Equissage California’s Founder and Head Instructor, Sabrina Perez
Sabrina Perez is the Founder and head Instructor of Equissage California. Equissage California is the West Coasts leading training organization devoted to muscle rehabilitation and fulfilling the potential in the equine athlete. As a passionate leader in equine health and rehabilitation, Sabrina has appeared on CBS News, and in many newspaper articles. She has been recognized for her ability to heal not only horses but people as well through teaching the implementation of this therapy.
Equissage was founded and incorporated in 1989 by certified (Human) Massage Therapist, Mary A. Schreiber. Mary became interested in using massage on animals, specifically horses, as a result of the outstanding benefits she saw in 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 firsthand 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 that 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.
As a result, 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 10,000 Equine Sports Massage Therapists, 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.
Sabrina Perez, one of Mary’s top graduates was chosen by Mary to bring Equissage from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast. You will receive the same curriculum, coursework, and certification now in California as in Round Hill, Virginia. Sabrina has been a horse enthusiast since the age of 13. Her first horse was an Arabian Thoroughbred gelding named “Kahn”. Kahn is the horse that started her journey into the horse world at such a young age. In college at California Polytechnic University, Pomona, Sabrina studied Equine Science and Pre-Veterinary studies, all of which tie into her work today. Since bringing the Equissage curriculum to California, Sabrina has seen incredible success from the students certified at Equissage California.
Sabrina and Buzz aka Get Busy
Since bringing Equissage into Sabrina’s life, it has become a family business. Natalie, Sabrina’s daughter showed an interest in the work at a very young age. Natalie was 10 years old when her mom opened Equissage California. Natalie has been a competitive rider since a young age and took the Equissage California course to keep her horses in the best condition possible. Now, through a love for horses, equestrian sports, and equine massage, she gets to take part in teaching students this very important and valuable skill.
Natalie and Tucker aka Element 79