BEAUTY OF THE KAIMANAWA HORSE

Wild horses roam free in the Kaimanawa Range near Waiouru in the central North Island, with the first reported sighting in 1876 by a farmer.  Sturdy and sure-footed, these feral horses have adapted to the rugged high country and tussock lands of the Ruapehu District. The local iwi Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the Ngāti Tama Whiti hapū regard these hōiho (horses) as being kaitiaki (guardians) and taonga (treasures). 

When travelling through the area, you may be lucky to see in the distance the breathtaking sight of the Kaimanawa horses grazing peacefully, ambling through the grasslands, or galloping along with hooves and manes flying! You may even get to adopt a Kaimanawa horse to help rehome those horses that are culled annually by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to protect the ecosystem. The mustering takes place usually by the end of April or early May, depending on weather conditions. See latest muster on the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses website.

ARRIVAL OF HORSES IN Taupō AREA

The Kaimanawa horses are descended from domestic horses brought to NZ from Australia and Britain during the early 1800s onwards.  The first horses to arrive in NZ are thought to have been a stallion and two mares brought by missionary Samuel Marsden to the Bay of Islands on 22 December 1814. One of the mares was a gift from the NSW Governor to Ngāpuhi Chief Ruatara who was also on board the ship. 

Later on, Ngāpuhi gifted Ngāti Tūwharetoa their first horse in 1842.  Te Waaka, the son of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa Paramount Chief Mananui Te Heuheu, had been staying with Tāmati Wāka Nene in the Hokianga for two years. Nene was the younger brother of Ngāpuhi Chief Patuone and it was customary practice for iwi to send young men with leadership potential to become acquainted with chiefs of other iwi.  The horse was a parting gift by Nene to Te Waaka which was sent by boat to Tauranga and then taken overland by a  Ngāpuhi  party to Lake Taupō. 

Source:  Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals. Ed by Ian D. Rotherham, Robert A. Lambert. London, Routlege, 2011, pp. 312-16    

During his expedition to New Zealand in 1843, George French Angas visited Taupō and wrote the following in his book published in 1847 about the arrival of the gifted horse: 

" The extraordinary excitement produced by the arrival of so large and singular an animal, called into play the imitative faculties of the young Maories, and gave rise to numberless charcoal drawings of men on horseback, that cover nearly every flat board within the settlement."   

Source: ENZB:  Angas, G. F. Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand Vol.II, 1847, p.112   

 In 1875, a group of Ngāti Raukawa travelled by horseback to the Taupō region. "However, Parāone Taupiri and his wife came on foot, as their horses had recently died. Taupiri asked in a waiata (song) for horses from the Taupō chiefs. By then, they had so many that they gave him seven."

Source:  Basil Keane, 'Hōiho – horses and iwi - Introduction of horses', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/hoiho-horses-and-iwi/page-1  

ORIGIN OF THE KAIMANAWA HORSES - The escapees

As domestic herd sizes increased, horses were released or escaped from local Māori and from sheep stations. Horses were also used by both sides during the Land Wars. In 1864, one thousand horses were shipped to NZ for use by the New Zealand Colonial Defence Force. When Te Kooti was defeated in the battle west of Turangi in 1869, he abandoned his horses in his escape to the King Country. It is thought these horses, which may number up to 100, are the main origin of the Kaimanawa horses, along with other abandoned and escaped horses from the constabulary.  In March 1876, Robert Batley, who had farmed in the Moawhango region since the 1860s, reported seeing a wild horse.  (Source:  Vernon Wright, "Wild horses",  NZ Geographic, Issue 001, Jan - March 1989)

THOUSANDS ROAMING CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND  

By the early 1900s, wild horses roamed in their thousands in the central North Island. It was reported in 1933, that two or three decades earlier, local Māori had an annual muster of 1000 wild horses which they herded from south of Te Awamutu to the Wellington Province. Along the way they would drop off bunches of horses - a dozen to a hundred - which increased the numbers in those small farming settlements and would have added to the gene pool. 

Another influx of horses occurred after the opening of the Waiouru Military Camp at a former sheep station in the 1930s. Military horses that were released or escaped also joined the growing Kaimanawa herd.       

COLOURS OF THE KAIMANAWA HORSE

The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization lists the Kaimanawa horses as a herd of special genetic value, like the wild American mustangs. However, genetic studies show the horses have a varied bloodline as a result of cross breeding over the years with Exmoor, Comet and Arabian stocks, which has produced horses of varying size and colour. (See New Zealand Geographic article). The greatest similarity in more recent times is with Station Hacks and Thoroughbreds.  

HUNTING HORSES - A SPORT OR HOAX?

As the herds increased in size, the Kaimanawa horses became a tourist attraction. The sport of hunting horses was not well known in parts of NZ and thought to be a hoax by some when first heard about. (See article below published in the Star on 17 April 1896.) The horses were also slaughtered for their meat and hides, or captured for rodeos or domestic use. Various accounts about the wild horses on the Taupō Plains appeared in the newspapers, including details about the methods used for hunting them. 

PROTECTING THE HORSES (and the public!) 

The herd of Kaimanawa horses began to decline with large scale farming and forestry operations encroaching on the countryside. There were occasions when public encounters took place unexpectedly during off-road sightseeing and when horses roamed onto the Napier-Taupō highway, causing traffic accidents. 

An aerial head count in 1979 found only about 174 horses remaining. This lead to the Department of Conservation  seeking Protective Status for the horses in 1981 under the Wildlife Act 1953. A protected area of about 50,000 hectares of grasslands and hills were provided in the Waiouru military training area. 

An annual  monitoring programme was introduced in 1981 to track the horse numbers. Being a military area, this restricted public access leading to an increase in horse numbers by about 20 per cent each year (1988 census recorded a tally of 766 horses).  

PROTECTING ECOLOGICAL IMPACT

In 1992, the Department of Conservation reported that up to 31 different unique plant types existed in the area, known as the Moawhango Ecological Region. These plants include herbs, grasses (e.g. Deschampsia caespitosa), sedges, flowers (e.g. Libertia peregrinans) and mistletoe (e.g. Peraxilla tetrapetala). The ongoing increase in horse numbers raised the ecological issue of horse trampling and grazing damage. and the possibility of plants becoming extinct. This led to lively debate between the two camps of thought - protecting the horses versus protecting the flora. The outcome was the Department of Conservation's management Plan for the Wild Horses was adopted by Parliament in May 1996, and the horses' Protected Status was lifted. See DOC's Moawhango ecological region and Kaimanawa horses factsheet (pdf).

CULLING PROGRAMME

Annual cull: 1993 - 2011

The Department of Conservation planned to reduce the numbers of Kaimanawa horses to 500 through aerial shooting. The first muster was undertaken in 1993 when 310 horses were culled from a total population of 2,000.  In August 1996, following public opposition, the Prime Minister reversed the Government's decision to cull the horses by shooting. The largest muster occurred in 1997 when 1,100 of 1700 horses were culled. That year, the Conservation Minister and the RNZSPCA launched the "Adopt a Kaimanawa Horse" campaign, to encourage the public to rehome the culled horses. Those horses not rehomed were sent to the abattoir for pet food.  In 2011, the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Preservation Society and the Kaimanawa Horse Breed Society lobbied the Conservation Minister to introduce a minimum herd size.    

Two-yearly cull: 2011-2018 

After the last annual cull in 2010, the Department of Conservation introduced a two-yearly cull and implemented a sustainable level of 300 horses.  

Annual cull reintroduced: 2019 -

In 2019, the Department switched back to an annual cull, which usually takes place in April, to keep the number of horses at 300. The 2020 muster was cancelled due to COVID and the 2023 cull cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle. 

For information about the latest muster, see the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses website.  

The aerial headcount is usually held around mid-February which determines how many horses will need to rounded up by the Department of Conservation. Helicopters are used to herd the culled horses into pens to be checked by the Veterinary Association for suitability for rehoming or slaughtering at an abattoir for pet food. For a behind-the-scenes look, you can view the Kaimanawa Horse Muster 2016 video. 

REHOMING HORSES

In 1997, the "Adopt a Kaimanawa Horse" campaign was launched by the Conservation Minister and the RNZSPCA, to encourage the public to rehome the culled horses. Those horses not rehomed were sent to the abattoir for pet food.  

The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust  was formed in 2003 to help with the rehoming of horses, including checking the suitability of homes. Now known as the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses (KHH), they continue to promote the horses to the public and provide information about what happens at each muster. Information about applications for rehoming horses is given on the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses' Muster information webpage.

The management decisions relating to the Kaimanawa horses are now the responsibility of the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Advisory Group (KWHAG). This group, which includes DOC, KHH and other interest groups, develops the management plan that DOC implements.  Media  reports - TV, radio, newspapers and social media, including KHH's Facebook - provide news bulletins about each muster.    

TRAINING OF KAIMANAWA HORSES

You will find success stories of rehomed Kaimanawas competing in show jumping, eventing, games, driving and endurance!  In 2014, Kaimanawa Heritage Horses launched the annual competition - Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge - to highlight the trainability of these horses. Stallions (over 3 years old) were randomly assigned to trainers who had a set number of days to prepare the horse for competition at Equidays; then a further period of time to compete in the Horse of the Year competition. 

See Youtube video: Kaimanawa - the wild horses of New Zealand and how people work with them, 2021 (13.05mins)

FILM FOLKLORE

The story of the Kaimanawa horses lives on in documentaries, movies and the TV series Keeping up with the Kaimanawas, which can be viewed on TVNZ OnDemand. 

Find out more:

• Department of Conservation: Kaimanawa horses 

• Invasive and introduced plants and animals. Ed by Ian D. Rotherham, Robert A. Lambert. London, Routlege, 2011, 

• Kaimanawa Heritage Horses

• Vernon Wright, "Wild horses",  NZ Geographic, Issue 001, Jan - March 1989

• Wikipedia: Kaimanawa horse

This DigitalNZ story was updated in April 2024