Meet Natalie Howard PT, DPT, CESMT
Doctor of Physical Therapy | 15+ years outpatient orthopedics | Certified Equine Bodywork Practitioner | Lifelong horse owner

I’m Natalie Howard, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and performance coach specializing in riders.

I’ve been practicing for over 15 years, spending my entire career in outpatient orthopedics, where my work has focused on rehabbing people back to sport after injury or surgery. Throughout that time, I’ve helped athletes rebuild strength, restore control, and return to high-level physical demands safely and confidently.

Horses have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve owned horses my entire life, and they run deep through the fabric of who I am, not just as a rider, but as someone who deeply respects what these animals give us and what we ask of them.

As my work with riders evolved, I also became certified in equine bodywork, which gave me a new and critical perspective. Working hands-on with horses in rehab and rebuilding phases has made it impossible to ignore how directly rider movement affects equine bodies. I see, feel, and address the compensations horses develop, often as a response to what they carry from the saddle.

Time and again, I’ve watched horses struggle not because they weren’t trained or capable, but because of subtle rider imbalances: limited hip control, inconsistent leg pressure, poor trunk stability, or asymmetrical loading that accumulates over time.

My background in physical therapy gave me the framework to connect these dots. But traditional rehab often stops short, it gets riders out of pain, then sends them back to riding without addressing the true demands placed on both rider and horse.

That gap is where my work lives.

I focus on building rider-specific strength, stability, and control that actually transfer to riding. Not generic workouts. Not random rehab exercises. And not simply riding more and hoping things improve.

My goal is to help riders move better, feel stronger, and ride in a way that supports both their performance and their horse’s long-term soundness. I work with riders who want to build on their performance, riders returning to the saddle after injury or surgery, and riders who are tired of riding through pain and limitations.

Every program I create is guided by the same principle: if it doesn’t show up in the saddle, it doesn’t belong in the plan.

At the core of my work is a simple belief, when riders move better, horses don’t have to compensate. That belief, shaped by over 15 years in human rehabilitation, lifelong horse ownership, and hands-on equine bodywork, guides everything I do.