Two Kaimanawa teaser stallions have been retired from duties as they proved "too smart" in the words of one of their handlers. They weren't keen on being kicked by mares, in fact it put them off the idea altogether and knowing that they had the 'politician role' of stud duties (all talk & no action!) they pretty much lost interest by the end of the season.
We received a request from the stud to rehome them and as daunting as that first appeared, the fact that they're both broken to ride and are very laid back boys made them a slightly easier prospect for gelding and getting out under saddle..
They have been taken to Ewen Equine Managementwherethey were gelded (KWHWT Inc. sponsored) and are generously being cared for free of charge until they're fit enough to go to their new home.Thanks also to Ewen Equine Clinic who performed the gelding. Both boys are recovering well.
If you would like to be considered for re-homing rescued and unwanted Kaimanawa horses, please contact our Welfare Officer.
Left: Malcolm is apparently very quiet to ride and has lovely manners.
Right: Fish is such a sweet young man & will still kiss up to the girls.
KWHWT Inc.'s Response To The Aerial Shooting Of 42 Wild Horses (August 2008)
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust Inc is appalled that the Department of Conservation have shot 42 Wild Kaimanawa Horses from the Northern Region of the Kaimanawa Ranges.
Whilst the Trust understands that the Department of Conservation has acted in accordance with the Kaimanawa Horse Management Plan, the group has campaigned long and hard to put a stop to aerial slaughter.
There were 28 horses killed in army zone 9. This group of horses comprised of 8 colts, 12 mares, and 8 juveniles. There were 14 horses killed in army zone 8. This group was made up of 8 colts, 4 mares and 2 juveniles. The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust is very disappointed in the Department of Conservation’s decision to carry out the slaughter, as a number of horses were successfully mustered and homed from this area in the 2008 muster.
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust appreciate the difficulty involved in mustering from these two zone’s, however the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust are deeply disappointed that there was no consultation prior to the slaughter of this number of horses.
Although not favoured by the Department of Conservation the use of the immuno- contraception vaccine is an approved herd management option included in the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Plan. A one shot vaccine is now available and the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust would prefer to see a managed herd remain on the Kaimanawa Ranges in preference to the Annual muster and slaughter.
Each year the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust has gone from strength to strength in the endeavour to find appropriate homes for large numbers of mustered horses. This year the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust was unable to meet the demand of applications for young Kaimanawa Horses.
Message from DoC on Immuno-contraception
Possible trial of immuno-contraceptive vaccine to reduce productivity of Kaimanawa Horses
The annual musters of Kaimanawa horses are necessary to prevent the population increasing to levels unacceptable to the land managers, dispersing into areas where they would put conservation values at risk and exceeding the carrying capacity of the range.
As we know, however, the musters come at considerable cost to the Department of Conservation, the re-homing groups (particularly KWHWT) and to those horses that cannot be re-homed and are sent to the abattoir.
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Working Plan recommends that the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Advisory Group continue to monitor developments in alternative means of controlling the population, particularly the work that is occurring with contraceptive techniques.
Most contraception methods are based on the interruption of some part of reproductive cycle such as the implantation of eggs into the wall of the uterus or the development of eggs or sperm. Immuno-contraception techniques “trick” natural defence systems to recognize a particular protein as alien and hence try to disrupt its function.
To date, most work on contraceptives for wild horses has involved a vaccine containing the Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) protein which is harvested from the ovaries of pigs sent to slaughter. The trials undertaken in the mid-1990s involved this vaccine imported from the United States or produced locally. Local production was possible for a small batch of the vaccine but as NZ does not kill sufficient pigs the bulk of the vaccine had to come from the USA. There are animal health and biosecurity risks associated with importation of such a live vaccine into NZ.
The vaccine available in 1995 required mares to be administered with an initial “shot” followed by a “booster” about 10 days later. Results in the USA suggested that contraception would be successful for the first year after vaccination but that the effect would diminish rapidly in subsequent years without further boosters. As each vaccination would require mustering the horses and more horses than currently mustered would have to be brought in to ensure sufficient mares were vaccinated costs and risks would remain high and probably increase.
Research has been ongoing however, to incorporate the booster shot with the initial dose and to extend the length of time (number of seasons) that the vaccine is effective. Further work has also been occurring on an alternative vaccine that triggers an immune response against a hormone known as GnRH. We understand that this vaccine (GonaCon) can be manufactured and hence the biosecurity issues with the PZP vaccine are possibly overcome.
It appears that the GonaCon vaccine can have at least 4 years of some effect on pregnancy rates from a single “shot” with about 60% reduction in pregnancy rates at year 3. The Department has been approached by a Landcare Research scientist who is interested in trialing the vaccine in Kaimanawa horses. The Department and the KWHAdvisory group will model the possible value of such a vaccine over the next few months and investigate the possibility of initiating a trial in association with the 2010 muster. We have no idea of the cost of such work but it is apparent that additional mustering would be required and it is likely that research and monitoring costs would also need to be met.
