top of page
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 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 in 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 highly effective 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 told myself to do 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 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!
bottom of page