Sal Salvetti - Equine Massage Therapist

Robert "Sal" Salvetti
Equine Massage Therapist
photo credit: Brigitte Bouchard Volk
bbvphotography.com

Robert Salvetti, known by all as “Sal,” is perhaps the best-known equine massage therapist in the east coast sporthorse world. He launched his practice in New England in 2001 and by 2003 he was working on horses for the U.S. Equestrian Team at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic. Sal has also served as massage therapist for U.S. team horses competing in dressage, show jumping, and driving at topnotch competitions including the 2005 World Equestrian Festival Aachen CHIO in Germany, the 2005 Dressage World Cup in Las Vegas and the 2008 Dressage World Cup Final in The Netherlands.

Sal works coast-to-coast on hundreds of horses ridden by amateurs and non-competitors, but the core of his equine massage therapy business is the professional rider in any discipline. A few of the top dressage riders who’ve entrusted horses to Sal include Carol Lavell, Michelle Gibson, Shannon Dueck, Lisa Wilcox, Leslie Morse, Todd Flettrich, Mikala Munder Gunderson, Elisabeth Austin, Jane Hannigan, George Williams, and Betsy Steiner.

“Sal has a wonderful way about working with the horses that addresses issues with immediate results,” says Betsy Steiner. “I always feel the benefit of his work from the saddle in supple, free movement. The horses trust him with his gentle demeanor, which is very important to me with someone working with my horses.”

One of the reasons Sal focuses on professionals is because they feel the difference better than amateurs. “Amateurs come as a result of my working for professionals,” he explains. “There have been times the rider is on the horse in the arena, we’ll talk about what he or she is feeling, and then I’ll work on specific muscles in an effort to improve what the rider is talking about – right there in the ring. The rider will ride off and say, ‘That was better’ or ‘That had no change’ and then I go further from there. I learn the most from these relationships and as a result I’m better at extracting information from a less experienced rider as to what’s going on with the horse and then can better determine how to treat it.”

Also key to Sal’s success are his in-depth studies of skeleton and muscle structure. He completed an internship with equine massage therapist Mike Scott nearly a decade ago and has kept his practice current by continual study. In the past eight years, Sal has completed five equine cadaver labs offered by Scott through the Tufts University Veterinary School in Massachusetts. “That’s huge with regard to accuracy and to knowing where you are and what layers you’re affecting,” Sal emphasizes. “There’s so much superficial muscle structure on a horse that the labs reveal. In the labs, we’re literally peeling back the layers of tissue in order to see what lies underneath. I carry my lab book, which was assembled by Tufts anatomists, in my briefcase everywhere I go.”  

In 2009, Sal is adding a new dimension to his practice – he will be teaching clinics and internships. “What I’ve learned over the years is a result of working on top horses for top trainers who work with top vets,” Sal says. “Now it’s time share that with others who want to learn.”