Horse homes needed urgently

Organisers of the annual wild kaimanawa horse muster are worried that they won’t be able to find enough homes for the horses.

The muster is scheduled to happen late next month and will see a minimum of 150 horses needing homes.

Only 130 homes were found for the targeted 206 horses last year, which means the un-homed horses will be added to this year’s target.

Kaimanawa Heritage Horses Welfare Society chair Sue Rivers says alternative options will need to be explored if homes cannot be found.

“Maintaining a total number of 300 allows for the horses in the herd to maintain the best condition and also protects the fragile ecosystems, unique to the Moawhango Ecological Zone,” Rivers says.

She is urging anyone who might be interested in taking a horse to get in touch as soon as possible.

“While robust investigations and international consultation with experts remains rigorously in place for contraception options for the near future, we must rely on the public for yet another year to help us save these horses from an unwanted fate,” she added.

With only two applications for horses received to date, time is fast running out for interested parties to apply before the application deadline on April 3.

Information and applications on rehoming a Kaimanawa wild horse can be found at: www.kaimanawaheritagehorses.org