The Kaimanawa wild horse muster is set to take place next month. Photo: Kaimanawa Heritage Horses
A champion of the Kaimanawa wild horses says she has prepared her Taupō property to foster up to 100 from the herd ahead of a scheduled cull next month.
The Conservation Department said a sustainable herd is about 300.
Too many of the horses roaming in the Moawhango ecological zone in the southern Kaimanawa ranges can put pressure on food supplies and native species.
The herd is currently at 679, so the muster will be targeting at least 250 horses.
Founding board member of Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation Kelly Wilson is preparing to take dozens of the horses if she has to.
She said her foundation uses professional trainers to train and tame the wild horses for those who do not want to take a horse directly from being mustered.
"By the time it's finished handling, they're normally more advanced in their handling than most domestic bred young horses."
She said the project aims to house 100 Kaimanawa horses in 100 days and to do that some trainers had been brought in from Australia and the United States.
The minimum purchase price of a Kaimanawa horse from the muster was $250, as well as transport to the person's property which was capped at $300, she said.
Anyone taking a horse would need a stock yard which was 1.8m high, she said.
"The training of the horse is through approved trainers, if you don't have the time, facilities and experience to take it directly from the wild yourself - it can vary anywhere from $1500 to $2500, and then on top of that there's also a $1000 initial handling subsidy to discount that further for people who need financial support."
A horse may not be able to be taken by a trainer for six to eight weeks which would add a further cost to feed and look after the horse while it was waiting to be trained, she said.
Usually between 25 to 40 percent of people who take a Kaimanawa horse bypass the trainer and take them directly to their own property, she said.
A trainer would take four to 12 weeks to train a horse which would result in a more relaxed, confident horse, she said.
The last time a Kaimanawa horse was slaughtered in New Zealand was 2014, she said.
Wilson said it was important to get the horse numbers under control this year because, if that was not done, the numbers would become so high it would be impossible to find enough people prepared to re-home them in subsequent years.
The Department of Conservation said the annual muster will take place in late April, with applications for people wanting to take horses open until 14 April.
Kaimanawa Heritage Horses chair Carolyn Haigh stressed the urgency of finding homes.
"With applications closing soon, time is running out. We encourage people to contact us for information on the rehoming process," she said in a statement.
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