War Horse

Well at least thats what I like to think!

Living and working in Waiouru these past 7 years have given me plenty of opportunities to view these unique wild horses known as the kaimanawa horses. I believe they are a feral breed thats now recognised as sort of it's own breed and are the descendants of horses that have escaped from farms in the 18th and early 19th century as well as from those released by the army in the 1940s.

The story I like best is that these horses are descendants of war horses who were trained as part of the cavalry and ready to do battle once upon a time. In the 1940s with the emergence of tanks and other machines the horses were no longer 'required' by the army and released into the wild.

This fella in the picture was probably a mustang (horse lovers can correct me if Im wrong) and a little protective of his herd. As I slowly approached a small herd this guy began galloping toward me and stopped a distance from me watching my every move.