16/10/2025
Anna’s words are a MUST READ! Till the end 💝 wow.
Although teachers talk about the core parts of Legerete, in short, are three essential & inseparable components: balance, relaxation & impulsion.
These are deeply understood & beautifully applied by teaching a language to the horse, so the rider has a refined toolbox and a full understanding of why & how.
In Legerete every rider becomes the ‘trainer’ of their own horse. And riding a Legerete horse is like no other.
Why we ❤️ Legerete
“Hands without legs, legs without hands.” ~ François Baucher
This short phrase captures the heart of École de Légèreté.
It comes from François Baucher (1796–1873).
A pioneering, controversial, and often misunderstood 19th-century French riding master who aspired towards total lightness (légèreté) and suppleness through refined communication rather than force.
Interestingly though, Baucher’s journey didn’t begin with the pursuit of lightness. Instead, his First Manner was one of power and control…. a style rooted in the military tradition of his time. Baucher sought obedience through strength and precision. But everything changed after a freak accident in 1855, when a chandelier fell on him during a circus performance. Baucher was seriously injured and unable to ride as before. Life, fate, or whatever you wish to call it forced him to find a new way...
His Physical limitations deepened a shift in training that had already begun…. leading to years of reflection, experimentation, and refinement. From this came a new philosophy of horsemanship: his Second Manner.
One of Baucher’s key insights was how tension in the jaw, neck, and poll underlies resistance throughout the body. When he began prioritising balance, relaxation, and the removal of resistance, he found true access to the horse both physically and mentally.
He also realised that opposing aids, as in, using the hand to restrain while the leg drives forward- created confusion, stress, and tension and dullness. Determined to end that conflict, he worked a huge amount from halt and walk with meticulous, almost meditative precision, seeking perfect balance.
From this came one of his guiding principles, published in the 12th edition of his Méthode d’équitation (1864):
“Hands without legs, legs without hands.”
It means- never giving contradictory aids…. Never pushing and pulling at the same time & never driving the horse into a blocking hand.
As Philippe Karl explains, it’s like driving a car with the handbrake and accelerator on at the same time!
When horses are ridden with opposing aids, they must choose: go or whoa, they can’t do both. The steadier types tend to obey the restraining aids, leaving riders forever chasing “more energy” or “more impulsion.” To the endless cry of “MORE LEG!”.
The more sensitive types obey the forward aids…. and their riders are left endlessly “rebalancing,” trying to contain energy that soon boils over into tension or panic. These are the “hot” horses…. the ones who feel like ticking bombs, where even breathing can feel risky.
And this compression between hand and leg will always yield over-flexion- where the obsession with frame before balance becomes the poison chalice. The horse has nowhere else to go so eventually it does its best to hide behind the rider's hand and save what little sensitivity it has left in its mouth by giving absolute submission to the hand.
And this is where so many riders get stuck.
And this is also why so many of us are finding resonance with École de Légèreté.
We’ve all been taught, at some point, to ride in tension, to hold, to collect, to “frame” the horse through opposition. Many of us have felt that inner conflict during our lessons: between our hands and legs, our intentions and the horses response.
Something feels off…. And through repetition we start to notice that- our opposing aids make horses heavier, not lighter. Duller, not responsive. Or tenser, not relaxed.
Baucher’s hard-won wisdom reminds us:
Harmony, lightness, trust or whatever else you wish you call it…. doesn’t come from control, it comes from clarity, timing, feel & RESPECT.
When our hands and legs no longer argue and contradict one another, the conversation becomes much easier….
To ride a horse trained in légèreté is unmistakable. There is a lightness, expression, and pride. You feel their balance, coordination, and power come together in an energised yet peaceful way.
Nothing else, in my opinion has come close.
Once you’ve felt it, you never forget it and you would never want to go back to “hand into leg” again....
It becomes an obsession- the pursuit of Legerete!
