WILD KAIMANAWA HORSEs

My two wild Kaimanawa Stallions were mustered by helicopter off the ranges, where they live completely wild, sorted into groups and then trucked all around NZ to their new homes. All of this has been done as humanely as possible, but will have nevertheless been extremely traumatic.

When I was waiting for these horses I was just excited. Now I am realising I have the fate of these two horses in my hands, probably more so than any other horses I have handled. Most often I am merely trying to enhance or improve a horse’s life. Trying to give it a fresh perspective on humans, or giving it skills so that it can go on happy and more able to engage with the people around it. Sometimes I have horses that have been traumatised... those are very special. I feel like for them even the small things we do can make a huge improvement to their lives and outlook.

Now I have two horses whose entire lives have been turned upside down. They have lost their herds, their friends, their home, everything they know. How right is it to be taking them from freedom to domestication? I’m not sure, but what else can we do? I am humbled to realise that with these new guys, it’s entirely up to us how they perceive humans and their new place with them, the place they didn’t even know they would have to find before.

I am a wild card entry in the Freedom to Friendship competition that supports the stallions integration into domestic life, culminating at Equidays New Zealand in 150 days. While I am excited for that, I am mostly just privileged to be able to make this journey with these two horses. I don’t have names for them yet so right now they are just Bay and Chestnut.

To my friends overseas wondering what is so special about these horses...
The Kaimanawa horses are named for the mountain range they inhabit in the central area of the North Island of New Zealand. They are descended from the horses and ponies that came to New Zealand on sailing ships and helped pioneers during the era of European settlement. Originally from Welsh Mountain and Exmoor stock released in the 1870’s, their herd has been added to by drop offs and escapees throughout the years.

Culling is necessary to protect the ranges’ ecosystem and to prevent overpopulation and starvation. In early musters only foals and young horses were re-homed, most if not all adult horses were killed. Now thanks to the actions of Kaimanawa Heritage Horses, all horses from this years muster have been rehomed.

If you want to follow their story I will keep you up to date with their progress.

Horses' stories

It can be very informative and exciting to watch individual horses as they progress. I will strive to fully document horses journeys from when they first arrive, until they go on to their new jobs. So much happens when you don’t have a camera rolling, so with a few horses i will try to track their progress from day one, and try to capture on film every interaction. I would also like to share with you stories and lessons I have learnt from some of the people and horses that have come into my life.

Tanya & Bonnie

I have had some amazing horses to work with, and wonderful clients too, of course, and Tanya is a standout one for sure! To really let go of the belief that body language and physical cues are your first option for communication, instead of mind first, is very hard. Tanya has definitely shown what is important.
I consider a session a success if I am only called back a few times, and the client can take the changes that have been made further themselves, into all aspects of handling and riding... so lots of success here, Tanya has really taken Bonnie so far without me..

Working with an unhandled horse

This a compilation of Luna...tic! She is a little mare that we got from a remote farm, 2500 acres on the east coast of Northland New Zealand. They breed some really nicely put together ponies and horses. This one, however, had been into their yards but not handled at all. Sometimes a horse that has had a fair amount of human CONTACT, but not any ACTUAL handling, can become extremely wary of humans. So this lovely girl.. is 'slightly' crazy! The video doesn't show quite how spooky and evasive she was. This compilation took place over a few months, we did a little bit of handling and a break.. little bit of handling and a break. I will follow up with more progress videos with her over time. If you have any questions or if you're interested in specific aspects of handling, please feel free to comment or message.

‘Wild Kids - Wild Kais’

A few months ago I had the opportunity to work with these awesome girls and their ponies! 
Gaia and Shanti both have Kaimanawa Horses. Kaimanawa's are the main wild breed of New Zealand. They are notoriously cautious in their early stages of handling. They have done an amazing job with their ponies and I was so happy and privileged to be involved with them. They are now training for a Top Talent Competition at Equidays NZ! So exciting to watch their progress! Check them out on their 'Wild Kids - Wild Kais' Facebookpage.