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Monday 4pm - 7pm Tuesday 4pm - 7pm Wednesday 4pm - 7pm Thursday 4pm - 7pm Friday 4pm - 7pm Saturday 9am - 2pm Sunday 9am - 2pm

Arbutus Equine Massage

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Canada
Brentwood Bay, BC
Arbutus Equine Massage

Arbutus Equine Massage Certified Equine Massage practitioner serving South Vancouver Island. I do performance & optimization massage, manual ligament therapy and Equi-taping.

on before and after competition. I was really impressed with the difference I found it made, and so began my own quest to start down this path. I began doing equine massage for simple reasons; I felt a difference in my own horse and wanted to make her as comfortable (and happy) as I could so she could do her job as easily (and comfortably) as possible. And it has just grown from there. I have always enjoyed learning and I strive to develop my knowledge base around equine massage therapy and equine bodywork in general. I continue to do continuing education as I feel, it makes me better at what I do (gives me more tools for my toolbox so to speak).

03/20/2024

Thank you so much for the great logo Klassyco. Designs. I am simply thrilled with it!!

02/24/2024

Support you local
Clubs!! Who doesn’t love a raffle!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Grfrpyo68sDgndsn/?mibextid=WC7FNe

⭐️⭐️ VIQHA FUNDRAISER FOR THE GLACIER CLASSIC (JULY 6-7, 2024)⭐️⭐️

A $500 gift certificate for the Trading Post in Cassidy.

Tickets are $10 each or 3/$25

Please contact Candy if you would like to purchase tickets @ [email protected]

Put raffle in the subject line.

Draw will be on March 17th @ 7pm pst.

02/15/2024

VIQHA raffle, win a $500 gift certificate for the Trading Post in Cassidy!

02/14/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/s36PJqZKRv5ELqku/?mibextid=WC7FNe

11/13/2023

💥Why Continuing Education is a No-Brainer for Me 💥

1. More tools for my toolbox. It helps me stay abreast of the latest and greatest in equine therapy and allows me to provide more effective and specialized care.
2. Instills confidence in my ability to provide the most up to date care within my scope.
3. Adaptation. Bodywork has evolved significantly just in the time I have been doing it. Continuing education allows me to remain informed and provide the highest standard of care for the horses I have the privilege of working with.
4. I love to learn. 🙂

09/26/2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️BIG ANNOUNCEMENT⭐️⭐️⭐️ Super excited to share I am part of the “Hestaband Instructors team”. I will be starting to teach “Equine Kinesiology Taping Basics” in early 2024. The 2 day course is geared towards owners, riders, coaches and trainers. By the end of the second day students will understand how kinesiology tape works, and be able to tape basic applications on their own horses.

Class sizes are limited to ensure attendees get the the most out of the course.

If you are interested in hosting a course at your barn, please reach out.

09/20/2023

🔴 Stay Within Scope and Do No Harm 🔴

This sounds like a no brainer right? 🤔

Interestingly it seems to be something that is a bit more complicated than you would think. 😬

Where I live we have no regulatory body for alternative care (massage, acupressure, chiropractic) for animals. It makes it a bit of the Wild West here. It can be a bit challenging to navigate which is why I follow the principle of “do no harm” and in some cases that means:

✅ Doing nothing
✅ Referrals

This ALWAYS means:

✅ Staying within my scope of work (I do not prescribe or diagnose)
✅ Managing expectations

I always try to gather information in advance of coming to a facility to enable me to get a picture of what is going on. I have left farms without doing a session as I had concerns that was what going on required veterinary care not a bodyworker. Was the client happy? Nope, they were actually pretty mad, but I am ok with someone being mad at me as my interest is in the well being of the animal.

I am not a veterinarian, nor am I a magician. I cannot make your horse sound, stop a colic or “fix” your horse.

I can:

✅ Help to optimize performance
✅ Assist in exercise recovery

09/19/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100064094430769/posts/705928528220289/?mibextid=cr9u03

BY LAUREN MAULDIN Hey there local show rider. It’s 4:25pm, and you’ve been sitting in the hot dust waiting for the hack for an hour because someone told you it was time to go, until it wasn’t. It’s been a long day, or weekend. Let’s be real, it’s probably been a long month balancing fami...

08/23/2023

Interesting

07/21/2023

Discover Skilled Riding Secrets – Straight from the Horse’s Perspective!

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🥕 It's not just about riding; it's about shaping your identity and behavior as a skilled rider. Gain valuable insights into the mental and emotional aspects of riding, and watch your connection with your equine partner deepen like never before. 🐴❤️

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For this month only, Equitopia are offering a fantastic 35% discount on the Skilled Rider Course! 🤩🎁

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06/29/2023

Great read!

05/29/2023

All breed & AQHA show in beautiful Courtney!

03/12/2023

When they say it takes a village, it really does. Thank you so much Ruth Sweet, , , and last but not least

02/12/2023

What a great post… 🙂

12/14/2022

Happy International Horse Day! I have been blessed with great horses in my life. Grateful for them all ❤️. I have learned so much from each and every one of them.

11/17/2022

Have you Hugged your horse today?

Address

Brentwood Bay, BC

Opening Hours

Monday	4pm - 7pm
Tuesday	4pm - 7pm
Wednesday	4pm - 7pm
Thursday	4pm - 7pm
Friday	4pm - 7pm
Saturday	9am - 2pm
Sunday	9am - 2pm

Telephone

+12504157273

Website

http://www.arbutusequinemassage.com/

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Videos

Sometimes I get quiet as I am putting the pieces of information together and figuring out my plan for each session. I am not ignoring what someone is telling me, rather planning my approach with the information I have in that moment. This is apparently what that looks like. 😂 Love this photo. Never take yourself too seriously folks. #equinebodyworker #equinehealth #equinemassage #equinewellness #equinemassagetherapist #equinemassageandbodywork #equinewellbeing #equinehealthcare #happyhorsehappyrider #equineathleteservices #equinephotographer #equestrainlife #stablelife🐴

A Year in Photos It’s been quite a year. Hard to believe how quickly it has gone. Thank you for trusting me with your amazing horses. I have cherished every moment. #equinebodywork #equinemassagegoals #hestabandsatin #equinewellbeing #happyhorsehappylife #equinebodyworker #hestabandcotton #equineathleteservices #performancehorses #vancouverislandhorses #equinecare #equinehealth #happyhorsehappyrider #equinerehab #equinepilates #equestrianlife #ktapeforhorses #hestaband #equineindustry #kinesiotape #pilatesforhorses #performancehorsetherapy

One of the simplest tools of the trade (also useful for taking the hair off me!!). This time of year I do a quick brush and a quick roll just to lift any loose hair and sanded off. #tapertips #arbutusequinemassagetherapy # performancehorsetherapy #equineathletes #equinemassageandbodywork #happyponies #equinebodywork

So this happened today… A variation of the in hand pole straddle. I sprained my back recently so have not been able to do much beyond walking around. Had been practising some side passing over poles and through it may be fun to try to straddle it under saddle. Considering it was our first time doing it this way I was extremely pleased with the fact that we got all 4 feet on the proper sides. The bobble happened 3/4 of the way down when I pulled my camera out to get the photo!! 🤦‍♀️ What a horse! 😊 #trysomethingnewtoday #happyhorses #equineeducation #equineathletes #mixitup #aqhalways #lovemypony #arbutusequinemassagetherapy #horsemanship #holistichorsecare

⭐️ Tape with Intent ⭐️ Going through my photos over the past while and I realized how much I really do love this modality. Tape can be used for a myriad of purposes: 🐴 Circulation 🐴 Muscle/tendon Support 🐴 Muscle Relaxation 🐴 Increasing proprioception 🐴 Fascial release I approach each horse with a plan. Understanding what my objectives objectives and goals are what dictates: ✅ Application (ex. insertion to origin for relaxation, or origin to insertion for support) ✅ Amount of stretch ✅ How I modify the tape (or don’t) (ie. one long piece vs 4 tails, or a combination thereof) I don’t tape all horses. I don’t necessarily tape a horse that I have done previously unless I feel there will be enhancing what I have already done. I also don’t like to lay a pile of tape down onto a horse “just because” it looks like I am doing something impressive. Less is often more. #arbutusequinemassagetherapy #equinewellbeing #equinehealth #equinebodywork #hestaband #performancehorsetherapy #kinesiologytaping #ktapeforthewin #kinesiotape #kinesiologytapingforhorses #kinesiotapeforhorses #vancouverislandhorses #equinemassageandbodywork #equinebodyworker #ktape #hestabandcotton #equineathlete #equinewellness #hestabandsatin

I ride alone about 99.9% of the time, and because I am not a jumper there are very few coaches in my area. So I pick up all kinds of terrible habits. Like getting handsy. 😒 So I began riding with no hands about 10 days ago to curb that crappy habit. 😬Buster is also quite spicy, so I really like doing slow discrete tasks with him to make him think and support him (the floor isn’t actually lava, you’re fine). 🤔 #equinewellness #arbutusquinemassage #lovethehorse #equineathlete #arbutusequine #trysomethingnewtoday #aqhalways #equinewellbeing #horsemanship #havefunwithyourhorse #equine #magnumchicdream #equinementalhealth #vancouverislandhorses #horsesarementalhealth #equinelife #slowandateadywinstherace #equineindustry #equineathletes #performancehorse #usewhatyouhave

Ranch Trail course for this week!! Should be a challenging and fun one! Not the most attractive gate ever, but will suit my needs just fine. #trysomethingnew #arbutusequine #equineathlete #happyhorsehappylife #ranchriding #aqhalways #equinewellbeing #vancouverislandhorses #havefunwithyourhorse

To be effective, you don’t need to do an elaborate application. 🤔 Effectiveness comes from: ✅ Stretch ✅ Direction of application And sometimes position of the horse. For example in this case, we had this mare’s head down to elongate the muscle for a relaxation application and taped cranial to caudal. You can see here we had a lovely fascial response within a few minutes! 🙂 #equinewellbeing #arbutusequine #hestaband #hestabandcotton #happyhorsehappyrider #performancehorse #kinesiotapeforhorses #equineathlete #rideforsoundness #equinemassageandbodywork #equinemassagegoals #equinehealthcare #kinesiologytapeforhorses #equinewellness #equinebodywork #kinesiologytape #equinehealth #performancehorsetherapy

A short video to help to release tension in the neck. I finish a lot of sessions with this a d often do it after a ride.

⚠️Rant Alert ⚠️. Pardon pasty white legs. 😬. But is there anything more annoying that a boot sock slipping down? 😳🤔 The betrayal began while I was riding. It took every bit of self control I had to not stop {freak out} and deal with this. Bare shin touching leather is completely unacceptable. I finished my ride, fixed my socks, only to feel it slipping and switched footwear for turnout. #equestrianlife #cowgirlproblems #arbutusequine #grindsmygears #equestrianproblems

Post chiropractic massage. I usually try to do massage prior to Chiro, but afterwards can provide benefits as well. The next session is scheduled so I will be able to do him beforehand. Do you work collaboratively with other equine professionals to maximize the effectiveness of sessions for your clients? ⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #equine #equineathlete #happyhorsehappylife #equinemassagegoals #equinewellbeing #arbutusequine #equineathleteservices #equineathletesmassage #equineathletesupport #equinebodywork #equinemassage #equinerehab #equinetherapy #equinewellness #holistichorse #performancehorse #equineindustryprofessional #vancouverislandhorses #happyhorsehappyrider #equinehealthandwellness #horsemassage #horseyawn #equineindustry #equinemassageandbodywork #equinehealth #equinehealthcare

Went out for an early morning ride to try to beat the heat this morning. Ended up riding with a buddy!! 🐥 ⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #equineconditioning #horsepower #equinehealthandwellness #horsecare #arbutusequine #basicequinehealth #arbutusequinemassage #healthyhorse #horsebackriding #horsesofinstagram #equineathlete #equinelife #equinewellness #horsewellness #horsesarementalhealth #ridewithabuddy #equinewellbeing #equineathlete #mixitup #horsebackriding #trailridingadventures #happyhorsehappyrider

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Our Story

My love of horses spans over 35 years, in fact the first word I learned how to spell in kindergarten was "horse". I began riding when I was about 8, and started competing in English and Western events when I was in my early teens, stopped during university, then resumed again 13 years ago. I have a natural curiosity and I continually strive to develop my knowledge in equine massage therapy and bodywork in general. I continue to advance my education every year as I feel it makes me better at what I do (gives me more tools for my toolbox so to speak). I have completed continuing education in equine back pain, manual ligament therapy and completed an Equi-Taping certification in 2015 (becoming the first certified Equi-Taper in BC). I have always believed in the “team” approach to managing equine athletes in thoroughly enjoy the opportunities that arise where I can collaborate with coaches, vets, chiropractors and farriers as to the way forward!