Kaimanawa horse
Encyclopedia
Kaimanawa horses are a population of feral horse
s in New Zealand
that are descended from domestic horses released in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are known for their hardiness and quiet temperament. The New Zealand government strictly controls the population to protect the habitat
in which they live, which includes several endangered species of plants. The varying heritage gives the breed a wide range of heights, body patterns and colours. They are usually well-muscled, sure-footed and tough.
Horses were first reported in the Kaimanawa Range
in 1876, although the first horses had been brought into New Zealand in 1814. The feral herds grew as horses escaped and were released from sheep stations and cavalry bases. Members of the herd were recaptured by locals for use as riding horses, as well as being caught for their meat, hair and hides. The herd declined as large scale farming and forestry operations encroached on their ranges, and only around 174 horses were known to exist by 1979. The Kaimanawa herd was protected by the New Zealand government in 1981, and there were 1,576 horses in the herd by 1994. A small, mostly unmanaged population also exists on the Aupouri Peninsula
at the northern tip of the North Island. Roundups have been carried out annually since 1993 to manage the size of the herd, removing around 2,800 horses altogether. The Kaimanawa population is listed as a herd of special genetic value by the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, and several studies have been conducted on the herd dynamics and habits of the breed.
in December 1814, and wild horses were first reported in the Kaimanawa Range
in central North Island
of New Zealand in 1876 . The Kaimanawa breed descended from domestic horses that were released in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the middle of the North Island around the Kaimanawa mountains. Between 1858 and 1875, Major George Gwavas Carlyon imported Exmoor ponies
to Hawkes Bay and crossed them with local stock to produce the Carlyon pony. These Carlyon ponies were later crossed with two Welsh stallions, Kinarth Caesar and Comet, imported by Sir Donald McLean, and a breed known as the Comet resulted. At some point during the 1870s, McLean released a Comet stallion and several mares on the Kaingaroa Plains and the bloodline apparently became part of the wild Kaimanawa population. Other horses were added to the bloodline through escapes and releases from local sheep stations and from cavalry units at Waiouru
that were threatened with a strangles
epidemic. It is also thought that in the 1960s Nicholas Koreneff released an Arabian
stallion into the Argo Valley region. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, horses were harvested from the feral herds and used as riding and stock horses, as well as being used for their meat
, hair and hides. Originally there were many herds that roamed land owned by the British Crown and the native Māori, but many were eradicated with the intensification of large scale farming and forestry operations combined with increased mechanization that decreased the need for stock horses. Kaimanawa horses today have the highest amount of genetic similarity with the Thoroughbred
and other Thoroughbred cross breeds.
Pressure from land development and an encroaching human population reduced the range and the number of the Kaimanawa horses, and in 1979 it was found that only about 174 horses remained. Starting in 1981, the Kaimanawa population, range size, and herd movements began to be officially measured, and a protected area was formed for the breed in the Waiouru Military Training Area
. Legislative protection was similar to the kiwi
and other native species. There was a rapid increase in the herd size following the protection of the breed, and 1,576 horses were known to exist in the area by 1994. There is also a small population of horses on the Aupouri Peninsula
at the northern tip of the North Island, which is mostly unmanaged by the New Zealand government. In 2008, the Kaimanawa herds were the focus of a novel called Kaimanawa Princess, by Dianne Haworth.
In 1994, a working party was established to look at the management of the Kaimanawa herd. They aimed to decide which organization was in charge of long term management, to ensure that the treatment of horses is humane, to preserve and control the best attributes of the herds, and to eliminate the impacts of the herds on other conservation priorities. Goals included ensuring the welfare of the horses, protecting natural ecosystems and features that the Kaimanawa herd may impact and keeping the herd at a sustainable level. Ecological objectives included ensuring that Kaimanawa horse does not adversely effect endangered, rare and biogeographically significant plants; ensuring that the herd does not further degrade the ecosystems in which it lives; and preventing the herd from spreading into the Kaimanawa Forest Park and the Tongariro National Park
. Herd objectives included ensuring that the public was safe from roaming horses, while still allowing and improving public access to the herd and ensuring humane treatment of the horses; reducing conflict between the herd and other ecological values and land uses; and ensuring that the herd is contained to a population that is tolerated by the ecosystems in which they live while still maintaining a minimum effective population that is in general free ranging.
The Department of Conservation has since 1993 carried out annual culls and muster of Kaimanawas to keep the herd population around a target level of 500 horses. The target will be reduced to 300 horses in stages starting in 2009. These horses are either taken directly to slaughter or are placed at holding farms for later slaughter or adoption by private homes. A main reason for the strict population control is to protect the habitat in which they live. This habitat includes 16 plant species listed as endangered, which the Kaimanawa may endanger further through trampling and overgrazing. These plants include herbs, grasses, sedges, flowers and mistletoes; among these are Deschampsia caespitosa (a very rare tussock grass), Peraxilla tetrapetala
(a vulnerable mistletoe) and Libertia peregrinans
(a possibly locally extinct sand iris). The 2009 culling of the population removed 230 horses from the herd, the largest culling since the beginning of the program, with homes found for 85% of the horses removed. Conservation of these horses is an important matter to the public, and between 1990 and 2003 the New Zealand Minister for Conservation received more public comments on the Kaimanawa horse than on any other subject. In this period, more than 1,400 requests for information and letters were received, with public interest peaking in 1996 and 1997. This was due to a program of population reduction by shooting scheduled to begin implementation in 1996; due to public opposition the shooting was cancelled and a large scale muster and adoption program began in 1997. In 1997, around 1,069 horses were removed from the range and adopted, reducing the main herd to around 500, and reducing their range to around 25,000 ha
from around 70,000. Since 1993, a total of around 2,800 horses have been removed from the range. Only one injury resulting in the death of a horse is known to have occurred.
The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization lists the Kaimanawa horses as a herd of special genetic value that can be compared with other groups of feral horses such as New Forest ponies
, Assateague ponies
, wild Mustangs
, and with free-living zebras. Kaimanawas are of special value because of their low rate of interaction with humans. This lack of interaction may result in a herd with more wild and fewer domestic characteristics
, which is of special interest to researchers. Between 1994 and 1997, students from Massey University
studied a population of around 400 Kaimanawa horses to learn their habits and herd dynamics. A 2000 study found that although sometimes there are more than two stallion
s in Kaimanawa horse herds, only the two stallions highest in the herd hierarchy mate with the herd females. This differs from other feral horse herds, some of which have only one stallion that mates with mares, while others have several stallions that sire foals.
Feral horse
A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated ancestry. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these horses often are popularly called "wild" horses...
s in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
that are descended from domestic horses released in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are known for their hardiness and quiet temperament. The New Zealand government strictly controls the population to protect the habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
in which they live, which includes several endangered species of plants. The varying heritage gives the breed a wide range of heights, body patterns and colours. They are usually well-muscled, sure-footed and tough.
Horses were first reported in the Kaimanawa Range
Kaimanawa Range
The Kaimanawa Range of mountains is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast/southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake Taupo, east of the "Desert Road"...
in 1876, although the first horses had been brought into New Zealand in 1814. The feral herds grew as horses escaped and were released from sheep stations and cavalry bases. Members of the herd were recaptured by locals for use as riding horses, as well as being caught for their meat, hair and hides. The herd declined as large scale farming and forestry operations encroached on their ranges, and only around 174 horses were known to exist by 1979. The Kaimanawa herd was protected by the New Zealand government in 1981, and there were 1,576 horses in the herd by 1994. A small, mostly unmanaged population also exists on the Aupouri Peninsula
Aupouri Peninsula
The Aupouri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east...
at the northern tip of the North Island. Roundups have been carried out annually since 1993 to manage the size of the herd, removing around 2,800 horses altogether. The Kaimanawa population is listed as a herd of special genetic value by the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization, and several studies have been conducted on the herd dynamics and habits of the breed.
History
The first horses were introduced to New Zealand by Protestant missionary Reverend Samuel MarsdenSamuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
in December 1814, and wild horses were first reported in the Kaimanawa Range
Kaimanawa Range
The Kaimanawa Range of mountains is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast/southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake Taupo, east of the "Desert Road"...
in central North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand in 1876 . The Kaimanawa breed descended from domestic horses that were released in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the middle of the North Island around the Kaimanawa mountains. Between 1858 and 1875, Major George Gwavas Carlyon imported Exmoor ponies
Exmoor pony
The Exmoor pony is a horse breed native to the British Isles, where some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland in Devon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor is one of the British Isles mountain and moorland pony breeds, having conformation similar to that...
to Hawkes Bay and crossed them with local stock to produce the Carlyon pony. These Carlyon ponies were later crossed with two Welsh stallions, Kinarth Caesar and Comet, imported by Sir Donald McLean, and a breed known as the Comet resulted. At some point during the 1870s, McLean released a Comet stallion and several mares on the Kaingaroa Plains and the bloodline apparently became part of the wild Kaimanawa population. Other horses were added to the bloodline through escapes and releases from local sheep stations and from cavalry units at Waiouru
Waiouru
Waiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu, and in the Ruapehu District....
that were threatened with a strangles
Strangles
Strangles is a contagious upper respiratory tract infection of horses and other equines caused by a bacterium, Streptococcus equi var equi...
epidemic. It is also thought that in the 1960s Nicholas Koreneff released an Arabian
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
stallion into the Argo Valley region. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, horses were harvested from the feral herds and used as riding and stock horses, as well as being used for their meat
Horse meat
Horse meat is the culinary name for meat cut from a horse. It is a major meat in only a few countries, notably in Central Asia, but it forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many others, from Europe to South America to Asia. The top eight countries consume about 4.7 million horses...
, hair and hides. Originally there were many herds that roamed land owned by the British Crown and the native Māori, but many were eradicated with the intensification of large scale farming and forestry operations combined with increased mechanization that decreased the need for stock horses. Kaimanawa horses today have the highest amount of genetic similarity with the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
and other Thoroughbred cross breeds.
Pressure from land development and an encroaching human population reduced the range and the number of the Kaimanawa horses, and in 1979 it was found that only about 174 horses remained. Starting in 1981, the Kaimanawa population, range size, and herd movements began to be officially measured, and a protected area was formed for the breed in the Waiouru Military Training Area
Waiouru Army Camp
The Waiouru Army Camp is a base of the New Zealand Army in the central North Island near Waiouru.Waiouru is often referred to by soldiers as the home of the army as it houses the army marae and is the base where all New Zealand Army soldiers complete their initial basic training called All Arms...
. Legislative protection was similar to the kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
and other native species. There was a rapid increase in the herd size following the protection of the breed, and 1,576 horses were known to exist in the area by 1994. There is also a small population of horses on the Aupouri Peninsula
Aupouri Peninsula
The Aupouri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east...
at the northern tip of the North Island, which is mostly unmanaged by the New Zealand government. In 2008, the Kaimanawa herds were the focus of a novel called Kaimanawa Princess, by Dianne Haworth.
Breed characteristics
Many characteristics of the Comet type are said to be shown in the Kaimanawa horses today, although the varied gene input has produced a wide range of sizes, colours, and body types among the wild horses. The Kaimanawa breed varies widely in general appearance, with heights ranging between high. Any coat colour or pattern marking is acceptable. They are usually well-muscled. Their feral way of life has given them the ability to adapt quickly and live on very little, and they are usually sure-footed and tough. They have a medium sized head in good proportion to their body, with wide variation in shape due to the different conformation of their ancestors. Kaimanawa horses have a short, deep neck with a thick throat area, straight shoulders, a deep girth, and a short to medium back. The hindquarters vary from sloping to well-rounded. The legs are long and well-muscled, with strong hooves, and hind hooves that are generally smaller than the front ones. All horses are considered to age a year on the first of August, regardless of their actual foaling date.Population control and study
Due to the increase in population after protective legislation was put into place, the Department of Conservation developed a management plan for the Kaimanawa herd in 1989 and 1990. A draft plan was made available to the public for comment in 1991, and the public made it clear that it objected to herd reduction through shooting from helicopters, and instead favored the horses remaining alive after being removed from the herd. However, core animal welfare groups felt that shooting was the most humane option. Trial musters were conducted in 1993, 1994 and 1995, and were successful, although costly and with a limited demand for the captured horses.In 1994, a working party was established to look at the management of the Kaimanawa herd. They aimed to decide which organization was in charge of long term management, to ensure that the treatment of horses is humane, to preserve and control the best attributes of the herds, and to eliminate the impacts of the herds on other conservation priorities. Goals included ensuring the welfare of the horses, protecting natural ecosystems and features that the Kaimanawa herd may impact and keeping the herd at a sustainable level. Ecological objectives included ensuring that Kaimanawa horse does not adversely effect endangered, rare and biogeographically significant plants; ensuring that the herd does not further degrade the ecosystems in which it lives; and preventing the herd from spreading into the Kaimanawa Forest Park and the Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park
Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 28 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites....
. Herd objectives included ensuring that the public was safe from roaming horses, while still allowing and improving public access to the herd and ensuring humane treatment of the horses; reducing conflict between the herd and other ecological values and land uses; and ensuring that the herd is contained to a population that is tolerated by the ecosystems in which they live while still maintaining a minimum effective population that is in general free ranging.
The Department of Conservation has since 1993 carried out annual culls and muster of Kaimanawas to keep the herd population around a target level of 500 horses. The target will be reduced to 300 horses in stages starting in 2009. These horses are either taken directly to slaughter or are placed at holding farms for later slaughter or adoption by private homes. A main reason for the strict population control is to protect the habitat in which they live. This habitat includes 16 plant species listed as endangered, which the Kaimanawa may endanger further through trampling and overgrazing. These plants include herbs, grasses, sedges, flowers and mistletoes; among these are Deschampsia caespitosa (a very rare tussock grass), Peraxilla tetrapetala
Peraxilla tetrapetala
Peraxilla tetrapetala, or red mistletoe, is an endemic parasitic plant in New Zealand. The Maori names for the plant are pikirangi, pirirangi and roeroe....
(a vulnerable mistletoe) and Libertia peregrinans
Libertia peregrinans
Libertia peregrinans is a flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. The species is native to New Zealand.-Cultivation:Libertia peregrinans is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available as an ornamental plant for gardens....
(a possibly locally extinct sand iris). The 2009 culling of the population removed 230 horses from the herd, the largest culling since the beginning of the program, with homes found for 85% of the horses removed. Conservation of these horses is an important matter to the public, and between 1990 and 2003 the New Zealand Minister for Conservation received more public comments on the Kaimanawa horse than on any other subject. In this period, more than 1,400 requests for information and letters were received, with public interest peaking in 1996 and 1997. This was due to a program of population reduction by shooting scheduled to begin implementation in 1996; due to public opposition the shooting was cancelled and a large scale muster and adoption program began in 1997. In 1997, around 1,069 horses were removed from the range and adopted, reducing the main herd to around 500, and reducing their range to around 25,000 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
from around 70,000. Since 1993, a total of around 2,800 horses have been removed from the range. Only one injury resulting in the death of a horse is known to have occurred.
The United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization lists the Kaimanawa horses as a herd of special genetic value that can be compared with other groups of feral horses such as New Forest ponies
New Forest pony
The New Forest Pony or New Forester is one of the recognised Mountain and moorland or Native pony breeds of the British Isles. The breed is valued for its hardiness, strength and sureness of foot...
, Assateague ponies
Chincoteague Pony
The Chincoteague Pony, also known as the Assateague horse, is a breed of pony that developed and lives in a feral condition on Assateague Island in the United States states of Virginia and Maryland. The breed was made famous by the Misty of Chincoteague series written by Marguerite Henry starting...
, wild Mustangs
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
, and with free-living zebras. Kaimanawas are of special value because of their low rate of interaction with humans. This lack of interaction may result in a herd with more wild and fewer domestic characteristics
Domestication of the horse
There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were truly wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when horses became domesticated is disputed...
, which is of special interest to researchers. Between 1994 and 1997, students from Massey University
Massey University
Massey University is one of New Zealand's largest universities with approximately 36,000 students, 20,000 of whom are extramural students.The University has campuses in Palmerston North , Wellington and Auckland . Massey offers most of its degrees extramurally within New Zealand and internationally...
studied a population of around 400 Kaimanawa horses to learn their habits and herd dynamics. A 2000 study found that although sometimes there are more than two stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
s in Kaimanawa horse herds, only the two stallions highest in the herd hierarchy mate with the herd females. This differs from other feral horse herds, some of which have only one stallion that mates with mares, while others have several stallions that sire foals.
External links
- Kaimanawa horses at the Department of Conservation
- Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust
- Video footage of an annual muster at ABCABC News (Australia)ABC News is a national news service produced by the News and Current Affairs division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the division is responsible for all newsgathering and production of news output for ABC television, radio and online services...
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