Sage Equine Bodywork

Sage Equine Bodywork Sarah's approach goes beyond the physical aspects of bodywork and focuses on the importance of building trust with each horse she works on.

This allows her to create a safe environment where horses can relax, heal and find balance in their bodies. After extensive training and certification in the Masterson Method FW2, Sarah has honed her skills in the art of subtle and effective equine bodywork. She combines gentle touch, massage, movement, and communication techniques to release tension, improve performance, and enhance the overall q

uality of life for every horse she works with. Sarah's approach goes beyond the physical aspects of bodywork. She recognizes the importance of building trust and establishing a deep connection with each horse she works on. This allows her to create a safe and nurturing environment where horses can relax, heal, and find balance. Her compassion, patience, and deep understanding of equine anatomy make Sarah a trusted partner in horse care. Whether she's working with high-performance athletes or beloved companions, Sarah is devoted to helping each horse reach their full potential and live their best life. With a genuine commitment to the wellbeing of horses and a wealth of knowledge in the Masterson Method, Sarah will serve as a trusted guide in your horse's journey to vitality and optimal performance.

01/20/2026

That frustrated feeling that I’d get when I was almost done with my reserved one hour indoor arena block before things started going right in my ride? Turns out it was totally valid, but not because my self doubt was correct and I needed to push myself harder - it’s because my horse was rightfully off, due to the reality that it took him 45 minutes to be able to see well during our ride, just enough time to have the only stellar part of our ride be the cool down.

Every lap around the dimly lit arena brought another slowly shifted viewpoint he hadn’t absorbed quite yet, and he’d get distracted, “sassy” or off balance at things he’d “seen before”.

👀turns out, It takes 45 minutes for a horse’s eyes to adjust to a lighting change - like walking into an indoor arena with dim lighting on a bright sunny day.

But once I knew that? It’s a super power!

Now, I don’t skimp getting lighting tokens for my ride, brighter lights inside make all the difference.

I also groom and tack up inside rather than tied in the sun next to the trailer. Every little thing I can do to accommodate that pesky 45 minute visual adaptation time has seriously changed indoor riding outcomes.

Inside to outside is just as challenging for our horses. When my moms warmblood gets lead from his stall to the barn isle and out into the direct sun he leaps over the transition like he’s back in hunter jumper training in England - that depth and lighting change has him relying on old training to complete the ask. Now she chooses a different time of day or brings him out on the shadier side of the building and he’s calm as a cucumber.

Whatever the lighting change, if it isn’t the natural pace of the sunrise or the sunset, your horse is going to have a tough time adapting to one of it’s senses being off until they can catch up.

Remind yourself of the visual difference the next time you’re asking for sudden light transitions and keep a cool head knowing you and your horse are seeing it entirely differently.

01/19/2026

Disrespect implies a moral failure and gives humans a perceived obligation to inflict correction. In reality “respect” requires abstract social cognition located in a highly developed prefrontal cortex, which horses do not have, only us.

The horse brain is built for survival, not social judgment. Horses respond to clarity, consistency, pressure and release, predictability, and comfort in the moment, not status or intention.

What we label as “disrespect” is usually pain, stress, confusion, or conflicting signals.

When we stop demanding respect and start improving communication, horses soften because we are finally speaking their neurological language.

If you feel your horse is disrespecting you, it’s time for personal inflection, timing refinement and ruling out pain as a defensive or aversive behavioral response - not an invitation to inflict it. The lesson they’ll learn is that you aren’t safe…not to ‘respect’ you more next time.

Love shouldn’t require this kind of endurance.That’s what sank in for me when a vet said, while reviewing my gelding’s s...
01/16/2026

Love shouldn’t require this kind of endurance.

That’s what sank in for me when a vet said, while reviewing my gelding’s spinal X-rays,
“Your horse must love you a lot.”
Significant kissing spine was clearly present.

And it broke me in a way I didn’t expect.

Because when I bought him, he passed a lameness exam. I didn’t push for X-rays…why would I? A vet assured me he was healthy, and I deferred to the people who knew more than I did.

Two good, respected trainers told me he had bad manners… an attitude problem.
So I did what we’re taught to do.
I tried harder. I managed better. I questioned myself and my lifetime of riding experience.

What I didn’t question - at least not in the right ways - was his comfort.

It took four vets, three trainers, five years, and one bodywork certification to understand what questions to ask, and how hard it is for vets to encourage deeper advocacy. Every one of them was trying to protect me from unnecessary tests and was likely used to resistance at the suggestion.

And in hindsight, it feels glaring. Obvious. Devastating.

The vet I work with now believes these spinal changes likely began when he was young and it has been painful the entirety. That means multiple owners either missed the signs… or found them and got rid of him, duping the next in line (yuck).

Hearing that he “must love me a lot” wasn’t a compliment.
It was the realization that he had been quietly tolerating pain every moment I’ve known him.

This isn’t about bad vets.
It’s about a system that teaches us to look at behavior first and comfort second.

If this post helps even one person pause before calling a horse difficult…
If it helps one horse get listened to sooner…

Then his endurance won’t have been for nothing.

He didn’t need to ‘love’ me that much.
He needed to be comfortable.

Bodywork and an understanding of anatomy - what’s normal tension and what isn’t - is what got him to the pain management he needed.

A good trainer can teach a horse to get through a significant amount of pain, as owners it’s not our ridden skills that should come first, it’s our listening skills.

2025 Lowpoints:I quit skijoring because my horse would not stop bucking under saddle at a gallop in icy and snowy condi...
01/15/2026

2025 Lowpoints:

I quit skijoring because my horse would not stop bucking under saddle at a gallop in icy and snowy conditions (NOT safe for either of us).

I diagnose my horse with kissing spine, that combined with his weight loss leads me to decide he cannot be ridden until/if his condition improves - I feel deep guilt and despair.

An equine dentist tells me to fatten up my horse and get rid of him and make him someone else’s problem. I lose faith in humanity.

My mom’s horse colics and dies, he was only 8.

Childcare and work life balance plummeted during the summer months and I absolutely drowned in all my roles as a working mom.

I had to stop teaching at because I got so busy and underwater.

My horse started exhibiting pain behaviors again in the fall, followed a few days later by signifiant ventral swelling & a vet visit without any kind of official diagnosis.

2025 Highlights:

I added equine ergonomist (saddle fit), myofascial massage and kissing spine rehabilitation to my continuing education/certifications.

I collaborated with to teach Cowboy & Cowgirl Club & felt deep connection to horses and my work.

Spent a long weekend with Jim Masterson doing hands on continued education and representing the at the Idaho Horse Expo. They say be careful of meeting your hero’s and I have to say Jim is an incredible human being and 5 days with him and the others in my field did not disappoint, if anything it made me more passionate & validated in my work.

Trained with Mark Rashid & Jim Masterson on Evaluating Equine Movement and learned so much about dental work, equine eyesight and movement patterns, weekend well spent.

Traveled to White Fish, MT to work on reining and pleasure horses in a heated barn & refined my bodywork skills with an incredible coach.

I was able to continue some work and lessons with JHTR in the fall.

With pain management and a new living environment my horses body condition and quality of life improved more than I’d dared to hope for.

I decided to start my own horse from scratch rather than unravel past trauma and missed pain responses and ultimately bring home Filly Luna.

01/13/2026

It can take as many as 100 positive interactions to retrain a horse’s perception of ONE negative interaction.

Luna is on day 16 of interacting with a human. So far these sessions are resulting in a human meeting her needs in a non-stressful way.

Right now she’s slowly learning that interacting with a person won’t result in a change in location, removal from her herd or tipping over threshold. Sometimes she wants to say hi and explore my hand…most of the time she doesn’t.

Only 84 “no” days left to go 🤣.

01/08/2026

Luna’s nervous system is adjusting.

Our starting point is stillness and settling.

This is day 1 with a weanling who has been removed from every sense of safety she’s known.

So I don’t seek contact.
I sit, let her smell and observe, even eating near me is an act of bravery.

I can wait until her nervous system decides I’m safe.

-luna

12/23/2025

Life’s short. Trust the pull. Buy the baby horse. 👇🏻

Hundreds of horse’s bodies have showed me that how they start in life and in training truly matters - for a lifetime. This year I retired my heart horse from riding and worked on accepting that no amount of knowledge or rehab could set back the clock to 10 years before I met him. A common theme kept popping up in horses for sale I explored - hidden pain. Well trained horses, well bred horses, expensive horses…and I felt tired. I felt Rhae might be my last horse because I was so exhausted by the industry culture of pushing horses bodies before they are ready and rehoming them when they’re used up by 7 years old.
Then this little one popped up and I thought, what would happen if I could advocate from the very first? What’s possible when I know about every head bump or possible fall? What degenerative pain can be avoided if I don’t weight her spine until it’s physically ready? What if I put all this knowledge to use and set a horse out on an intentional path, instead of unraveling a rushed one?
And so, I said yes to meeting her and ended up buying myself the pony for Christmas 🤶

12/14/2025

Feel the difference? Being lost implies not knowing where to head next, seeking is a different act entirely. If you’re exploring anything new, that entails sifting through options on your path, and that’s a powerful thing.
Shredding old skin can feel like being lost, when in reality you’re making space for something new.

Call me crunchy but when I find a whole food that’s cheap and effective rather than a bag of pelleted horse feed - I’m t...
12/10/2025

Call me crunchy but when I find a whole food that’s cheap and effective rather than a bag of pelleted horse feed - I’m thrilled. Here’s why they’re beneficial:

🦴calcium, the most common mineral in the horses body. It is required for healthy muscles, vasoconstriction, bones, joints, tendons and ligaments. It plays an important role in healthy nerve function.

💧Improved hydration and gut health! Chia seeds form a gel when mixed with water, which can increase and prolong hydration and help move sand through the digestive tract, potentially preventing sand colic.

💊Reduced inflammation and improved joint health: They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce pain and swelling in joints.

🧬They provide a complete protein, meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids, which is beneficial for muscle repair and overall health.

🐴The natural magnesium content in chia seeds can have a calming effect on some horses. It promotes natural relaxation of the muscle. It also helps regulate sugar metabolism and plays a role in insulin production. Magnesium also supports healthy digestion.

12/08/2025

Senior horse care is hard and the more I know the harder I work for this guy. If I’m being real, I do get exhausted and sad. And you know what? To say he’s earned it would be such an under statement. I teared up multiple times putting this video together. This horse has facilitated endless gifts to me, gratitude doesn’t begin to touch how I feel about what he has helped me become.

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Jackson, WY
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