We love our Equicizer, Captain Jack. He has been extremely beneficial for both K8 and I. In the winter of 2017 I acquired Sciatica from doctoring my "Longdust" horse (winter laminitis complicated by PPID/EMS). After going through three different physical therapy programs with no relief, I started my own program in 2018 with Captain Jack. My motivation also came from the great osteo-arthritis video I had viewed from the Wooden Horse.
Progress is sweet, and with the help of the Captain I have dodged the 'invasive back surgery bullet' as of today, ironically, per my primary care Doctor's advice and plan forward!
The quality of workmanship put into the Equicizer is exceptional! The greatest invention of our time. Thank you so much again for inventing the Wooden Horse...he is priceless!"
We are a Ranching Family of four: Dan, Lyn, & 2 cowgirls - Lisa & Katy. We started out on Spanish Creek / Flying D Ranch in the 1970's near Bozeman, Montana. We incorporated horses in our daily lives as we followed Dan's charge of mother cows to three different cow camp locations on a yearly basis.
Our daughter Kate was born with hypotonia (basically, lack of muscle tone). Over the years, Kate's love for horses got her into the Special Olympics in the Denver, Colorado area. She competed on a palomino paint mare, Sally, an obvious partnership. Sally found her forever home with Kate when the people behind Horsepower (handicapped riding club) offered Sally to Kate for $1, the price of a brand inspection at that time.
Together they successfully competed in the local 4-H Club due, in part, to the special people that were willing to make this duo feel welcome and part of the group. When the year end 4-H competition was held, Kate and Sally placed, but the little gal with the purple ribbon came up to them and said "You both deserve this and I would be honored if you'd accept this ribbon!" 4-H & FFA were great clubs for kids!
From the Escalante Ranch in Colorado our horses rode with us on the historic TS Ranch near Battle Mountain, Nevada for the next 25 years. Kate continued to ride Sally in these wide open spaces full of cattle, calves and adventure until Sally's time was up. The TS cowboss offered Kate a nice Buckskin, Captain Jack, who had a history of not being pleased with Cowboys in general. But the Captain saw something in Kate that made them click, so they became silent partners and were asked to help move cows when needed.
Early mornings on horseback, sorting calves by the Boss's (Dan's) direction was a dream job for us. Kate was in high school now, and had plateaued out on the Special Ed academics, so we "invented" a school to work program that involved Kate, Captain Jack and the TS feedlot on a daily basis. Kate was responsible for a daily journal and logging her hours as a teammate with the crew at the feedlot or when moving cattle to new pastures, the amount of time spent on horseback, etc. so there was a lot of math going on!
When Captain Jack reached over 35 years of age he went on to meet up with Sally. Kate tried out quite a few horses but never really found a partner as true as Jack. Kate's last years in the feedlot were spent on a big brown horse that was kind and honest until the cinch faltered and the saddle Kate was riding slipped under his belly. Kate grew wings and landed on her feet, but it took some time and talent to cut the cinch free. That episode was a confidence breaker for Kate and finding a confidence building horse is not an easy task...
More on how Captain Jack the Equicizer came into the lives of Lyn's family in our next Wooden Horse Wednesday blog post.
love reading these stories of hope and courage. How these Equicizers are such an important part of everyday life thankyou.
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