The Waymaker Ranch

11/08/2024

I posted the new soldier version-and here’s the 2024 “rock version”. Lee Greenwood released this song 40 years ago on his 42 birthday. 40 years later he decided it needed a new version and released it on his 82nd birthday just last week.

What I thought when I heard this-my life, your life, isn’t over yet-keep dreaming, keep making things happen because success can come at any time at any age.

Download & Stream THIS SONG HERE 👉 https://lnk.to/GodBlessTheUSARockGod Bless The USA (ROCK VERSION)God Bless The U.S.A. (ROCK VERSION)DREW JACOBS ON SOCIAL...

11/08/2024

https://youtu.be/0Japc8M8RQw?si=-IAYQIPZsOcnr3WV

Lee Greenwood, in collaboration with The United States Air Force Band, Singing Sergeants and Home Free, released a new version of his hit song “God Bless th...

11/06/2024

11/02/2024

Mustang Heritage Foundation is excited to announce the first of its kind, Great American Mustang Sale!

A select sale for top mustangs! Highlighting the best mustangs on the market.

The Great American Mustang Sale will be held during the Mustang Heritage Spectacular in Lexington, Kentucky, from June 12 to 14.

You can find more information on our Mustang Heritage Spectacular page.
https://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/mustang-heritage-spectacular

09/17/2024

Many of you have heard me say…I’m done with mustang competitions, and I am. Still saying that. I am still saying that. But that doesn’t mean I’m hanging up my hat! I am officially adopting not one or two but THREE (sorry Clint, the 3rd just worked its way in there 🤷🏻‍♀️) mustangs. All 3 came from the internet adoptions. Two geldings and one mare. All three will be available at any time in their training! My thoughts are to gentle them and get them started RIGHT. Then, I’m offering up some different options and open to what you may want-

Pick one out, cover expenses for the mustang through the competition in Las Vegas (assuming there is another) and after the competition you go home with a nice broke mustang!

Pick one out, I train to the point you want it trained, and YOU go compete on it in Las Vegas and/or Kentucky!

Pick one out and I’ll get it to the level of training you want!

My goal is to continue to gentle these amazing horses and get them into homes! These will not have that 100 day timeline on my back and I am looking forward to see how they do!

Here they are!

08/03/2024

Here at misfit ranch, I mean The Waymaker Ranch-we have new additions to the homestead. The three small Boer were struggling with life as their moms both died while they were young. Their owners kept them alive and doctored them and when they were ready for a new home we bought them. They have pot bellies, and were still sick enough we were concerned a couple wouldn’t make it, but we have managed to clear up most of their issues and they are eating so much a lot of the pot belly is because they are so full! The tall Nubian is a handful. When we go out of his sight he comes looking for us-even when we are out feeding and working horses 🤦‍♀️. When we give the other goats attention (like meds) he has his face all up in our business and if we ignore him he headbutts us. Today I introduce you to our adequately named goats, after G.O.A.T.s-the greatest of all time.

Meet
Reba
Paula Dean and
Canelo

07/30/2024

What happens when I introduce the bit to a horse for the first time? Quick video of exactly how I want it to go. Introducing the bit correctly is so important. It lays the foundation for the rest of their bit wearing life. Allowing the horse to figure it out on their own is key. The more we can allow them to figure things out on their own, the better off they are. I like to help horses think, not control everything they do.

This is an example of how I like to teach a horse to learn to hold the bit for the first time. Proper but introduction can prevent all sorts of issues later ...

07/21/2024

An emotional, and patriotic performance from the 2024 Extreme Mustang Makeover champion, Mandy Duncan. 🇺🇸

What Mandy Duncan freestyle here:
https://youtu.be/9846nLWHX_I?si=z5_TtRd8eXvEzyKJ

Photo Credits: Mountain Ember Photography

07/20/2024

Patience training and a beautiful sunset. I will be sharing training with this older mare here if you want to follow along! This picture has no filter, just Texas.

This is a 10year old mare who is now in training here. People ask me all the time what I think about training older horses. My response is always the same-depends on the horse. This mare moves nice and seems to have a good mind about her. What I notice so far is that she still thinks she is being caught and worked with a little but will be turned back out soon. She spends her time eating and the rest of the time-waiting to go to the herd. Here she is searching for the herd. She stands and paws impatiently. She calls for the herd. Right now she is not allowed with any other horses. I did bring in one of her horse buddies to work with yesterday so she was able to see that her situation isn’t permanent. She isn’t being punished. Her life is just going to be different. She needs to partner with a human now, not the herd. To me this is the most common issue with training older horses so it’s not too big of a deal. To me the main thing is that I don’t just push through training for riding and such. Why would I if all she is thinking about is getting into the pasture with the other horses. So I wait. I bring her to the barn all day with just me and when I have her attention-we work on something. This is a prime example of why trainers do not want to take in a horse for 30 days only. An issue like this takes time for the brain to change. This is why the trainer needs to discuss with the owner that “training” may not mean I’m putting miles and miles on your horse. If you want me to train or fix your horse, then trust the process. What good does it do to have a horse that can ride if they aren’t even aware a rider is on their back because they are so focused on getting back to the herd?

Training horses is much more than wet saddle pads and sweat. It’s a mental game more than anything. And mustangs taught me that.

The video is where I tied her up while we worked on our “new” round pen so I could watch how she acted. So far this has gone on for three days. At night she is turned into a pen completely isolated away from all the other horses. She was calling out for them and this morning she started calling for me.

07/20/2024

GLEN ROSE — Mandy Duncan, a horse trainer originally from Glen Rose, recently won the title of Grand Champion at a major Mustang competition, a testament to her commitment to working with wild horses.

07/19/2024

🤣

07/09/2024

This was the toughest mustang I have ever trained for a 120 day competition. My faith was tested. My relationships were tested. My struggles were real. But was it worth it? Winning does make the struggle a bit more sweet ;)

07/09/2024

At many points in my life-whether life got hard, impossible, hurtful, empty…I would question what I was doing with horses. Countless times I’ve said I was done, going to sell it all. Why haven’t I? Because God didn’t lead me that way, yet. I know one day that time will come. At least I think it will. Perhaps my life will end and whomever I leave behind will have to sell it all. But for now, I know I am not done yet.

When it came to mustang makeovers (taking a wild mustang, gentling it, and competing on it in just 4 months) it wasn’t an easy road. Before I picked up the last horse, Drifter, I had to euthanize two competition mustangs out of what was best for the horse (both had chronic leg issues that were causing way too much pain and not fixable). I said I was done. God said I wasn’t. I didn’t want to. I honestly cannot even pinpoint WHY I knew I was SUPPOSED to. I knew I could win Tennessee. I realize that may sound arrogant, but God told me I was going to win. I kept trying not to tell myself I was crazy. I kept trying to excuse my way out of it-but God never let it happen. I felt like a puppet some days with my feet guiding the rest of me. I went to TN confidently to pick out my champion. I was honestly not thinking about God that day. Sure I had prayed up to the day-God, you are going to have to lay out every step of the way and close any door to keep me from getting this horse if you don’t want me to do this. Please don’t burden my family beyond reason. Please don’t get me hurt beyond quick healing. Please don’t bankrupt me. These were real prayers.

The first thing was-I need to haul other people’s horses to pay for the trip to pick up. The main reason is that if I didn’t get a horse on my list, I wouldn’t bring home just any horse. So the cost had to be covered on its own.

And God provided. I hauled back 3 other horses for Texans competing.

The next was, God don’t let me pick a horse based off looks alone or emotion-and all the horses were overgrown with hair, barely distinguishable and stayed in bunches against themselves so not much interaction. That night I didn’t pray anything that I recall. The next morning I didn’t pray anything that I recall-remember I had already prayed what needed to be prayed. No need to keep begging. God was going to answer however He was gonna answer. In fact, I had put our luggage in the horse trailer and without thinking-left the horse trailer at the ranch where we would pick up the next day-drove almost an hour to our hotel-and forgot our luggage lol. So my mom and I were at Walmart buying PJs and toothbrushes and such to get through the night lol.

The next day I had my list. We drew from a bucket for order of draw-and that’s when God slapped me in the face-I drew my number 23. This number has followed me around since high school. The most memorable moment for this number was when I was in the flag corps. One of our girls had died in a car wreck just days before. We all wore a black corsage with a white flower to honor Heather. That night the store board froze right before we went on for our halftime performance. Every number on the board was “23”. Score was 23-23. Time was 23:23. Down was 2nd and 3. There are other witnesses to this as several of us had started noticing this number before this. We knew Heather was with us that night. And God would use that number to guide me right through becoming the champion of the makeover 120 days later. I mean, the WHOLE way. First exit off the road after pickup-a handwritten 23 on the back of a stop sign. Last minute idea to go to a show 2 hours away and a handwritten 23 on the paper where the guy wrote my name down for the stall list. Back number with the number 233. At the comps we had to check in and a back number that belonged to no one on the table-with the number 23. A sermon about perseverance with no explanation-the number 23 on the screen the whole time. No one with me ever saw these-until I pointed them out. God had His way of helping me see. He will have a way that he shows you-if you listen and watch.

When I was in paramedic school I had a peace about what I was doing. It was hard. The test was hard. I knew I may not pass the classes. I knew I may not pass the tests. I knew that even if I “failed” I wasn’t failing following God’s path for me. That’s a whole other God story how I became a paramedic.

As long as you have God in your life He cares. While I know we have tests, I know I often waiver in my faith. I also know that when I am on the path God has for me, the pain, the struggle, the hardships are….different. There is peace in the storm. When I am down and out and life is terrible I turn to God. I am not dumb. I can tell the difference when what I am doing isn’t really something God would approve of. I can tell when it’s just a struggle that will make the victory more sweet. I have learned that when God wants you to shut it down IT WILL BE SHUT DOWN. If it’s good, it’s of God. If it’s not good, it’s not of God. If it’s hurting your family, or others just so you can be happy-it is probably not of God. If it’s a struggle and takes sacrifice but other things in your life are doing well-it’s probably just a test of faith and perseverance. I could be wrong. Listen to God, not me lol.

Now I’m back to praying and asking God what is next. In the meantime I know that taking care of my family, taking care of what God has given us (animals, land, etc.) is never the wrong thing to do. So now work on getting everything in my life to be the best it can be-in case God says sell it all-at least it will all be at its most valuable 😉. Stay tuned for horse updates as I start working these horses:

Mayday
Scarlet
Catty
Ally
Maggie

07/09/2024

We let her live. She takes care of other unwanted pests that do us harm. She does us no harm other than occasional heart jumps and screams.

07/08/2024

If you are watching Mustang Champions - Western Challenge Vegas 2024 this week-I got my team in a fantasy draft! So let’s go team named….
WIZARD OF ODDS!!!
My team-
Katie Moore and Gilligan
Jerrad Dittmer and Bear’s Takin’ Down Vegas
Sarah Halbleib and Ruffle Chip
Garrett Eigenhuis and Sven
Murilo Junior and Winner of God
Amber Hofmaier and Divine Intervention
Let’s go team!!! I’ll be cheering you on from Texas!!!
(Updated with pictures!!!)

07/08/2024

Blast from the past. I took this video of Tanya singing to my friend David when she stopped in for a visit a few years back. Good times.

07/03/2024

https://www.williamsonherald.com/features/w_life/the-american-mustang-horse-galloped-through-franklin-with-local-ties-to-trainer-and-rider/article_8963e3a0-37bb-11ef-a59a-af98d375c3cd.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3VyKIGHowWpjeNEytPeyqXki7BxuFVrEVOB5KqkCaaXAAKuYiW-o0Lmx4_aem_zYQkHupo61vcCOA6QLzQ8A

The Tennessee State Legislature declared June 17-23, 2024, as Mustang Heritage Week in Tennessee when over a hundred Mustang horses (and three burros) graced the grounds of the Williamson County