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What Service am I Offering?                                                         Top 
As a certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist, I offer massage sessions that are non-invasive and hands on treatment of the equine’s soft tissues to promote positive functioning of the body systems. These sessions generally last about an hour, and they will be carried out at your location, a “barn call” if you will. In addition to the individual sessions, please contact me about hosting a seminar, or a free demo.

Why should You Have Your Horse Massaged?                           Top  
Massage therapy can be used as both a preventative and restorative action. In the competition horse, both pre- and post-event massages are useful. After an injury, massage can help break up muscle adhesions and spasms, and metabolize waste products and toxins.

“Among the many documented benefits of massage are: 

What Kind of Horse Can Benefit from Massage?                       Top
Just by coming to this site you’ve shown me (and hopefully yourself) that you are interested in your horse’s mental and physical welfare. My title, Equine Sports Massage Therapist, seems a little daunting to the non-competitive horse owner, but don’t be – every horse is an athlete, even if they are ridden just a few times a month. Massage therapy simply makes sense when you consider that 60% of a horse’s weight is muscle. And for those of you, who do compete, whatever level or discipline,  massage can be/is crucial. Like human athletes and Olympic equestrian competitors, they don’t receive massage just because it feels good! (Though this is a great side benefit!) They have massage sessions because it aides/improves their performance. You should also keep in mind that damage to muscles adds up - if one set is tight, then they will tense up and (over) use other muscles. So whether you are interested in pampering your pal or optimizing your partner’s performance – Equine Sports Massage Therapy is for every horse.

Recommended Prevention Program                                              Top
For any regimen we consider for your horse, we have to look at a few details: the amount of time the condition has existed (on-going or recent), the age of the horse, the horse’s personality, and the work load of the horse.

Four possible plans:

How This Service Works . . .                                                          Top
As with most businesses, the process starts by sharing information. From this web site you can figure out what service area you are in and what your approximate pricing will be. You would then contact me with a phone call or e-mail, and let me know how many horses, what type of work your horses do, what days would work for you, how to contact you, and preferably about how you heard about my services. We then, together, decide on the day/time I come to your barn, and any further details that are needed. Please note I do issue receipts, so that I can build a file for your horse. I prefer cash or check payments at this time.

Equissage Certified – What Does this Mean?                              Top 
“Equissage was founded and incorporated in 1989 by certified (Human) Massage Therapist, Mary A. Schreiber. Mary became interested in using massage on animals, and specifically horses, as a result of the outstanding benefits she saw on human clients.

At the time that she started Equissage, Mary was operating a horse boarding stable in Bucks County, PA. and was actively competing in regional Western Pleasure Shows. As she began to witness first hand the effectiveness of the therapy on her own horses, she decided to market her equine massage service at local racetracks. The results were remarkable. Horses that hadn't finished in the money in over a year were starting to win, and horses who had been given up on were back working and racing competitively. At the same time, she also began working on show horses at many of the shows at which she was competing. The results were the same...horses were performing better than they had in years, and muscle injuries were healing faster than owners and trainers believed possible.

Resultingly, Mary was besieged with requests to start teaching the therapy to others. Trainers, owners and riders were all interested in learning this wonderful "new" therapy.

Thus was born the Equissage Certificate Program in Equine Sports Massage Therapy. It was to be the first such program in the world. And since 1992, Equissage has graduated more than 4,000 Equine Sports Massage Technicians, from every state and 19 different countries around the world. Many graduates work for the very top echelon of owners and trainers...both in the racing world, as well as on the show circuit. Some have been selected to work with the US Equestrian team at the Olympics, while others have worked on winners of Triple Crown Races.” (www.equissage.com)

What all this means is that I completed and passed the intensive Equissage training program. The course was a combination of text, lecture and lots of hands on experience.

About The Logo . . .                                                                        Top
For those of you who are not familiar with the Claddagh, the majority of my logo, it is an old Irish symbol. It is usually found in the form of jewelry, a ring to be exact. It is often used as a wedding ring. The Claddagh stands for Love, Loyalty, and Friendship – all of these are aspects of myself that I apply to my business. And in a way I am “married” to my work. The usual form is a little different this one designed by Aon Celtic, the hands are usually holding the heart & crown. But using this one, and adding a horse head silhouette, was exactly what I wanted to convey – at the center of my business is my heart, and that’s where horses will always have a home.

About Me                                                                                        Top
Like so many people in the Horse Industry, my love of horses began at a very young age. I think I was about three or four years old the first time I got stepped on. However, the mare did not hurt me and I remember looking up at this huge white horse and knowing I was safe. (My mother, wisely, thought otherwise!) While growing up, I read any book related to horses that I could get my hands on. I have taken years of western lessons and even worked at a rental place or two. It was working at these rental places that really struck a chord in me, a light bulb came on. Maybe there was something I could to help them! I started researching (the search is never really over) and found Equine Sports Massage Therapy. I have also studied Reiki, and I will continue to add skills to my healing/helping repertoire. Now I can finally give back some of the joy that horses have given me. I have found something remarkable in every breed and riding discipline I encounter – they are truly magnificent animals and I am humbled by their acceptance of us.