Munch-N-Done

18/08/2025

What an amazing group of people!

History was recently made as the Blackfeet Nation proudly became home to the first Native-led equine air scent detection Search and Rescue (SAR) team.

18/08/2025

We are grateful our Munch-N-Dones played a part in this history making! Thank you to the Blackfeet Nation in preparing your team to assist in future Search and Rescue missions...

What has happened on the Blackfeet Reservation is not only news — it is history, it is prayer, it is the ancestors speaking through horse and rider alike. The Holding Hope Search and Rescue Equine Team has become the first Native-led equine air scent detection team in this land. Think of that: our horses, once trained for battle and for carrying us through life’s harshest roads, now trained to find the missing, to bring our relatives home.

These horses — Comanche, Jack, and J’ose — carry not only riders, but generations of spirit and memory. They have joined the circle of protectors. When the masks are placed upon them, they know: this is their work, their sacred task, just as our ancestors’ horses once rode into danger to protect the people.

I think of Thomas and J’ose, whose journey together was not easy. At first, the horse bucked him off — a spirit unbridled, testing the strength of the human heart. But Thomas did not walk away. He rebuilt that trust, step by step, until horse and rider moved as one. When J’ose caught the scent and led the way faster than any other, that was more than training — it was the old teaching: we must learn to listen to the spirits of our animal relatives, to trust them, for they see and sense what we cannot.

The Mad Plume family carries a horse bloodline stretching back to the time of Chewing Black Bones. That lineage is alive in J’ose, alive in the sweat, the dust, and the breath of this work. And as Kelsey said, this is not something new — this is something ancient, carried forward. The elders remembered horses trained to carry the wounded from battle. Today, these horses carry us into a new kind of battle — against loss, against despair, against the silence of the missing.

The name itself, “Holding Hope,” comes from a promise — the promise to never stop searching for little Arden Pepion. A child lost, but not forgotten. This team was born from that sorrow, but it has become a light. Through their horses, through their courage, through their prayers, these riders are telling the world: We do not abandon our people. We do not stop looking. We do not forget.

This milestone is not only for the Blackfeet Nation. It is for all Indigenous communities. It shows that our ways — our horses, our teachings, our determination — are strong enough to lead in fields where we were once told we did not belong. Public safety, search and rescue, protection — these are not just government terms. These are our responsibilities as caretakers of one another.

And so I say, let us honor this team. Let us honor Comanche, Jack, and J’ose, who now walk with masks upon their faces, like shields, reminding them of their sacred duty. Let us honor Nugget, Kelsey, Thomas, and all who trained, who sweated, who fell and stood again. Let us honor little Arden, whose spirit still guides the search.

This is how the circle continues:
What was once used to carry us into war, now carries us into healing.
What was once broken between horse and rider is now mended with trust.
What was once loss becomes hope, becomes a path forward for all our peoples.

mîkwêc. All my relations.

—Kanipwit Maskwa
John Gonzalez

29/06/2025

05/01/2025

17/11/2024

Consider this a courtesy post. If you have been on the fence about purchasing any products from us you might consider doing it in the next few months. Though we sew our muzzles right here in the USA, our raw materials come from all over the world. Any new tarrifs placed on our raw textiles will, unfortunately, force us to increase our product prices accordingly, and it could be significant.

11/11/2024

02/08/2024

If you are ever in Hawaii, really consider looking this place up!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ZMoQYEch1wzrVsyt/?mibextid=oFDknk

30/07/2024

We at Munch-N-Done (all two of us) have made the decision to discontinue a number of our products to better focus entirely on our Munch-N-Done Riding Muzzles. Our well known Bug-GIT, our Pack-N-Pony, and our Be Seen Safety Gear will be discontinued after our current inventory is sold. If you are interested in stocking up on these products, now would be the time. Certain sizes will sell out faster than others and if you run into "Discontinued" after choosing your size, you know you were a little late. We look forward to focusing entirely on our Munch-N-Done as we go forward...

06/06/2024

We LOVE getting messages and photos from happy customers!

Just wanted to share this photo of my mare walking calmly through the all you can eat buffet that I used to dread riding through. Now that we’ve got the munch n done I no longer avoid the meadow. My mare is so calm with the munch n done, it’s amazing!

14/04/2024

Sick of the battle? So were we!!! And this is why we decided to come up with our Munch-N-Done (Formerly the NibbleNOT). We are two ladies hailing from Wisconsin, Dee and Kelley, and we invented, patented, and manufacture each and every Munch-N-Done found across the USA and the 17 other countries we are currently shipping to. Shop Small!