rebuilding your seat after trauma

• do you notice your body riding differently now — more bracing, holding, or hesitation — even when your mind says you’re “fine”?
• has your horse become more tense, quick, or shut down since the fall, as if they’re mirroring something you can’t quite release?
• are you longing to feel genuinely confident and connected again, without having to push yourself to “just get over it” or “just get back on”?

for riders restoring confidence, rhythm, and a steady internal seat after a fall, fright, or unexpected moment.

the gap between the gap™ method applied to recovery, restoration, and returning to trust

a fall, a fright, or a moment that caught your nervous system off guard doesn’t just live in memory — it lives in the seat, the breath, and the subtle ways your body prepares to protect itself.
this pathway, grounded in the gap between the gap™ method, offers a trauma- and neuroscience-informed return to confidence, rhythm, and internal steadiness.

your horse feels your seat long before your aids. after any traumatic moment, the body often carries:
• subtle bracing
• collapsing or over-efforting
• hesitation in timing
• protective patterns the mind can’t override

this work rebuilds the internal map your horse reads — the quiet structure beneath trust.

in these sessions, riders explore:
• breathwork that unwinds fear from the body, not the mind
• stabilization tools that reset the autonomic state after shock or overwhelm
• releasing gripping, bracing, and freeze-patterns in the seat and legs
• restoring internal rhythm — the foundation of timing, balance, and communication
• rebuilding presence so the body remembers forward movement without forcing it

this is for riders who know they didn’t “just fall.”
your body absorbed an impact that needs a wise, gentle,
deeply intelligent pathway back to trust — in yourself, in your balance,
and in your partnership with your horse.

your seat can be rebuilt.
your nervous system remembers steadiness.
your breath is the bridge back to safety, rhythm, and confidence.

“trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
— peter a. levine, phd

for more detail on how this work unfolds over time — off the horse, before you ride, and in the saddle — you can read more in how it works — off the horse, on the horse

if this rebuilding your seat after trauma work resonates and you’d like to explore how it could support your return to confidence, the work begins with a complimentary 30-minute conversation to sense fit and what you’re riding through right now.  

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