We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Justin Dunn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Justin, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
I was in a therapy session with a military service member here at my school. At the time, I had been wondering if I had made the right decision to move from Colorado to North Carolina, I knew I was supposed to be here, building my horsemanship school, and providing access to people that otherwise wouldn’t have it.
During the therapeutic horsemanship session the service member revealed to me that he had been contemplating suicide. He had been having thoughts of killing himself for about a year prior to coming to American Mustang School. This was approximately 3 months into his horsemanship course with me, and he told me those thoughts of suicide are totally gone. He told me that if it weren’t for my school, the horses, the program and information he was obtaining, he would not be alive now. That was my defining moment, I knew right then all of my sacrifices, hard work, and dedication to creating something from nothing was worth it.
I have had a few defining moments since the day I started working towards my higher purpose, and each one gives me more confidence to continue on.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Mark Twain said, “ There are two important days in your life, the day you were born and the day you find out why”.
Well, I have found out exactly what my “why” is! I get to play with horses and help other people find meaning in their lives through the practice of horsemanship.
My experiences with horses started when I was a very young boy, and it was back then I noticed there was something very special about horses. Horses always could make me feel happy when I was sad, or safe when I felt scared, and needed when I felt lonely.
My love for horses helped me make sense of this wonderful experience called life. I have always felt I had an advantage because of the things horses have taught me. Through Interaction with horses I learned to think, and do, to become who I wanted to be. I was able to develop life enhancement skills to do anything I ever wanted to accomplish. And I developed coping mechanisms to overcome situations I didn’t necessarily want.
My first business with horses was training them, for myself for a trail riding outfit. I guided over 5,000 people on horseback in the Colorado Rockies over a 9 year period.
In that time I designed a product called the “Justin Dunn Bitless Bridle” which is a specialized bridle to ask horses to do things without pain. The many people that rode my horses didn’t always know how to properly use reins to communicate with the horses. My bridle eliminated the possibility of accidentally hurting the horses by pulling on the reins attached to a metal bit inside the horse’s mouth.
My bridle is manufactured by Weaver Leather and sold all over the world helping thousands of horses and people build lifelong relationships.
I have realized that I have no competition in my business, because I focus on creating instead of competing. When it comes to horsemanship, the things that set me apart from others are, I don’t use metal bits in the horse’s mouths to force them to submit with pain, or spurs on my boots to force compliance, and will not use whips to force motivation. I prefer creating willingness in my horses to want to be with me, and do the things I want to do.
Today, I’m most proud of what I get to do for horses and people. I own and operate American Mustang School, to promote mental health and wellness through the preservation of the American Mustang (wild horse). I have developed a program that is very unique and highly effective in suicide prevention, overcoming addictions, reducing effects of Post Traumatic Stress, Anxiety, and Depression.
American Mustang School is a research and development school pioneering a newer more efficient way for people to participate with horses in their own self help-action. Everything I’ve ever read in a self help book can be practiced and applied in the practice of horsemanship.
I feel so strongly about the healing power of horses, I just released a book about it, “A Horse to Guide Me” and can be purchased on my website here,
https://www.justindunnhorsemanship.com/justins-book
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Early on in my journey as an entrepreneur, I realized that being debt free was the only way to ever grow financially. When I realized I had achieved a goal of earning a high income, but never had any money to spare, I made changes……drastically.
The first step was to get rid of all my debts. I started with my house mortgage. I sold my house, and with the equity, bought land and built my house myself. I bought a book (no YouTube back then) read it, and built my house. It took me less than a year, but it was all mine and paid for. After getting rid of my house payment, I got rid of all debts, such as car payments, credit card debt, and cable TV. Once I was debt free, earning and investing money was easy. Now, I earn more than I spend, and what a blessing it is to feel so free!
Over the years, many people would find out that I train wild horses, built and sold three houses, built and sold a business, and live debt free. They usually ask what is the hardest part of one or all of those things. My reply is always, commitment, and being self disciplined each day to find the energy to go and make it happen. Horses taught me to commit. I learned to do three things, find a purpose, have a flexible plan, and do it through action.
It takes a certain mindset to become resilient, I would say a positive mindset. If you truly want to become someone that is resilient, you must know how to commit to something and see it through. When things seem hard, look at them as an opportunity to grow, and develop. Break down the problem into smaller pieces and solve them one at a time. When I built a house, I focused on one board at a time, or when I train a wild horse, one session at a time, or when I wrote my book, one word at a time.
There were times I wanted to quit, but the more I completed, the easier it got to continue, and quitting became hard. Each little success, created momentum, which motivated me to persevere until I reached completion and total success. Each event prepared me for the next one, and after many successes, new events are welcomed, and met with enthusiasm. I no longer struggle with anything, and actually find joy in doing things that some might describe as hard.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I had fully developed the horseback riding business and guided so many people into the beautiful mountains of Colorado, it just wasn’t quite fulfilling my purpose in life. Although I was debt free, earning plenty of money, I just wasn’t satisfied.
I decided I needed more than just taking people on a short horseback riding adventure. I wanted to share the amazing experience of practicing horsemanship with people and help them transform their lives.
I walked away from a great lifestyle in Colorado and moved my operation here in North Carolina. I get to share what horses taught me , with people that probably wouldn’t ever get access to information to help them make choices to change their life. I get to witness people become better, smarter, and happier through transformation in the practice of horsemanship.
I had to pivot, in less than three years I’ve witnessed multiple people that were struggling with suicidal thoughts totally change and become healthy life loving individuals. I never saw that in 9 years of my trail ride business.
Today, I’m living with purpose, and I am thankful I found my “why”!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.justindunnhorsemanship.com/justins-book
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.w.dunn?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Austin Dunn Jaclyn Dunn Leila Strickland