Claudia Monroe, a retired physical therapist with over 30 years of experience, shares her transformative journey from caregiver to patient after facing chronic health challenges including Lyme disease, long COVID, and a career-ending accident. Drawing on her expertise in holistic movement therapies like swimming and yoga, she highlights therapeutic horseback riding as uniquely effective. Riding engages the body’s automatic nervous system by positioning the hips optimally and triggering natural balance reflexes, promoting muscular symmetry essential for pain-free movement and improved posture. Unlike other therapies, the horse instinctively guides the rider’s body, making the therapy feel more like freedom than exercise.

Monroe recounts a personal five-day experiment riding daily at Centaur Stride, where she experienced significant relief from chronic knee, foot, and plantar fasciitis pain, along with improved core strength and alignment. She emphasizes that while therapeutic riding may not suit everyone, it offers a powerful, natural healing option that can restore mobility and joy for those able to participate. Her story underscores the importance of active, pain-free movement and the potential of equine therapy to aid recovery beyond conventional treatments.