The Mustang Heritage Foundation was established in 2001 with the mission of helping decrease the number of wild horses and burros in holding by increasing the number of successful adoptions and placement into private care. The early years were spent developing the governance of the organization. In 2005, a group of trustees and equine industry leaders met with a strategic goal: how to reposition wild horses among the most influential audience in the equine industry – horse trainers.

In 2006, the Foundation entered into a continuing financial assistance agreement with the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse & Burro Program. The agreement was for MHF to create and implement marketing and adoption programs to support the BLM and increase the number of successful adoptions.

In accordance with the agreement, the Extreme Mustang Makeover, a training event designed to showcase the trainability and versatility of wild horses, was born.

The first Extreme Mustang Makeover was held in Fort Worth, Texas in 2007. The first-of-its-kind event featured 100 trainers who had each spent 100 days training a wild horse. The event was highly successful and soon became the talk of the horse industry.

Extreme Mustang Makeover events are held across the country each year and thousands of equine enthusiasts witnessed the versatility of the wild horse.

The Trainer Incentive Program was created the same year to engage talented horse trainers across the country to help bring more mustangs home. The program has now engaged more than 600 trainers and placed more than 14,000 animals into private care.

Since its inception, MHF has placed more than 16,000 mustangs and burros into private care. This has helped save more than $131 million each year.

Today, MHF remains focused on their original mission to help bring more mustangs and burros home. MHF continues to create and manage innovative programs and events, including those that engage veterans and youth.