Solid in the Saddle

There was a time when I honestly wondered if I’d ever ride again.

In 2020, I broke my back in a horse accident and shattered my L1 vertebrae.

I spent 12 weeks in a back brace. I had muscle spasms so bad that I couldn’t do the simplest things, like lean forward to wash my face or brush my teeth.

And for a while, getting back on a horse felt like a really long way off.

I met a rider last weekend who also broke her L1 and I remembered what it felt like to love horses so much, but not trust my body to do what I needed it to do.

The first ride back wasn’t pretty. It was a short trail ride and my back muscles were so exhausted from holding me up that I had to wear my brace the rest of the day.

So the rest of that year I worked on my strength, balance, stability, and muscle endurance. I knew that if I wanted to get back to barrel racing I had to learn how to trust my body to do it.

And something unexpected happened.

I didn’t just get back to where I was before my accident.

I came back a better, stronger rider than I had been before I broke my back. Like WAY better. I went from being a crappy jockey to a pretty decent one.

That experience completely changed the way I look at back pain in riders.

If your back hurts every time you ride, or you’re sore for the rest of the day after working your horse, I don’t want you to just accept that as part of getting older or part of riding horses.

Your body is telling you it needs support from you.

Listen before it screams 💕

you CAN build the physical capacity to do the things you love again, and if you’d like some support, I’m here to help you.

Comment “back” for our free back pain guide for horseback riders.

Work smarter, not harder.
Science makes better horseback riders.

You guys guessed it…

Bobbie Reeves is joining Deena N Tayla Moeykens as our newest sponsored rider for Solid in the Saddle!

Part one of Bobbie’s story is here. I think it’s empowering for our SS riders to know you can still get to the top after horse struggles if you’re willing to put in the work on yourself and your horse. Bobbie was kind enough to share her inspiring story with this mare!

She is a 2017 Appendix QH mare by Black Gold Fame (Dash Ta Fame x Shes Wild) and out of Short Skirt (Mt Livermore x Richsis) Lots of TB in her blood.
She is one of the sweetest horses I have ever been around. Always at the gate and ready to go out on any adventure. Loves to travel the trails and mountains over being worked in an arena. I love how elegant and sleek she looks. A complete athlete in all aspects.

After coming home from Texas in the fall of 2022 I noticed her behaviour changing. She would pace any time I would work other horses or load up and go to an event. To the point that she would be in a full lather and dripping sweat. This was not her normal self. I had been around a few EPM horses in Texas and when they had flair ups it would sometimes come out as anxiety or stall weaving. My gut was telling me to have her tested. We pulled blood and sure enough it came back positive for S.neurona. Her titer was on the low end but since she is more naturally prone to being a hotter horse her symptoms were pretty noticeable. She also didn’t want to hold her lead in the hind end and just seemed to hop and not drive. She had a 3 month treatment of compounded meds. There were minimal results. This led me on a deep dive of research to try and tackle this issue on our own. I maintained her health for the next year and a half with a more holistic approach.
I mostly rode her at home and worked on building her health back. We went to two Paul Humphrey clinics and his understanding, knowledge and horsemanship helped us to have better communication and think outside the box. Instead of letting her get worked up we did more transitions and it also helped me to not be focused on being so perfect all the time. Accept the try and move on.

We have an exciting announcement to share…

We have a new addition to the Solid in the Saddle sponsored rider team!!!

Can you guess who it is?!

Hint: she’s a Solid in the Saddle buckle series winner, has participated in both Ride Strong 101 and COMPETE, she’s been consistently placing in the 1D on her mare this summer and she has already pulled a pro rodeo check on her 🖤

She is one of the hardest working, disciplined, and most determined people I know… and she is the first to offer help and encouragement to any rider. She’s the definition of fitness and puts her health and her horse’s health as top priority. She’s all of those things and so much more, and that’s why she is a perfect fit.

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE HER ON THE TEAM!!!

Who do you think it is?

We want to hear from you!

What’s getting in the way of you feeling your absolute best when you swing a leg over your horse?

Tell us in the comments. No wrong answers, confidence is something every horseman has had to face at some point in their journey.

Don’t forget our FLASH SALE ends TONIGHT!

50% off Six Weeks to Solid in the Saddle, Ride Strong 101, and COMPETE if you use code “WINNING” at checkout!

365 days of loving you 🖤

I blinked and now I have a 1 year old 🥹

Did you know we were on the apple App Store and Google Play?

Comment “APP” to get limited access to our brand new course coming out September 1st that you can access just by downloading the app for free 🔥

Also, Google is crazy to deal with so I hope you appreciate this 🤪took a long time to get this up and running

But we are SO GRATEFUL it did!

For those of you who remember the website days…. This is so much better 😅

-Dr.Aleisha PT,DPT,CSCS

Want to learn how you win a $3000+ check with your horse?

Those core workouts are really paying off!

This girl is feeling great this season and winning BIG!

Why???

She is dedicated to her workouts and her horses!

We are SO proud of her hard work and love being able to support her on her rodeo journey.

Our team wants you to WIN Big too!

So to keep these big wins coming for the next 24 hours we will be running a HUGE FLASH SALE!!!

THESE 3 COURSES WILL BE 50% OFF

Level 1: Six Weeks to Solid in the Saddle

Level 2: Ride Strong 101: Unstable to Unshakable in 8 Weeks

Level 3: Solid in the Saddle: COMPETE

Comment “BILLINGS” and we’ll send you the code to get your discount!

Don’t forget to tag a friend that you want to WIN too!

Tip Tuesday: Build A Young Horse’s Confidence

Young horses need their confidence built up just like we do as riders!

When I first started moving cows with Ajax last fall he was terrified of them.

I don’t know why 🤷‍♀️ he’s been raised around them since the day he was born.

But something Melanie Joy South said really stuck with me- you just have to build up their confidence little by little.

So I started by riding behind my husband on Bones, then venturing out to move our own little group, to eventually being able to move the whole herd with my father in law by the end of the fall.

We had a slight backslide in spring after he had to have a few months off, so we started again with Bones, then gradually worked Ajax back into a more independent role.

It seemed like it was watching paint dry, but moving cows on McCarty the other weekend I realized just how far Ajax had come!

So many people have asked me if I miss Melman, the big yellow horse I used to ride on the ranch. My answer is always yes, I miss being able to be handy. That horse had the confidence of the Muhammad Ali and never thought twice about anything.

But slowly but surely we are getting there with Ajax.

2 days ago Will said, “Ajax reminds me of Melman” 🥹

If we had rushed him it probably would’ve destroyed his confidence and he’d be a nervous wreck moving cows.

But since we’ve taken it slowly (and since Will started letting him chase a few 🤣😅🤦‍♀️) he is learning to love it.

I want to share this because it’s not something that came intuitively to me. I didn’t have a growth mindset about horse confidence before talking to Melanie.

A horse doesn’t have to be labeled as “x” just because they aren’t quite confident at it yet.

Sometimes they just need a little extra time & support ☺️

I hope you can use this! Or at least can share with a friend who can 🩶

Have you had a horse gain confidence in something over time? How long did it take?

P.S. how adorable is this photo of Katie Curtis and Tito? She is doing an amazing job of building his confidence and it’s so fun to watch them! Tito is getting patterned and she is building his confidence every week 🤩

-Dr.Aleisha PT,DPT, CSCS

Whoop whoop! We had SO MANY RIDERS with wins this past weekend!

I was at a clinic so I'm a bit behind posting, but please join me in celebrating these awesome gals.

So proud of them 🥹

Audrey won SECOND in a rodeo this weekend! She was leading it after slack and someone edged her out by .03 in the last perf.

Lexi placed 2nd in the 1D on her futurity c**t.

Lindsay placed 2nd in the 1D at her local race.

Donna placed 3rd in the 1D in a jackpot.

Cathy had an amazing run that was a real turning point with her horse and she finished just out of the money.

Suni had two great runs! Placed in the 1D out of 130 riders and had a really smooth rodeo run.

Anne-Marie had a great rodeo run and her horse walked in flat footed.

Bobbie's horse spooked and she lost her left stirrup, but she stayed on using her right leg, which used to be her weaker side.

Audra made it to top of the 3D and improved her first barrel.

And Deena N Tayla Moeykens WON BILLINGS! 💪

Tayla is sitting 8th in the world right now. GO MONTANA!

Comment "SHOCK" for a free core workout for barrel racers if you want to start seeing some of the success these gals are having.

-Dr. Aleisha PT, DPT, CSCS