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Equine Bodywork
About Every Stride Counts
My name is Alyssa LaJoie. I have owned and ridden horses for many years. I had the great fortune of taking lessons from an early age in showjumping and dressage. As I learned more about horses and our connection with them, my focus became entirely on upper level dressage. I enjoy classical riding in the Baroque and Spanish military manner, and I dabble in pleasure driving and Working Equitation.
I originally created Every Stride Counts back in 2015 for the purpose of sharing my love of horses with others through training and riding instruction. But I soon realized I wanted to do more than teach horses and riders...I wanted to help facilitate healthier horses and a stronger connection between us and our equine counterparts. This sparked my journey into equine bodywork. In 2017, I attended the Canadian Equine Therapy Institue located in Edmonton, Alberta. While I was only able to attend for the first year of the program, I was thrilled with how much knowledge I gained. It was through CETI that I did in-depth equine anatomy studies and gained hands-on experience in trigger point, Bowen, and lymphatic therapies, among others. However, life happened; and I was unable to return for the second year. Nonetheless, the education I received during that first year at CETI was invaluable and I use that knowledge every day.
I continued to teach riding lessons and train young horses, and in 2018, I was in a position to resume my equine bodywork training, this time through the Equinology Institute in Petaluma, California. I completed my Equinology Equine Bodyworker (EEBW) certification in January 2019. My education at Equinology complemented what I had learned previously at CETI and built on my bodywork expertise. The Equinology Approach is a blend of traction and soft tissue manipluation, which allowed me to integrate these techniques into those I was already practicing.
In the meantime, I was overbooked with teaching lessons and training client horses, as well as working part-time at my dad's software company. Admittedly, I over-committed myself. After the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself having a hard time physically and mentally working in the professional equine industry, and I made the difficult decision to close Every Stride Counts at the beginning of 2021. That was a difficult time for everybody, and I was not immune to the pressures of that time. I continued to practice equine bodywork in the background, mostly on my own horses and those of friends and neighbors.
It was during this time off that I actually learned the most. I needed to reset and take some time to enjoy riding my own horses instead of teaching others. I underwent a series of reality checks, took upper level dressage lessons, did some reading on the old dressage masters, and did some critical thinking about how I communicate with my animals. This led me down a path of pursuing a Baroque riding style, which is technically just another word for 'classical dressage', but I feel that it focuses more on celebrating the natural freedom and spectacular movement of the horse. This change in my mental approach to riding was also reflected in my bodywork practices. I was able to connect with my horses on a deeper level, understand what was blocking their performance success, and address those discomforts far more effectively than I ever had in the past. I am not a competitor, so I don't do much showing, but I am thrilled with how my horses have been performing thanks to this change in my training.
I am grateful that I was able to take a break and adjust my thinking. I was able to finish my degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University in 2022, which I don't think I could have done without taking time out of the equine industry. I am not quite ready to restart lessons and training, but I am excited to get back into equine bodywork and share my knowledge. I am pleased to say that, as of summer 2024, Every Stride Counts is back!
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