10. Juli 2026

Blog No2 Beyond the Mustang Makeover: The truth about buying a Mustang 

A wild horse deserves more than an emotional impulse purchase!

What makes mustangs so captivating can also make them incredibly easy to misunderstand- choosing a mustang through emotion, online hype, and makeover culture can lead people and horses down the wrong path.

Sometimes, scrolling through the BLM adoption page almost feels dangerous to me. Even now, while writing this, I catch myself doing exactly what so many others do: I see one horse and instantly fall in love before I know anything real about him. 

• The long wild mane
• The unusal markings
• The soft expression
• The eys

Before long, I am already imagining the future - bringing him home, the trailer ride, the first touch, the life we might build together.

It is incredibly easy to fall in love with the image of a mustang and the adventure people imagine comes with it. And honestly, I am no different. Even after everything I have learned, I still feel that pull.

But I also know how quickly fantasy is replaced by reality.

When I bought my first mustang, Landers  who is still by my side today - reality looked nothing like the dream I had created in my head. At the time, I lived in Arizona. The holding facility was practically down the road. Mustang trainers were everywhere, speaking as if wild horses could simply be “figured out” with enough confidence and the right methods. I listened to many of them as though they were gurus.

Reality humbled me very quickly.

Because purchasing a mustang comes with responsibility far beyond what most people are told. Too often, parts of the truth are left out because the mustang world has also become a business.

This is something I have especially seen in Europe. Many mustangs imported through auctions, online sales, Facebook ads, or programs connected to Mustang Makeovers ended up with owners who genuinely had no idea what they were taking on. That does not make them bad people. Most loved the horse they bought. Most had beautiful intentions.

But beautiful intentions are not enough.

People often convince themselves that their horse will somehow be “the one” - easy, forgiving, adaptable, safer than the others. And that hope blinds them to reality. Horses are chosen emotionally: by color, mane, markings, photographs, or an emotional makeover video that captured one beautiful moment.

But the mustang itself does not know it is beautiful.

It does not know people admire its rare color or romanticize its wild mane. The horse only knows whether the human standing in front of it can provide safety, consistency, and eventually trust.

A mustang comes with a package - very much like a shelter dog, except now you are dealing with a 500-kilo prey animal whose survival instincts still live very close to the surface. People adopt rescue dogs and later realize they underestimated the responsibility. With mustangs, it is often the same story, only the consequences are much bigger.

That is why I believe the best way to purchase a mustang is the straightforward and educated way: with an experienced mustang trainer on your side from the very beginning and with a long-term plan already in place.

• Not through hype
• Not through time pressure
• Not through an emotional online bid

Programs like Ride the Brand were created exactly for this reason.

The right trainer should help you select the horse objectively, not emotionally. They should guide you through the gentling process in the United States, help evaluate the horse honestly, and continue supporting you after the horse arrives home. With today’s technology, distance and time zones are no longer real barriers. A trainer who already knows your horse can continue helping you step by step as your relationship develops.

That support matters more than people realize.

I invite trainers and mustangs to Portugal so owners can work directly with both horse and trainer together - learning horsemanship specifically designed for mustangs, not just horses in general. Because these horses require understanding, patience, and a different kind of approach.

The biggest problems I personally see with mustang ownership in Europe are not cruelty or bad intentions. It is:

• lack of experience
• lack of a good trainer and proper guidance
• lack of time
• lack of financial preparation
• unrealistic expectations

And slowly, many of these horses begin breaking down mentally and physically because their needs are misunderstood. Mustangs require far more than people imagine:

• Time
• Patience
• Space
• Consistency
• Ongoing training
• Money
• Emotional endurance
• Sometimes the acceptance that a horse may never truly want to be ridden

People rarely talk honestly about that part.

Most online stories focus on the beautiful side: the transformation photos, the emotional videos, the dramatic success stories, the image of freedom and connection. Social media often feeds ego more than reality. It makes everything look rewarding, easy, magical, and deeply meaningful every second of the journey.

In reality, working with mustangs can be frustrating. You question yourself constantly. You may work with several trainers. You spend far more money than expected. Some people eventually give up on the horse entirely.

Mustangs humble people very quickly.

I sometimes compare it to becoming a parent. Before I had children, I thought I understood parenting. Then reality arrived and humbled me. Mustangs do the same thing. Many people believe their connection will be deeper, their understanding stronger, their outcome different from everyone else’s.

But once ego enters the picture, things often begin going wrong.

This is also why I struggle with the image many people have of Mustang Makeovers. The public usually sees only the polished side of the story.

The biggest problems I personally see with mustang makeover ownership in Europe are not cruelty or bad intentions. It is:

• The beautiful photos
• The emotional music
• The drama before-and-after moments
• The performances and auctions

What people rarely see is the pressure behind it all:

• The deadlines
• The exhaustion
• The shortcuts
• The stress
• The emotional suppression that can happen when horses are pushed to perform within an extremely short period of time

And once that horse belongs to you, you become the one living with whatever was rushed, skipped, or emotionally buried along the way.

That is why I personally would never recommend purchasing a mustang directly from a makeover event — especially not without experienced guidance.

Do it right from the beginning.

Give the horse real time.

Because the real relationship with a mustang is not built through riding first. It begins with trust. Groundwork. Quiet consistency. Learning how to make the horse feel safe beside you.

Personally, I do not believe young horses - especially those five years old or younger - should be ridden at all. Before performance comes balance, confidence, emotional stability, and partnership.

Too many people rush toward performance instead of relationship.

A mustang does not care about social media photos or the dream of owning something “wild.” What matters to the horse is whether it feels safe with you.

The discipline itself matters far less than the relationship behind it. Whether you eventually enjoy trail riding, ranch work, liberty work, dressage, working equitation, or simply quiet rides through open country is secondary to the trust you build first.

And then there are the basics people constantly underestimate:

• Space
• Movement
• Herd
• Hay
• Proper living conditions

For mustangs, these are not luxuries. They are necessities.

If you cannot consistently provide those things, then honestly, you should not get a mustang.

And despite everything I have written here, I am not saying people should avoid mustangs.

Not at all.

In many ways, I believe they are extraordinary horses - unlike anything most people will ever experience. Sharing your life with one can become one of the most rewarding journeys imaginable.

• When done correctly
• Not because of makeover hype
• Not because of social media
• And not because of one beautiful photograph online

There is so much beauty in doing this the right way - slowly, honestly, transparently, and with the horse’s long-term wellbeing at the center of every decision.

Because in the end, these horses are not looking for admiration.

They are looking for safety, understanding, and a life that allows them to truly be horses.

If you are considering buying a mustang, please reach out to me. I would genuinely love to help guide you onto the right path - with the right trainer, the right preparation, and the right horse for your life.

Hoofs and Heart Beats,

Karin & Landers

And here publicly shared afterthought to leave you with from a former Mustang Makeover Trainer:

“People fall in love with the final picture, but very few ever see what it took to get there.”

I spent years around the Mustang Makeover world. I watched wild horses arrive untouched and uncertain, and I watched them walk into arenas beneath lights and applause only a few months later. To the public, it looked inspiring - almost magical. Transformation sells hope. A horse once considered ‘wild’ suddenly carrying a rider, standing quietly in front of a crowd, becoming someone’s dream horse.

But there is another side to that story.

What people rarely see is the pressure behind the scenes. The countdown that starts the moment the horse arrives. The expectation to show results quickly. The reality that these horses are not only being gentled - they are being prepared for a performance, for presentation, and eventually for sale.

A mustang does not arrive as a blank page. These horses carry survival, instinct, sensitivity, and history inside them. Real trust cannot be rushed. Yet the entire format depends on speed, visible progress, and the ability to create a transformation within a fixed amount of time.

I saw talented trainers trying to do right by the horse within that system. I also saw horses adapting quickly, not always because they were mentally ready, but because repetition, pressure, and controlled routines can create the appearance of readiness.

And then the event ends.

The lights disappear. The cameras are gone. The horse leaves the structured environment and enters a completely different reality with a new owner who often falls in love with what they saw in the arena, without understanding what it actually took to create that moment.

That is where the real story begins.

Because horsemanship is not built in a spotlight. It is built slowly - in patience, repetition, setbacks, quiet moments, groundwork, trust, and time.

These horses are not entertainment pieces. They are living animals, and they carry every rushed step, every shortcut, and every human expectation long after the applause is over.

At some point, I began asking myself whether speed and spectacle truly serve the horse - or whether they mainly serve our need to witness transformation.

I still love mustangs deeply. Maybe more than ever.

But loving them also means being honest about what they need.”

I would love to hear from you, please comment below.