A "baucher" is also a type of bit, named after the man.
François Baucher (1796–1873) was a French riding master whose methods are still debated by dressage enthusiasts today. His philosophy of training the horse changed dramatically over the course of his career and is often considered in two distinct phases or "manners."
His books
Baucher published a number of works on equitation, including the Dictionnaire raisonné d'équitation, "Reasoned dictionary of equitation" in 1833; the Dialogues sur l'équitation, "Dialogues on equitation" (with Louis Charles Pellier) in 1835; and the Passe-temps équestres, "Equestrian pastimes" in 1840.
Baucher's most celebrated work is the Méthode d'équitation basée sur de nouveaux principes, "Method of riding based on new principles"; the earliest extant edition is the third, published in 1842. The numerous following editions up to 1863, when his contract with his publishers expired, are essentially reprints of the same book. The 12th edition, published in 1864 and called the deuxième manière or second manner, contained notable changes from his original method, and was continued in his 13th edition published in 1868.
Training and riding theories
The effet d'ensemble
Baucher's "first manner" is characterized by an attempt to "annul the instinctive forces" of the horse. To do so, he gradually applied both hands and heels at the halt, his theory being that they should cancel each other out and the horse should stand still. Applying both hands and heels to effect collection was termed the .
Flexions
A prominent aspect of Baucher's method is "flexion" (and relaxation) of the horse's jaw in response to light pressure from either the snaffle or curb bit. Indirectly, this motion was intended to effect flexion at the poll. This part of Baucher's training taught the horse to relax to the bit pressure from the ground - applying gentle but consistent pressure to one side until the horse would "give", then releasing the pressure immediately. Once the horse relaxed to the right and left consistently, he would begin the jaw flexion (in effect, both sides at once, resulting in the horse giving to pressure from the bit to find the release, versus pushing against the bit, tossing his head, etc.).
Baucher also incorporated flexions of the haunches, including rotations of the croup around the shoulders. This intended to teach the horse to keep his haunches straight and to help move them backward in the rein back. The rein back was used to teach the horse to move his whole body mass away from the bit (to increase the power of the hand), and also to help close the angles of the hind legs, which would help increase impulsion.
Problems with impulsion
Despite the great importance put on the hand and preparation of the forehand, using the reinback to shift the center of gravity backwards and to increase respect for the hand, there is no exercise used by Baucher to increase respect for forward movement and impulsion or preparation of the hindquarters.
Many of Baucher's students had issues with the lack of impulsion resulting from using his technique, and this is indeed one of the greatest criticisms of the method . Some advocated the use of galloping, free gaits, or spurring to get the needed impulsion. Baucher never included an exercise for impulsion in his book. The closest idea he had was a technique of getting the horse to respond extremely quickly off the leg, by barely touching the horse with his calves, before immediately spurring him (without use of hand) if the animal did not immediately move off. However, this technique did not provide a great deal of impulsion.
With the effet d'ensemble established at the halt, Baucher begins work at the walk. If at any time the horse loses the softness of the jaw and neck, it is re-established within the gait or, if it can not be established there, the animal is immediately brought back to the halt until the horse submits. This resulted in a stop-go motion, and much of the work was therefore done at the walk, which Baucher termed "the mother of all gaits" (directly opposing the masters before him, who mostly worked in the trot). Baucher would continue in the walk until he could perform very tight changes of direction. He then moved onto the trot, and transitions between the walk and trot, keeping the effet d'ensemble the whole time.