Wild Spirit Mustangs was founded in response to the increasing need to help mustangs that ended up at auctions, kill pens and owner surrendered. Mustangs that fell through the cracks because of flawed federal protection, or mustangs that didn’t respond well to traditional “breaking” methods.

Jeske has been rescuing mustangs from auctions and kill pens since 2020 and the thread all these mustangs have in common is that they have experienced some form of trauma at the hands of humans. People that adopt a mustang, often with the best intentions, do not always have the knowledge, time, or resources it takes to gentle and train a once wild horse. Sadly, when mustangs don’t conform to human timelines or goals, and have a hard time adjusting to domestic life, more often than not, end up at auctions and kill pens. A lot of these mustangs have a really hard time trusting people again after going through that.

Wild Spirit Mustangs offers a soft landing and restart for wild mustangs (and burros) that had a hard time adjusting to domestication and/or have experienced trauma. As such we will gentle, train, and rehabilitate primarily using ethical and trust-based training methods that honor the horse’s wild spirit, help them become safe to handle, enjoy human interaction, and ultimately able to live happy, fulfilling lives. Additionally, Wild Spirit Mustangs Inc. will rehabilitate difficult to handle or “problem” (domestic) horses.

At Wild Spirit Mustangs the horse always comes first, it is our priority to make sure the horse feels safe, seen, and heard, while teaching them the necessary skills to be successful and able to thrive in domestic life. Gentling will happen on their own individual timelines based on building trust and connection. Once the horse is gentled and knows basic handling he or she will become available for adoption into carefully vetted homes with an adoption contract that states the horse will receive adequate species appropriate care, and will be treated with love and respect, ensuring long term successful placement of the wild horses into prospective homes. When a wild horse is not able to adjust to domestication and it will be deemed unsafe to be placed into a prospective home, Wild Spirit Mustangs Inc. will keep the mustang in its sanctuary herd, or the mustang will go to an alternative (wild) horse sanctuary exempt organization if deemed necessary. This is critical in ensuring they will not end up (back) in the wrong hands and potentially suffer (more) abuse, neglect, and trauma.

In summer of 2024, Jeske and her father designed and built a covered round pen so that training of the mustangs can happen year-round. Wild Spirit Mustangs Inc. plans to offer a variety of equine programs and clinics such as but not limited to holistic equine nutrition, hoof care, body work, ethical, trust-based training, trauma informed horse handling & training, equine assisted learning, volunteer opportunities, and more, to provide educational and interactive experiences and resources to the public. This will increase awareness and enhance general knowledge in respect to (wild) horses, and/or traumatized equines, advocating for their trainability, strength, stamina, and gentle, willing nature, with the goal to place more wild horses into good, caring homes. Wild Spirit Mustangs aims to create a supportive community for compassionate horse owners that want to connect with horses at a deeper level, putting the horse first, all the while experiencing the intuitive wisdom and healing powers of horses.