Your body is limiting your horse.

Pain, weakness, and instability in the saddle don't go away with more riding. The Foundation Program rebuilds the hip stability and strength you need to ride with control and stop passing your limitations on to your horse.

9 weeks · DPT-designed · Delivered via app

Does any of this sound familiar?

• Hip pain, tightness, or aching after rides

• One side always feels weaker or stiffer than the other

• Can't sit the lope without gripping or bouncing

• Feel unstable or braced, like you're fighting your own position

• Your horse keeps developing back soreness or showing resistance under saddle

• You're returning to riding after surgery and need a safe, structured protocol

These aren't riding technique problems. They're movement problems, and no amount of saddle adjustments or equine chiro visits will fix them if the source is you.

Who this program is for

This program was built for three types of riders:

Riders dealing with pain, weakness, or instability You don't need a diagnosis or a surgery history to benefit from this program. If riding hurts, if you feel weak or uneven in the saddle, or if you've been told to "just strengthen your core" with no real plan then this was built for you.

Riders who want to stop limiting their horse Your asymmetry shows up in your horse's body. If your horse is consistently sore on one side, resistant, or showing behavioral changes under saddle, your movement patterns are very likely a contributing factor.

Post-surgical riders returning to the saddle Knee surgery, labral repair, or other orthopedic surgery? This protocol rebuilds the clinical foundations that surgery alone doesn't restore.

What you're spending without this program

Most riders keep paying to treat the horse instead of the source.

One equine chiro visit: $150–200, every 6–8 weeks. Saddle fitter: $100–300 per adjustment. Massage, acupuncture, joint injections for the horse.

The problems keep coming back and it is often because the rider never changed.

The Foundation Program is $197. One time. And it addresses the actual source.

Inside the 9-week program

The Foundation Program is a comprehensive hip and core stability protocol, not a generic glute workout. It targets every stabilizing system that controls your position in the saddle: deep hip rotators, hip flexors, adductors, abductors, lateral stabilizers, and the core musculature that ties it all together. Most fitness programs touch one or two of these. This program addresses the full picture.

Session Type A — Hip stabilizers & deep rotators Rebuilds the deep hip and inner stabilizers responsible for a quiet, connected seat, including the muscles most commonly inhibited after pain, compensation patterns, or surgery.

Session Type B — Hip power & lateral stability Targets the outer hip, abductors, and lateral core, the muscles responsible for even leg pressure, straightness through your horse's body, and controlled movement at the lope.

Mobility add-on An optional mobility component is included alongside the strength work. Strength without range of motion only gets you so far, this add-on restores the tissue length and joint mobility your strength training can actually use.

Weeks 1–3: Reactivation Weeks 4–6: Loading Weeks 7–9: Integration

Each phase progresses your body toward the specific movement demands of western riding, not generic fitness.

4 sessions per week. 40-45 minutes each. Done from home.

Designed by a DPT who actually rides.

I'm Natalie Howard, PT, DPT — a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a western rider. I didn't adapt this from a general population exercise program. I built it from the ground up around what riding actually demands of the body.

My clinical background and my own experience in the saddle are why this program works where generic fitness doesn't. The exercises are selected based on clinical evidence and equestrian movement analysis — not guesswork.

I also offer hands-on equine bodywork through my practice in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, which means I see, every week, how rider limitations translate directly into horse body problems.

"A stronger rider builds a sounder horse."

Common questions

I haven't had surgery —is this still for me? Yes. Most riders who benefit from this program have no surgical history. If you have pain, weakness, or instability in the saddle, or you simply want to ride better and protect your horse then this program is for you.

How much time does it take? 4 sessions per week, 40-45 minutes each. No gym required. Bands and light weights can be added for more resistance. Sessions are done at home and accessed through the Trainerize app on your phone.

I ride regularly. Isn't that enough? Riding reinforces your existing movement patterns, including your compensations. You cannot ride your way out of a strength deficit. Off-horse training is the only way to change it at the source.

What if I've had surgery? This program includes progressions appropriate for post-surgical riders, with loading parameters designed to rebuild strength safely. Always get clearance from your surgeon before beginning any exercise program.

What exactly do I get? The full 9-week program delivered through the Trainerize app: video-guided sessions for both session types, week-by-week progression, exercise logs, and access for the full program duration. One-time payment, no subscription.

Stop treating the horse for a problem you can fix.

9 weeks. DPT-designed. Built for western riders dealing with pain, weakness, instability, or returning after surgery.

$197 · One-time payment · Instant access

Questions? Email Natalie@opphysicaltherapy.com