Horse Trainer With a Healing Touch

by Zinta Aistars
Published in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave
November 7, 2013

Brembi with owner Erin

Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field Therapy sends a healing pulse through an area of the body experiencing pain. The results are something that keeps bringing people back to Erin McElmurry. Zinta Aistars has the story on the owner of Every Stride Dressage. 

Frankie

When 5-year-old Erin's parents saw a riding pony toy in a store, they knew to quickly pull their daughter away, distract her, and make a quick detour in another direction. It was either that, or stand in the store for hours while the child rode to her heart's infinite glee. 

Erin McElmurry laughs. "My father likes to say I came out of the womb crying the word HORSE."

The girl has grown up, but the word "horse" is still on her lips. Erin McElmurry is the owner of Every Stride Dressage at 13482 South Street in Vicksburg, a horse ranch where animals come to be healed and trained, and often, their owners with them.

Every Stride Dressage is a 33-acre, 12-stall facility that currently boards nine horses, four of which are McElmurry's. The facility includes an indoor and outdoor dressage arena, individual grass pastures, a hot and cold water wash bay, and individual tack lockers. 

McElmurry is an accredited dressage trainer and instructor. Dressage is a French term that means training a horse to bring out its natural athletic ability. Although dressage began as training for military horses, teaching them precise battle maneuvers, McElmurry defines dressage as "ballet for horses."

"I'm not just teaching tricks," McElmurry says, her hand running soothingly up and down a horse's long neck. "It's like building blocks. I break it down and teach the steps piece by piece, build one step onto the next, so that you understand how it's done."

Riding, McElmurry explains, builds confidence and body awareness. She offers riding lessons for clients as young as 8 years old, depending on the rider's maturity and readiness level.

One of McElmurry's riding students, Allison Herard, walks between the horse stalls and stops to comment on her experience. "I've been riding for 10 years, but I've picked up more skills in just a few months of lessons with Erin. I'm a production supervisor in Sturgis, and I come here to relieve work stress." 

All that is what one might expect at a horse ranch. Every Stride Dressage, however, not only teaches horses and riders to move together in balletic synchronicity--Every Stride Dressage also heals horses in pain. And dogs. And cats. And humans. 

McElmurry gets a twinkle in her eye as she pulls out her PEMF (Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field) Therapy equipment. It's not much. Her equipment looks something like a small green suitcase on wheels, not much more than hand luggage. Inside, some knobs and dials to turn, and a couple of tube-like attachments. Plug it in, move the tube-like attachments to the ailing area, and a rhythmic tapping begins. 

"That pulsing sound you hear is from the coiled magnets, sending magnetic pulses through the area that ..."

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Daphney Dotson, owner of Studio Grill, receiving a PEMF Therapy treatment