Tommy Waara with horses Te One and Tukotahi. Source: Tommy Waara, Facebook
The Department of Conservation (DOC) says more homes are needed to care for up to 80 Kaimanawa horses to be mustered this year.
The Kaimanawa horses are a wild population of horses that roam the outback of the Kaimanawa Ranges. DOC says they put native plants at risk so are captured and trained to help control their numbers.
The muster is held on an annual basis so that a total population base of 300 horses can be managed, as recommended by the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Advisory Group.
Tommy Waara from Raetihi is one of many trainers who has homed Kaimanwa horses.
He says the most challenging part about the experience is simply surviving.
“Stallions are pretty dangerous to work with if you don’t know them.”
In 2014, Waara trained two horses, Te One and Tukotahi.
"In the 2014 Kaimanawa Stallion challenge, I learned that with the right start, these Kaimanawas can be incredibly versatile horses, capable of excelling in a variety of disciplines and the bond you'll create by gaining the trust of a wild horse will last a lifetime," he wrote in a post on Facebook.
New Yards to save up to 20 Kaimanawas every muster.Every two years the Kaimanawa muster occurs, a roundup of hundreds of wild horses from New Zealand's Kaimanawa Ranges in order to conserve and maintain a delicate balance in the eco-system that these beautiful animals call home. Unfortunately, the horses that can't be rehomed are sent to slaughter. Despite massive public support for the horses, one of the hardest things about rehoming wild horses are the facilities and the skills required to do the initial handling. In the 2014 Kaimanawa Stallion challenge, I learned that with the right start, these Kaimanawa's can be incredibly versatile horses, capable of excelling in a variety of disciplines and the bond you'll create by gaining the trust of a wild horse will last a lifetime. However, when these horses first come out of the wild, they have never been in a confined space before. They don't understand fences, farm animals or water troughs and are running off of their base flight or fight fear responses. We are currently building the required facilities including round yards, holding pens, loading ramps and handling yards in order to give these horses the best chance they can get at a successful domestic life. With timber sponsored by WPI, and posts sponsored by Hautapu Pine we've managed to complete two large (17m,16m) yards featured in the video but with the next muster fast approaching we still need more materials to complete the larger holding yard as well as a building a cover to allow us to continue handling the horses throughout the winter, regardless of what the weather throws at us. With the next muster only a few weeks away, we're asking for your help to bring this project to completion. Any small donation will make a difference. Together we can change the fate of these wild horses and give them the best chance at a new life. Tommy is prepared to adopt and train up to 20 horses from the next muster provided the yards are completed, so anyone still sitting on the fence about taking one of these amazing horses because you don't have the knowledge or the facilities, be sure to contact Tommy to find out more about either sponsoring a horse or adopting one yourself. If you've already decided to adopt, apply for a horse through the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses website specifying Tom Waara as the trainer and giving Toms address as the delivery point. For any further questions or ideas on how to get involved please don't hesitate to drop us a message on this page. Or if you would like to contribute please send donations to: Waara Thomas 03-1524-0032657-001 We’d like to thank all our sponsors that have made this project possible so far: WPI: For providing all the timber for the yards. Hautapu Pine Taihape: For providing the posts for the yards. Mike Hiscox: For trucking all the supplies over from Taihape. Stu from Rangitikei Freightliners: for freighting the timber. Rabbit Nottage: For Carting the Metal. Dave Milner & Ngati Rangi: for driving the project and providing support in all aspects. Human & Horse: For shooting this promo video and helping out with all things digital. Matua Jim Edmonds for supplying a tractor and rammer as well as donating his time to the cause. Special thanks to Thomas & Joe Waara, who have donated countless hours of labour to make this all possible.
Posted by Tommy Waara Kaimanawa Horse Stallion Challenge on Thursday, May 3, 2018
Waara says when the horses first come out of the wild, they have never been in a confined space before. They don't understand fences, farm animals or water troughs and are running off of their base 'flight or fight' fear responses.
"We are currently building the required facilities including round yards, holding pens, loading ramps and handling yards in order to give these horses the best chance they can get at a successful domestic life," says Waara, “It’s not [about] just jumping in with them and trying to break them. It’s about them letting you into their world – not you trying to bring them into our world.”
Hey Guys, We are so incredibly humbled by the response from the greater community following our video. It's amazing to...
Posted by Tommy Waara Kaimanawa Horse Stallion Challenge on Saturday, May 5, 2018
According to the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses website, a programme of culling horses was put in place through aerial shooting in 1992.
“To date approx 2,000 horses have been removed from the Kaimanawa Ranges. Over half have been slaughtered,” Kaimanawa Heritage Horses said in a statement.
DOC says between 20 and 30 homes are still required to meet this year’s desired target.
With progress to date, the re-homing groups Kaimanawa Heritage Horses and Kaimanawa Wild Horse Preservation Society are hopeful that all places for horses required will be filled.