SENECA — Since a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down nine years ago, a strict exercise and physical therapy routine keeps fifth-generation Seneca rancher Alec Oliver in a balanced and positive mindset.

Oliver, 33, said he can still do many of the things he did before, from managing the day-to-day goings-on at the ranch to riding a horse. Still, there is much he misses out on.

Reconciling that, he said, requires a positive outlook.

“It doesn’t do any good to sit around and dwell on things,” Oliver said. “Everybody has struggles, everybody has different challenges, and nobody knows what it’s like to be in somebody else’s shoes.”

Oliver said part of what keeps him going is exercise and stretching.

He said he does a lot of exercises to keep his balance and his posture in a square position.

The exercises include leg stretches and stretches to his core. Oliver said stretching counteracts the adverse effects of sitting in a chair for 18-plus hours a day.

“If you think about it, if you sit in a chair in the same position for 18 hours a day and how hard that is on the body, and how bad it is. So I try to counter that by doing different stretches,” Oliver said.

Since he can’t stand on his own anymore, Oliver has a standing frame that he tries to stand in for an hour or more a day. He said this helps him work on his balance and stay stretched out.

Also, Oliver has a stationary bike that he pedals with his hands and tries to ride each day that he is home.

Another thing that Oliver does is instead of wheeling forward in his chair all of the time, he wheels backward to keep balance in his shoulders.

He said finding ways to keep his shoulders strong, in shape and limber to increase longevity is extremely important.

Horseback riding

Oliver said riding a horse is one of the most therapeutic things he does.

“Horseback riding a really good therapy,” he said. “The weight and the motion you feel on a saddle when a horse walks is a very similar replication to actually walking.”

Oliver uses a lift to get on and off his horse, and he has a modified saddle made by a saddlemaker in Texas.

What horseback riding does, he said, is pump blood up and down his spinal cord to promote healing.

Many have found Oliver’s story inspirational, including the nonprofit agriculture education group Oregon Aglink, which named him the 2021 Agriculturist of the Year.