Wild Horses

Wild horses have always played a big role in my heart...Their's something about these feral equine's that fascinate me...

I come from a family that for many generations have broken in and tamed wild horses...

My dad has told me many stories about when his dad used to muster up the brumbies that used to roam free across the sandhills of Kawhia and Aotea...

After rounding them up, they would then herd them across the sandhills and down a long valley to a corral they had erected, close to Maketu marae...

Then my grandfather and his friend "George Tukua" would spend weeks, breaking them in to be riding horse's...

My dad was only young at the time...but even at the age of five years old, his dad would put him up on a newly broken horse, while he lunged it round and around...

Dad said it felt like sitting on a small volcano ready to erupt...and sometimes it did...but it was lots of fun...and very educational...

He Learned to improve on the harsh ways of breaking in a horse, by developing a more of a trusting relationship with them...

When I was four years old, my dad managed to get three Kaimanawa horses...from the annual muster, delivered to our farm...

They were so beautiful...and within four days, I was riding my Kaimanawa pony around the farm...Although one of the other ponies had a real wild streak in her...Dad said it was going to take more patience than mine, to build up a trusting and loving relationship with her...

Unfortunately...not too long after getting our Kaimanawa's...a horrible lifestyle change happened...We had to move to the city...and could only attend urban riding schools...

Gone were the miles upon miles of ocean beaches...and the un-ending forestry and farm trails...

I started to understand what a wild horse...whether a brumby...a mustang...or a Kaimanawa must feel...when caught and trained and domesticated...

What sorrow it must suffer...to be dis-connected from the 'wild' and wide open spaces...and it's family...

Humans can be so cruel and ungrateful...After thousands of years of devoted service...of lugging us around the planet...to wars...discovering new lands...spreading great religion's...hauling heavy wagon's...logs and agricultural machinery...and the thousand's of other uses...

Surely...the least we can do for the remaining wild horse's...is to create sanctuary's...BIG sanctuary's...Where they can roam free and without been hassled...

If I had a million acre's of land...I would turn it into a horse sanctuary...

Checkout this video and please help save our wild horses

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