Guest Post: Mounted Archery & More

Today we have a special guest post from Equicizer owner, Deb Pawlyshyn, who operates a farm in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Their primary focus, "...is in herbs, horses, sheep and alpacas. Currently we specialize in breeding Warmblood horses and specialty breeds of fibre sheep." Deb uses her Equicizer "Stormy" not only for herself but also for her students in a multitude of ways, including mounted archery. 

We're very excited to have Deb as our featured guest blogger today!

Throughout a lifetime of owning and training horses, I have had my share of accidents. My most serious accidents however didn't involve horses at all. One of my worst accidents was driving a forklift (LR7) onto a tractor trailer. The trailer had pulled out just as I was driving over the dock ramp. The forks on the lift slammed into the trailer just as the dock locks were activated. I was thrown into the air and landed on top of the machine. 

My injuries were mostly soft tissue, nerve damage, torn ligaments and tendons that supported my pelvis area. Riding and training horses was not possible for a long time. After the injury my recovery period was extensive. I felt like I couldn't get back to how I was no matter how hard I trained and no matter how much physio I did. Gradually I did get back to riding but I was never the same. My inner core was weak and there was a tightness from internal scar tissue.

In 2010 I purchased my Equicizer. It was a big deal for me (and it will stay with me for life). I had it shipped to Vancouver Island in Canada from the States. Sandy Lovato was my contact person and was incredible to deal with. She knew a little of my injuries and worked hard to make it possible for me to have one. I will always treasure her for that. 

The Canadian dollar was inconsistent and dropping throughout our talks and it soon became apparent I wouldn't have enough money. Sandy made it possible for me to still purchase the Equicizer by not charging me for the wheels. I would have been happy to go without wheels as long as I had the Equicizer but Sandy would not allow that and gave me the wheels for free. She said that I would thank her later. How right she was.

The Equicizer helped me a tremendous amount that first summer I had it. I had three horses coming in for training all with serious issues. That year everything went well. I had the Equicizer in my kitchen and would watch the news, ride and eat my breakfast (porridge) in a cup all at the same time. The 15 minutes on the Equicizer every morning set the stage for me to do serious work on my real horses. I was limber, my core was activated, my muscle memory strong. I credit the Equicizer for that.

Over the years we have adapted the Equicizer to work on various skills including roping and mounted archery. Imagine roping a dummy in your living room while the weather outside is roaring with a gale force storm. We taught kids mathematics, chemical equations, and the alphabet using the Equicizer. We utilized the student's large muscle mass (the thighs) to activate a different electrical pathway to the brain, a form of hippo-therapy. The movements that the Equicizer creates is similar to a horse's movements. The Equicizer creates a positive learning environment and most importantly - it is safe.

Right now as I write this, my Equicizer "Bask Song" aka "Stormy" (named after my dressage stallion) is outside under cover in his special trailer. Last summer Stormy was mostly used as a practice mount for mounted archery with students young and old. This winter he will be brought in for rehab work (hip replacements) and to help prepare me for an important upcoming project. I'm getting ready to start training the soon to be 4 year old feisty daughter of my Warmblood stallion. She will be a handful as I train using resistant free responses. Guess who will be assisting me? 

by Deb Pawlyshyn
Co-owner of Gun Barrel Canyon Farms -
Home of Warmblood M.M. Toblerone and Bask Song the Equicizer