Savage Equine Services

If you’ve ever felt personally victimized by your bodyworker’s report, this one’s for you 😘

✨ NEW comprehensive policy guidebook for equine bodyworkers

🖤 If you’re still running your business with no policies, occasional let-downs from late payments or cancellations, and maybe even a hint of resentment from disrespected boundaries, I’ve got the perfect thing for you!

📖 In this 40 page ebook, you’ll find:
💥 Why we all need policies
💥 Horror stories where I personally learned the hard way (over and over) so you don’t have to
💥 Broad and nitty gritty aspects to include
💥 How to inform clients of your new policies
💥 How to enforce your policies
💥 …and more!

📑 Not only will I walk you through the why, what, and how of creating your own policies, but I provided a link within this ebook that will take you to a Canva template that *I created* using *my exact policies sheet*!

✏️ Because every business is different, and every bodyworker has their own preferences and unique clients, this is MORE than me giving you my policies to copy. This is me walking you through the creation of your own individual policies, but also giving you a blueprint to edit or just inspire you.

🔗 If you want to get the Policy Guidebook while it’s on sale, head to the link in my bio.
🖤 Savageequinebodywork.com

🚨 I finally have space for a few new clients in November!
📍 Hampton Roads, RVA, & the DMV.
⭐️ Trips outside of Hampton Roads do have minimum number requirements.
💬 Text me for more details or to schedule for November!
📱 757-355-2240

🚫 Please don’t wait to schedule the bodyworker for your performance horses…

The catch-up cycle often goes like this:
Horse is noticeably underperforming ➡️ owner waits to see if it improves ➡️ owner gives up and calls the Bodyworker out ➡️ bodyworker [not miracle worker] transparently explains that it will be a process and the horse needs to be seen again soon, and probably again soon after that ➡️ owner notices the one glaring issue has improved and doesn’t follow the bodyworker’s recommendation ➡️ horse continues compensating until it can’t anymore ➡️ repeat 🔁

We owe them better. Riders inherently restrict and impede horses’ movements and capabilities enough, don’t make it harder on them by denying them the physical support that is bare minimum for human athletes. Text your bodyguard 😘

Will bodywork make you an olympic-level rider? Nope. Will it play a role in you becoming a better counterpart for your horse? Absolutely.

For every reason that bodywork is important for our horses, it’s important for us. WE need to have better symmetry also. WE need to release excess tension also. WE need to regulate our nervous systems also. WE need to improve range of motion also. WE need to help ourselves recover better also. You see where I’m going with this?

The equestrian community is the ONLY athletic community that I know of where there is a complete disregard for athletic performance and basic well-being. Equestrians continue to brag about how hard they’re working while doing as little as possible for themselves. It’s not a flex. It’s at the detriment of our horses that we ignore our own bodies’ needs.

I don’t want to laugh with you about how you are getting your horse bodywork while you “don’t know the last time you did for yourself” was. I want you to take care of yourself so that you can be your best for your horse. Your asymmetries, tension, weaknesses, limited ROM, and stress are all affecting your horse, even if they’re able to still get their job done and win ribbons.

If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your horse.

I work almost exclusively with performance horses - I get it. That’s why I won’t ask you to take tons of time out of the saddle, add an hour to your already rushed barn trip, or incorporate 15 complicated new exercises.

Like Dwight Schrute says: K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid. My clients are busy, goal oriented, and while they love their horses, they have s**t to do. It’s my job to make it as easy as possible for them to help their horses feel, move, and perform better.

If you don’t want to sacrifice time in the saddle, you CAN still make BIG changes for your horse, I promise 😘

❌ Avoid making these mistakes when stretching your horse…

Stretching cold muscles - ouch!!??! Warm your horse up BEFORE stretching!

Forcing the stretch - if your horse resists, there’s a reason, figure it out and go from there. Be gentle and patient.

Pulling/pushing too hard - we don’t need to put our entire body weight into stretching our horses… allow them to adjust their weight accordingly, and don’t force them into things.

Not doing them - 😒 stretching is important AF!! It aids in recovery, improves range of motion, increases flexibility, prevents injury, and reduces muscle tension. Why would you want to skip on that?

⭐️ Some unsurprising news: Rhonda and I are official, and this entire bodywork experience only solidified what I do and recommend as an equine bodyworker.
⭐️ Your horse has tension.
⭐️ Your horse has compensatory patterns.
⭐️ Your horse NEEDS to be on a bodywork schedule.
⭐️ Your horse is absolutely allowed to move during sessions.
Schedule them a session with a bodyworker, listen to their recommendations, implement changes, give your horse grace.

“Idk, my trainer said to use it”
“I’ve always used one”
“He won’t keep his head down”
“He keeps chomping the bit”
“I need him to pick his head up”

Womp womp womp.

I can feel how these things are affecting your horse’s body. Literally nose to tail is affected by something as simple as a bit. Every piece of tack should be taken seriously, understood, and properly fitted. If your horse doesn’t need it, if you can’t tell me what it’s doing, if you can’t explain how it’s working, if it’s not fitted, why are we using it????

Ask the why, how, and what’s going on. Ask how to PROPERLY fit it. And if the point of the piece of tack is to force a headset or mouth closure, throw it out.

As a bodyworker whose main goal is helping your horse use their body freely and correctly, I am a *true* hater of “training aids” and the Pessoa system especially.

Here’s the thing. If your horse is physically capable of working in a training aid without adverse effects, they don’t need the training aid. If they are unable to use their body correctly without the training aid, they are not physically capable of working in the training aid without adverse effects. You see where I’m going with this????

There are no quick fixes. There is no sense to any argument for draw reins, Pessoa systems, side reins, etc.

The Pessoa system specifically has been proven to negatively affect the body, and yet I still see it being recommended by vets for REHAB or KISSING SPINES! The nature of this system is collection. If your horse is rehabbing or has kissing spines, collection is the most ass backwards recommendation.

Anyway, as a bodyworker, I’ve spent years working with 150+ horses, many of which have been worked in training aids and the Pessoa system regularly. Through movement assessment and hands-on work, this is what I’ve found to be most common in those horses. Regardless of discipline or age.

If you want your horse to move correctly, be comfortable, and have a long career, there is only one option: do the tedious, boring, basic s**t in the right way and often. That’s it. That’s the secret. Sorry 🤷🏻‍♀️

As a bodyworker, it’s my job to help your horse. However, I can’t do it all! One session every few weeks isn’t enough to make real changes for your horse unless you’re doing the work behind the scenes as well… That’s why I’ll often recommend certain exercises, stretches, mobilizations, or tweaks to your routine.

Often times, I’ll arrive for a follow-up appointment, and when I ask how things have been going, the owner’s answer will also include something about how they “just haven’t had the time to do the homework.” This really makes me sad!!! Not just because I know the homework is beneficial for the horse, but also because I put a lot of consideration into my recommendations *because* I know that most owners/riders are rushing to be places, and “don’t have much time.”

I keep my recommendations to minor tweaks, 5 minute additions (MAX), and things they can do under saddle or on the ground that fit seamlessly into routines. I take the guesswork out of every step, and keep things as simple as possible TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR MY OWNERS. Unfortunately, the one thing I can’t afford to do is show up multiple times a week to do it for you.

You have to want change and improvement for your horse as much as I want it for them. I’ve said it 503038 times, and I’ll say it again; I cannot care about your horse’s wellness more than you do. Well, I can, but I shouldn’t!

No matter how busy you are in reality or your perception, if you mapped out your entire day, you’ll realize you absolutely can spare 5 minutes somewhere. The issue isn’t time, it’s priorities. If you can’t spare just 5 extra minutes with your horse, why have one?

I won’t be arguing this point,

Because I have to still create content, here’s something for everyone. A little spicy, a little sweet, a little *drives off a cliff while screaming into the void* 😘