Dreams really do come true! In April 2026, James and Yvonne Welz moved The Horse’s Hoof, Wishing Welz Equine LLC, and their entire Welz animal family to their newly purchased property in Marlin, Texas (southeast of Waco). Welcome to Wishing Welz Ranch! How did this happen?
Let me briefly summarize the past 6 months… it has truly been a rocket ship rollercoaster ride! Non-stop! But to tell the full story of the dream coming true, I have to take you back in time to the 1980’s, when James & I were newly married and barely out of our teens, had big hair and were living in Texas – where we met at the University in Denton. I told James that one day we would name our horse ranch, “Wishing Welz Ranch.” And the dream was born…
We didn’t have a good plan, or a clear path, or frankly any money at all, but we forged ahead with the horse dream. We moved to the Phoenix, Arizona area in 1990 with non-horse related career paths, and horses as our “hobby”. In 1999, we were thrown into the newly-born Natural Barefoot Hoof Movement. In a blink, we resigned from our well-paying careers and dove head-first into barefoot hooves full time. We learned everything we could about equine hooves, barefoot hoof trimming, natural horse care and holistic horse health. In 2000, while living in the ordinary tract home we owned in Avondale (west of Phoenix), we purchased 42 acres of raw land in a remote area in Northern Arizona, with hopes for that property to eventually become Wishing Welz Ranch.
The years passed; we tried to move back to Texas twice, but it never worked out. We ended up selling our Avondale house in 2014 and moved to a leased horse property on the southeast side of town, planning for that to be temporary until we moved to Texas. But Texas still did not work out. (Is the theme clear now? While we seemed like Arizonans, and made the best of it, we tried for so long to move back to Texas!!)
As time went by, it became apparent that our Northern Arizona land was simply too remote for an equine business, and we sold the property to my brother. (In the end, it actually did “turn into” Wishing Welz Ranch… because that money helped us buy our new home and make this move!)
Meanwhile, we ended up moving into another leased home. This one was a unique – and eventually frustrating – horse property just southeast of Phoenix; VERY nicely located. The story is WAY too complicated to write out – but let’s just say we were promised the opportunity to purchase, and spent 8 years waiting. And waiting… Finally, in January 2026, we were given a purchase price, and it was astronomically high and beyond our means. We were devastated; we would have to vacate, and soon. Initially, we were told, “before the end of the year,” but that quickly changed to ASAP.
Tragedy to Triumph
What happened next can only be described as providence. We looked around, what to do? We were fully prepared to purchase, but not for astronomical prices; it simply was not possible for us. All horse property remotely close to the Phoenix area had skyrocketed since 2020. We would have to move SO FAR out of town, James would have to let go of half his client base. Then we wondered, could it be possible? No way… it would be impossible for us to move to Texas. Right?!!
I talked to a friend who had just moved back to the Austin, Texas area from Phoenix. After that, I began searching for horse properties for sale in Central Texas, just to see what was available. At that time, we did not even think there was a huge rush (that changed quickly!). My parents wisely told me, find something and buy it right away. And like magic, a small horse property appeared for sale in Marlin, Texas. I found it the day after we received the news about our leased home. I kept returning to look at the Marlin property, because it seemed too good to be true. It is like the place was created just for us!!!
We wanted a UNIQUE and beautiful property with a move-in ready small house (it’s just the 2 of us). The house did not need to be perfect, but we would love it to be functional and attractive (and newly remodeled would be a bonus!). The location needed to be in a centralized area where James could easily reach trimming customers, and close enough to major towns for shopping and supplies. We needed a property that we could easily care for on our own (as we get older). We are do-it-yourselfer’s, and James is the ultimate handyman. We’re not afraid of small challenges.
We required enough acres for our 4 horses; we did not want a giant operation, but just something small and convenient – 5.5 acres would be perfect. However, the pasture land would need to be fairly ready to go, even if James had to install horse-safe fencing. We would really like to have plenty of space to build a large workshop and supporting areas for future clinics and hoof education events. We needed a place for our round pen, and a flat location to build a dressage arena for riding lessons, with plans for all-weather footing. We would appreciate some storage sheds to put feed and tack in, plus a carport and lots of tool storage space. We desired shade for the horses until we could build shelters to our liking. We love koi ponds (James tried to build one at our first house and never finished it); how about one of those? And since James loves the water, wouldn’t it be great if there was a nearby lake? How about across the street? He also loves airplanes, wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a small airstrip next to the lake? And to top it off, our future home really needed a wishing well. After all, this would be Wishing Welz Ranch!
You guessed it – our new home fits the exact description above. How was that possible? Only God knows! The most amazing part – this home was less than HALF the price with 50% more land than the property in Arizona. I wrote down dozens of “coincidences” that led to our purchase of this home; so many amazing things. The property owner had asked to pull the listing off the market, but the realtor had not done so by mistake – and that delay is the only reason I saw it. The house was built the year we were married, and James & I were to have our 40th wedding anniversary on March 15, 2026! And so many other details.
Anyone who has ever purchased a home knows what a crazy experience that is. We were off on our high stress rocket ship rollercoaster ride for the home purchase, and closed on March 6, 2026. When the crazy purchase stuff was over, things got even crazier! How is that possible? The moving process began. The entire ordeal was a carefully orchestrated 5 week event, with 4 round trip moving expeditions for James (15.5 hours each direction!) and a slow roll out of the worse part – letting go of James’ beloved Arizona customers and horses. That was very difficult!
Anyone who has disassembled their life and their entire ranch and stuffed it into boxes for an interstate move can relate. I’ll skip over the moving trip details or this would turn into a book. Let’s just say there were angels taking care of James when he had a series of exciting adventures on his 4 unforgettable trips, including tows in the middle of nowhere! Somehow we survived, and all our stuff made it to Marlin, Texas. Endless gratefulness to our family, friends, and more angels for their help with our move. On April 20, 2026, James drove me to Texas, along with our parrot and 2 cats, all in carriers in the backseat of the truck. That was a fun 17.5+ hour straight through trip! The end was a wild, white-knuckle ride in the POURING RAIN and FOG through bumpy rolling Texas hill country – where we could hardly see the road!! But we made it to Marlin, Texas!
This is going to sound unbelievable, but in the wee early morning hours of April 21, 2026, when we had just arrived – that was my FIRST TIME seeing the Marlin property in person. James had been multiple times, but I was always home in AZ holding down the fort. So we bought this home with me never seeing it! And guess what – it is EXACTLY as I expected. Everything about it, just as I had imagined. Maybe even better! It is stunning, gorgeous, and beautiful. There is SO MUCH to do – a huge amount of work to turn this into the place we envision – but it is beautiful right now, exactly as it is, to start with.
I can’t believe we have a wishing well!!
The horses arrived by professional transport on Sunday, April 26, 2026 after a harrowing 4 day long trailer & stall adventure trip, with multiple storm delays. They had all lost weight, and looked traumatized when they arrived, and it did not help that we threw them into a 1/4 acre area next door to a barnyard full of animals they never knew existed, and behind them, a pasture full of cattle that bellowed. They did eventually get used to all the animals (sort of). The biting bugs (like mosquitoes and deer flies) remain a big challenge.
We always tell our customers that MOVING location is the biggest stress you can possibly place upon a horse. We got to see that first hand; this was very different than moving from one Phoenix property to another Phoenix property. This dramatic environment and terrain change was quite challenging. They were not that keen on grazing the grass at first, which shocked me! We brought some hay from Arizona, which was good because they did have trouble switching to the local Texas Bermuda Grass hay that we purchased.
RAIN, MUD, anxious horses, anxious cats, and a crazy bird. All in a whirlwind. That sums up the first weeks here. After the horses arrived, the rains came. And it poured, and poured some more. And that pattern of heavy rain has continued. We even got some hail! The horses quickly turned their 1/4 acre into a dry lot clay mud soup. I was horrified! James finished up the rest of their 1 acre “Small Pasture” (took a couple weeks) and we turned them out into the entire area. That did the trick; they FINALLY relaxed. They began to graze. They began to settle in. I could get each one out separately without drama. They calmed down.
Eventually the anxious cats calmed down, too. The bird is still crazy, but that’s just his personality! We’re slowly unpacking everything, and James is working on the property every day – mowing, fixing the tractor, getting things organized and figured out. Next step is to get the large 3.5 acre pasture mowed down and then safely fenced for the horses. Heck yes, this is a lot of land for us.
This entire moving process – since January – has been the most difficult accomplishment of our entire lives. The rewards have been nearly indescribable. We wake up every day in what feels like paradise. We are incredibly inspired by the natural beauty that surrounds us; the giant oak trees towering over us, the green plants and creatures dancing around that we can enjoy every day. It feels like we are in a nature park, and our horses are the backdrop. We LOVE it. Yes, there are still pesky biting bugs and scary thunderstorms, and so many challenges. However, Wishing Welz Ranch is a great blessing to us.
All my life, I’ve wished for a porch to sit on and watch my horses graze! We hope to share this with others.
James is now scheduling barefoot trimming customers in Central Texas.
Contact us!
Voicemail: 623-935-1823
Text: 623-256-4762
Email: jim@thehorseshoof.com
Read more about James here.
James and Yvonne Welz founded The Horse’s Hoof Website and Magazine in the year 2000, to support the new, growing barefoot hoof care movement!
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