Kaimanawa horses saved from slaughter

All 103 Kaimanawa horses mustered in the Department of Conservation's (DoC) biennial cull have been saved after a successful adoption campaign.

The muster, which was held on April 28, occurs every two years in an effort to maintain herd sizes at 300 and limit the damage the horses cause to the environment in the Waiouru military grounds.

Chairman of the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses charity, Elder Jenks, said he was overwhelmed by the public’s support and the success of the muster after a rocky start in the application process.

“We only had 17 applicants with three days to go and then it just took off with nearly every New Zealand media organisation touching base with us,” said Mr Jenks.

“In the end we had roughly 150 applications and it made 2016 the first time that we’ve had a 100 per cent success rate in re-homing horses.”

This year's muster generated controversy in late March after DoC moved the muster forward a month in order to limit the chance of postponements due to bad weather.

DoC spokesperson, Amelia Willis, said moving the muster forward a month had a huge impact on the success of the muster.

“We managed to muster all the horses in one day and because we had such perfect conditions the entire muster was completed by 2pm,” said Ms Willis.

“The area around where the horses live in the Waiouru military grounds is changeable and unpredictable, so we were very lucky to get such fantastic weather.”

Melinda Haffenden adopted two horses from the 2016 muster and said that her new mare and foal were “settling in well” to their new home and believes the earlier muster date contributed to this.

“The horses are in a much better condition and it’s definitely less stressful for them on their journey home because the trucks aren’t getting stuck in mud,” said Ms Haffenden.

Ms Haffenden hopes to use the horses as a part of her charity, From a Horse With Love, which focuses on equine-assisted therapy.

“My goal is to use the wild horses to help people who feel wild themselves and take the situations of each horse and human and combine them to make peace and give them a second purpose,” said Ms Haffenden.

For more information about the Kaimanawa horses and the success of the 2016 muster, visit the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses website.