge their equivalence. Can he always realize when his mount meets the indications of his hand with enthusiastiasm but those of his legs with reticence, although they are supposedly equivalent? Under the eye of Baucher, yes certainly, thanks to the attention given by the master. But if the student is left to his own devices, the evasion may escape his notice. Under the domination of the effet d'ensemble, the horse doubtlessly abandons all of his efforts *against* his rider. But his efforts *for* him may very well be lacking as well."
Last Update: January 13, 2007