libertykaimanawas

Emma says - Jazz and I have built a great relatonship. And we are having heaps of fun together. We are doing the low level events and have won about 17 ribbons, two of them being 1st's. Our goal for the next season is to get out there, be safe and have a great, fun time together.

Sarah says - McNaught - Naughty Nu has settled in well over the past few months and has spent lots of time playing and grooming his friends. He is extremely laid back and will quite happily stand to be groomed and fussed over. His favourite time of day is dinner time, he practically inhales his dinner and then spends the next 20 minutes trying to get his head in everyone else's bowls. We are going to work on leading and floating so we can go out for walks in the forrest and on the beach over winter.

Rhiarna has done a fantastic job of starting Bliss under saddle and says Bliss is very laid back and not at all spooky with new things. Rhiarna thinks Bliss will make a great jumper and hopes to teach her to jump this summer. Here are pics of Rhiarna on Bliss and Rhiarna's Dad on Ginga, (her other Kaimanawa pony) on Bliss's first trek out.

Stacey has just won photo of the week with this fantastic shot of Sox being such a brave pony!! Stacey does an awesome job of making sure all her ponies are totally bombproof before finding great homes for them. Stacey says Sox is an amazing jumper and she is hunting her this season.

*Pegasus Bay & Shannon*

Shannon and Pegasus competed in the Pony ring at a two day show in February jumping at 80 & 90 cm. Shan has also done games and gamblers stakes as well as gymkhanas with Pegasus. Unfortunately Shannon has grown too tall for Pegasus so she will be looking for a new home this summer. Pegasus would be a great second pony for someone, please contact me and I'll put you in touch with her owners if anyone is interested in Pegasus Bay.

Sarah says - I have had Benson for a year and we have done a lot in a short space of time, doing mostly games, a few ODE's and Ribbon Days, At his first Ribbon day we won Novice Champion and many firsts. he has enjoyed jumping and trying new things down at pony club. He has been an awesome pony to have he's so much fun!.

MERLOT and I had a fantastic season, moving up to training level eventing. We completed two PC ODE's with great results before winning Mangere ODE, competing against some experienced combinations, and being the smallest in the class (showing the big horses that size is not everything!) To cap off an awesome season we got called up into the Franklin Thames Valley Timberlands team (we were reserve), where we had a brilliant weekend away with a fantastic team. The team ended up coming 4th place.
Merlot has also done really well at dressage this season. He has been competing at Novice level, including competing at Young Rider Dressage Champs, where we were rapped to win an award from Australian judge Virginia Creed for the combination with the most potential at lower level dressage. I also put together a musical freestyle to Grease music which was great fun and Merlot really responded well to the music, but got quite smart with having had practised so many times! To complete our season we were awarded a trophy at PC for the best combination. He has had a well-deserved break, although sometimes I wonder if he really appreciates being left behind as he really does love being out and about!

Please read below 11yr old Tori's speech about the Kaimanawas. Tori won her school speech and is now going to represent her school in the Franklin District competition. Fantastic speech Tori and all the best at your next competition :)

Imagine you were in paradise
Doing whatever you want to do
Eating whatever you want to eat
And living your life to the full

Then suddenly BOOM out of the blue
There is shooting, banging noises that you have never heard before.

Your friends running left right and centre
And then you are caught and chased onto a vehicle you have never seen
before.
And taken away, never seeing your mum and dad again.
Because they have been taken to another place to be destroyed and never seen
again.

This is what happens to these innocent Kaimanawa horses.

Milo is my horse that we got from
Liberty Farm, a place that saves these horses.
Milo is lucky that his mum didn't get taken to be destroyed.

Michele saved Milo's mum from one of the musters,
Soon after Milo the little miracle was born and Michele
Brought him up in captivity, he has now found a lovely home at my house.

If you are interested in being a mum or dad of a Kaimanawa horse go and
adopt one on their website.
You will need special facilities to be able to adopt a Kaimanawa horse,
Like special food and a big enough farm.
Well at least one or to paddocks and you will also need a head collar and
lead
And also a cover so your horse doesn't get sick.
Don't just turn up to buy a Kaimanawa when you haven't even brought anything
for it
Or they won't let you have one.
You will also need to feed it morning and night and get it trained by the
person
That you get it from.

But there is a catch to all this
You need to know quite a bit about horses
Or at least have a horses person in your family,
To be able to own one of these magnificent horses. Because they
Are wild they need to be in an area that is fenced off really well
So they can't hurt themselves.

The Kaimanawa horse have been in New Zealand for a very long time.
The first wild horse was recorded in the Kaimanawa mountains in 1876.
In the wild the Kaimanawa horses live in family groups called bands.
Michele has one of these bands and they are from the northern Kaimanawas,
There are only four left in the whole world and Michele has three; a mother
a daughter and a son.

How would you like it if your favourite animals were being destroyed and you
were
Just sitting there when you could be doing something about it. Well this is
your
Chance to help save my favourite animal.
If you want top help save these intelligent majestic wild creatures you can
join
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust. This trust is set up to rescue and
find homes
For the horses that are taken in the musters.

You can find out more about these horses by hopping on their website
www.kaimanawa.homestead.com you can also make a donation that will
help the Trust to care for these Kaimanawa's.
It is our responsibility as New Zealanders not to let these animals be led
to
Extinction for they are very special to New Zealand.
So go home hop on their website and make a donation. You will be helping me
and the Kaimanawa horses.

Piczo