Meet the Educator Behind The Sal Massage Approach™
Helping horse owners develop feel through movement, observation, and partnership.
✓ 25+ years educating horse owners
✓ Worked with Olympic & Pan American competitors
✓ Creator of The Sal Massage Approach™
MY MISSION
To help horse owners develop feel by understanding movement, building trust, and creating true partnership.
MY VISION
A world where horse owners understand what their horses are telling them through movement instead of reacting only after problems appear.
I think the horses found me long before I actually found them...
Growing up outside Boston, I was fascinated by horses long before I had any opportunity to be around them. Years later, as an adult, I finally climbed onto my first horse—and quickly discovered that horses were more than an interest. They were the life I had been looking for.
I entered the horse world later than most, starting at the ground level by learning to groom, muck stalls, care for horses, and ride. I immersed myself in every aspect of horsemanship and eventually became an equine massage practitioner.
Wanting a deeper understanding of how the body works, I spent two and a half years studying human massage, anatomy, and tissue before completing Mike Scott’s Equine Massage and Muscle Therapy certification program. It was during that training that I experienced the moment that would shape my entire career.
Mike taught me that knowing a technique wasn't enough. He taught me what to actually feel beneath my hands—to listen to the horse through changes in tissue, movement, and response.
That distinction between knowing what to do and knowing what you are feeling became the foundation of my work.
Today, after more than 25 years working with horses, I bring that same philosophy to horse owners and equine professionals. Through The Sal Massage Approach™, I teach people to observe more carefully, understand movement more deeply, and develop the feel needed to build a better partnership with their horses.
Every horse has a story to tell through movement.
Learn to See the Horse Differently
For more than 25 years, Sal has helped riders, trainers, veterinarians, and horse owners understand what movement reveals about a horse's comfort, function, and performance. By combining touch, biomechanics, movement analysis, and mindful observation, he teaches people to recognize the whole horse—not just isolated symptoms.
From Practitioner to Teacher
Over more than 25 years working with horses, Sal's practice evolved from hands-on bodywork into a broader approach to understanding the horse as a whole. His work with riders, trainers, veterinarians, and horse owners showed him that the most valuable skill wasn't simply knowing what technique to use—it was learning how to observe, listen, and respond.
Why Sal Created This Approach
Today, his focus extends beyond hands-on work. Through The Sal Massage Approach™, Sal teaches horse owners and equine professionals how to develop feel, deepen their understanding of the horse, and build partnerships based on observation, trust, and respect.
THE STORY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
In 2003, during the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, I was asked by United States Jumping Team veterinarian Dr. Tim Ober to evaluate a lame team horse that needed to pass veterinary inspection the following day.
After approximately twenty minutes of work focused on the horse's neck, shoulder, and thoracic sling—not the lame leg itself—the horse jogged sound.
That experience changed the course of Sal’s career. It confirmed something that would become central to his work: understanding the horse as an interconnected system rather than simply treating the obvious symptom.
Sal has followed that same philosophy ever since.
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