The Performance Refinery - Ride.Lab Academy

🐴 Your lower leg swings. Your instructor has mentioned it. Possibly more than once.

You've tried gripping more. Pushing down into the heel. Concentrating really hard. Maybe even changing saddles.

And yet on a forward-going horse, or the moment something spooks, your leg is off doing its own thing again. 😅

Here's what nobody tells you: it's not a riding problem. It's a body problem.

Your lower leg swings because your hip is not stable enough to anchor it. When your pelvis rocks and tips with each stride, your lower leg compensates. It swings forward to "catch" your balance, or back to try and grip. It's your nervous system doing its job, just not the job you want.

Think of it this way: your leg is the symptom. Your hip stability is the cause. No amount of lessons can fix a strength and control deficit. They can only remind you it's there. The good news? This is absolutely fixable and off-horse work is where the magic will happen. It also does not require you to have a gym membership, lift weights so heavy that you are left sore for days on end or a one way ticket to the land of "you must to do loaded squats"!

Over the coming weeks I'm going to be sharing exactly how we train hip stability, deep core control, and proprioception (your body's positional awareness) that give your lower leg somewhere solid to live.

No gym membership needed. No hour-long workout sessions. Just smart, targeted movement that speaks the same language as riding.

👇 Tell me — has your instructor flagged your lower leg? Drop a 🙋‍♀️ below if this is you, and let me know: does it happen more on one rein than the other?

Green Flags that actually matter in the Rider Physiotherapy realm 💚

Our equestrian world is a complicated one at the best of times. We have both Rider & Horse as integral parts of the team which both require finesse in quality of care

These are the top 10 hard rules & standards for my team ⬇️

🎂 44 trips around the sun and still happiest with a little scuff on my shoes, chalk or dirt on my hands, and my favorite people by my side 🌎✨

Motherhood, adventure, and family chaos … honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. From mountains to beaches, horses to climbing walls, ski slopes to spontaneous road trips, I live for the adventures shared together along the way.

A huge thank you to everyone from both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere who reached out with birthday love, messages, and kind wishes, my heart is full ❤️

And to my hubby, thank you for the most fun-filled birthday kickoff … starting with the Coronado Flower Show, followed by a seaside dinner, speakeasies, and wrapping up the night laughing way too hard at show 🍸🌸😂

Day 2 rolled straight into a delicious family brunch, and then dusting the hand chalk off and getting back to climbing walls 🧗

Because apparently at 44 … I still choose adventure first & can’t let the boys have all the fun!

Here’s to another year of living fully, laughing loudly, and making memories with the people I love most 🤍✌🏼

Some messages stop you in your tracks in the very best way 🤍

As we wrap up the year, I received this note from a client that perfectly captures why I do what I do. Coaching, physiotherapy & rider biomechanics … it’s never just about movements or milestones. It’s about belief, trust, and helping someone reconnect with what their body can do.

I’m deeply grateful for the trust my clients place in me and for the moments like this that remind me how meaningful this work truly is.

Here’s to continued growth, exciting breakthroughs, and riding forward into 2026 with purpose. 💫

“Hi Britta!
As we approach year end, I like to let folks know how much difference they make in my life. Everyone has choices every day. You have a very unique set of skills and experience that is a gift to your clients.

I really appreciate the time you’ve invested with me this year. As an older amateur who is somewhat new to the sport, it would be so easy to give up on myself and see others do the same.

I think we were all dismayed at my apparent lack of being able to make my body do what was needed despite trying so hard all the time.

With your help this year, my riding and communication with my horse(s) has improved dramatically. The horses are happier and my trainer now comments ‘well ridden!’ fairly regularly. She can focus more of her comments on adjusting to the horse’s weak spots Instead of always having to correct my body position to improve communication.

This year I was finally able to:
- Get canter from trot on my upper level horse
- Nail almost every canter departure
- Get changes consistently, especially left
- Start and keep counter canter to second level pattern requirements
- Really execute and feel the difference between my aids for working vs medium gaits
- Ride and communicate well enough for my upper level horse to stop balking or spinning to avoid my aids every ride
- Start shoulder in, haunches in and half pass
- Complete or practice second and third level tests

I’m looking forward to more exciting progress and to working with you in 2026!
Hope you have wonderful holidays surrounded by those you love,
Lisa Black”