The Kaimanawa Horses

By Jaimee Green

A speech written by Jaimee Green for a school competition. Jaimee is 9 years old, is in Year 5, attends Lincoln Heights School (Auckland, New Zealand) and is a member of the Glen Eden Pony Club. The illustration is by Matthew Saw.

Imagine standing on a flat grassy plain in the centre of the North Island. The day is quiet and still when suddenly there is a loud noise like thunder getting closer and closer. Over the hill and onto the plain comes a herd of wild horses. These are not just any horses they are Kaimanawa horses. Hundreds of horses. Mares with their foals and stallions young and old, their coats unkempt but thick and furry to keep out the cold weather that comes to the North Island of New Zealand.

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Nobody knows exactly how many horses live in this area but they are damaging the environment and eating endangered plants so they must be controlled somehow. There are people who have formed a group to protect the horses and they have said "NO!" to the government plans to deal with these horses.

Some of the horses have been sold and will go to new homes. But these horses will need special care and special owners. A Kaimanawa horse is not used to being cared for like my horse Dusty. A Kaimanawa horse is not used to being fed, having a saddle on and being fenced into a paddock, so breaking in or training one of these horses will take a lot of time. All of the horses taken from the herd have been checked by vets before going to new homes and the new owners have been checked out thoroughly also.

The Department of Conservation, or D.O.C as they are sometimes called, and the protection groups for the horses have decided on other ways of control.

You can travel to the centre of the North Island and see the remaining five hundred horses galloping across the plains, or you might like to travel abroad in the future to Belgium, dine in one of their fine restaurants and choose from a menu of tasty dishes, not just dancing crayfish, but wild N.Z Kaimanawa horse. That decision is yours.