Saving the Snowy Brumbies

by Kelly Wilson

  Eleven-year-old Gaia working with her two-year-old Kaimanawa, Kiko, four days after she was mustered from the wild.

  Shanti working with her Kaimanawa yearling, Cascade, four days after she was mustered from the wild.

  All that was needed now was for the young girls to raise enough money; in New Zealand, saving a wild horse costs $250 for the initial purchase and more to get the horses transported up in stock-trucks, and of course there are the ongoing costs of caring for them. Determined to make it happen, Shanti and Gaia started saving money by collecting and selling manure and firewood. Then, we got an email from two passionate supporters of our work, offering to sponsor these two talented young riders to save a Kaimanawa each. We were blown away by their generosity. The re-homing application forms were due in the following week, and this offer of help would make everything financially viable for the girls. Excited about the prospect of mentoring youth with yearlings, we counted down the days until the muster, keen to see what horses they would get and what knowledge we could pass on.

  When the day of the 2016 muster finally dawned, for the first time in history every Kaimanawa had a home waiting. In fact, there had been so many applications that countless people who had been approved to re-home would have to miss out; partly because a lower number of horses had been mustered than they’d anticipated. Stallions, weanlings and yearlings were in high demand, and I was one who missed out because I’d applied for a stallion but wasn’t competing in the Stallion Challenges. Vicki, Amanda and Alexa were all approved trainers for the competition, and as such were guaranteed horses. Now we just had to wait to see whether Gaia and Shanti were successful and had been assigned horses.

  The young girls waited on tenterhooks, ringing us every hour to see if we’d heard anything. Finally, we got a call to say that both Shanti and Gaia would get the ponies of their dreams: a wild Kaimanawa each to tame. As there weren’t many weanlings, Shanti was assigned a yearling and Gaia a two-year-old filly. Being older, the horses were going to be a bigger challenge than the girls had anticipated, but we were confident that with a little help it would be all right, especially since I had no horse to tame and would be able to work with them closely.

  That first day in the stockyards after the Kaimanawas had been unloaded, the girls learnt so much — as did we: trying to teach others, especially young kids, how to gently befriend a wild horse taught us a lot about our own processes. Taming has become almost instinctive for us, so trying to instruct others made us realise just how slow our movements had become, how soft and quiet our voices, and how attuned we were to the horses’ body language. Many times in the early days we had to step in and show each girl how to position her body to make herself less threatening, when to wait and be patient (something very hard for young kids!) and when to ask for more. That first day I left Gaia and Shanti outside their Kaimanawas’ yards while I went to watch the others interacting with the new stallions; I told the girls that the only job they had was to hold grass through the fence and talk quietly to their ponies so that the Kaimanawas would become used to both their presence and their voices. Twice the girls wandered over to watch the stallions instead; they were bored, the ponies were ignoring them and they didn’t feel as if they were making any progress. Each time I took them back, talking them through the reasons why it was so important to let the ponies make the first step, and also explaining that it wasn’t safe for them to be in the pens with their Kaimanawas unsupervised. Although not convinced it was working, they eventually settled against the fence, holding grass through the rails while sitting quietly and waiting. After about an hour, the ponies left their hay and wandered over to the girls, watching them curiously for a while, before eventually bending down to eat the grass from their outstretched fingers. The looks of wonder on Gaia and Shanti’s faces were priceless; it was the very beginning of a journey that would transform them as horsewomen, teaching them even more in that moment than we could have hoped for.

  The timing, patience and feel both girls established over the next two months with their Kaimanawas developed in them a greater understanding of horses, both on the ground and when riding. Often when they came to train their wild horses they were joined by their two friends, 12-year-old Lily and 10-year-old Nina; like Gaia and Shanti, these two had a talent for riding and incredible attitudes to learning and we were enjoying training a growing collection of local riders. Our time spent teaching them set them up to become the perfect, size-appropriate riders to work with the Brumbies.

  Shanti leading her Kaimanawa yearling at the beach on day seven.

  Shanti and Gaia with their Kaimanawas, 17 days after they were mustered from the wild.

  CHAPTER 14

  The Power of Three

  Amanda with her three breeds of wild horses. From left: Bragg her American Mustang, Redemption her Kaimanawa and Ballarat the Brumby.

  Three wild horse breeds in front of their respective flags. From left: Vicki with Argo, her Kaimanawa from the 2014 muster; Amanda with Bragg, her American Mustang; and me with Shyla the Australian Brumby.

  Vicki, me and Amanda in 1997 on Cameo, one of our favourite childhood ponies.

  Having several Kaimanawas, three Brumbies and a Mustang on the property, along with our showjumpers coming into work for the competition season, gave us a lot to get our heads around. Many times we’d look back and shake our heads in disbelief at how much life had changed, and there were also many moments when we’d look forward to making plans for the future. It had only been four short years since our journey with wild horses had begun, and our lives had changed enormously through the opportunities that opened up to us along the way.

  When our journey with the wild horses first started, we were, quite simply, just three young girls with a deep love of horses; three sisters who saw horses going to slaughter and believed that we could do something to help them. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to attract the attention of publishers or television networks; or that the people in the equestrian world, let alone the general public, would be interested in our story. It’s been incredibly humbling, especially when we look back at where we were as young kids: riding bareback for the lack of money to buy a saddle and only just able to afford to live week to week; there were certainly no luxuries to enjoy. There was no way we could have known where life would take us.

  Four years ago, when I’d been on the brink of giving up riding to move to the city to pursue work in graphic design, I’d had no ambition to be an author and had never thought I’d be brave enough to tame wild horses. If Vicki hadn’t broken her wrist, leaving me to handle the 11 Kaimanawas we saved from slaughter in 2012, life would probably have taken me away from horses, family and adventure. Before that, if Tegan Newman on Watch Me Move hadn’t won Pony of the Year, or Amanda hadn’t quit film school, then wild horses might not have come into our lives at all. It’s even probable that if our parents could have afforded nice, well-trained ponies when we were kids, we wouldn’t have developed the experience and feel needed to work with the wild ones.

  I remember times when we couldn’t afford to join in on school trips, had no television, wore hand-me-downs and shopped at garage sales to make ends meet. Years of living in tents and sheds because we couldn’t afford to rent while we built a home, and not being able to compete in horse shows if we didn’t make enough prize-money to cover our entries. Even more difficult was selling special ponies because bills needed to be paid and being shunned in the competition arena because our riding attire and saddlery wasn’t on a par with that of others. Even as recently as five years ago, we would watch riders win on horses that had cost six figures and wish we could have had an opportunity like that, rather than having to search through countless horses to find the diamonds in the rough that would be competitive.

  We wouldn’t change a thing, though — looking back has given us an appreciation for the lessons hard won, the difficult horses we’d made breakthroughs with and the work ethic and determination that came about through year
s of working hard to achieve dreams that didn’t come easy. Most importantly, it’s given us an appreciation for each other, because without a doubt we wouldn’t be where we are today without our parents encouraging us to believe that all things were possible and that we should follow our dreams, or without our own unique talents that have enabled us to be successful as individuals but even stronger when we work together.

  It’s amazing how, in hindsight, events make sense and fall into place when at the time you don’t realise their significance. Many times over the past few years we’ve realised that if we hadn’t met certain horses our entire lives would have been completely different. There was Just Fine n Dandy, the very first wild stallion Vicki tamed in the winter of 1996; Sophie Bell, the very first showjumping pony that was sponsored to Vicki, who took her right through to Grand Prix level in their first season together; Showtym Girl, the very first horse to carry the Showtym name; Showtym Viking, on whom Amanda won Pony of the Year; Showtym Spotlight and Showtym Levado GNZ, whose performances with Vicki were the first to win the hearts of the public; and Watch Me Move, the Kaimanawa who changed so many misconceptions about wild horses nationwide and sparked off our own journey with them. Not to mention all the special wild ones since then: the Kaimanawas Major, Ranger, Momento, Argo, Anzac and Nikau; the Mustangs Jackie, Bragg, Rayna; and more, quite literally too many to name, but all special in their own right — and now the Brumbies.

  WE WOULD OFTEN COMPARE OUR WORK with the Brumbies to our journeys with their New Zealand and American counterparts — not to see which one was better, because you can’t judge an entire breed based on just a few animals, but because we are constantly reflecting on the lessons we have learnt and looking for where we still need to improve. Every mistake we’ve made along the way has been an opportunity to learn; sometimes the lessons are immediate, but often it’s only with the benefit of context that we can see how far we’ve grown as horsewomen — especially Amanda and me, who were never the bravest of riders.

  Compared with our Brumbies, our Kaimanawas from the 2016 muster hadn’t progressed as far; while all three were sweet and affectionate, they were limited in how much they were physically capable of due to injuries sustained in the wild, most likely from stallion fights. Because of this, we trained the horses in areas that would specifically set them up to be successful in the coming years: Mascot spent a lot of time with kids, as he was most suited to being a lead-rein pony, while Instigator mostly trekked out over the farm as that was his happy place. Unfortunately, Amanda’s Kaimanawa, Redemption, had a shoulder injury that was preventing her from starting his ridden career; he was so sore that his body trembled if she touched the left side of his neck or shoulder. Since Redemption was generally good to handle, she felt confident that he was tame enough to turn out with other horses. Rather than pushing him past what he was capable of and causing him discomfort, she decided to forego the Kaimanawa Stallion Challenges — a year in the paddock with a herd of domestic horses would do Redemption much more good, and at only five years of age there was plenty of time to see whether he would heal.

  Fortunately, we were now better at identifying and dealing with soundness issues resulting from injuries. Four years ago it would have taken us longer to find the cause of our horses’ discomfort and we would have worked them anyway, wondering why we were getting problems. This time, we were able to prevent many behavioural problems from developing by only asking the horses to do what they were physically capable of.

  Developing an understanding of how the equine body works and how to maintain peak soundness and happiness in our horses has probably been one of the most rewarding aspects of our work with horses over the past 20 years; especially for Vicki, who seems to have a knack for rehabilitating horses. Time and time again we see people starting horses in bits before their teeth are attended to, roping up a leg so that horses are off-balance on three legs to make it easier to back them (this too often damages their bodies), letting horses pull back while being taught to tie up (which often results in a damaged poll), putting poorly fitting saddles on horses and wondering why they buck, or riding horses that are in so much pain that their only way of coping is to rear, rush, nap or kick out. And we don’t just see these things happening with young or wild horses; they also occur with far too many ponies coming through our camps and countless horses in the showjumping arena — miserable horses that are misunderstood when they try to communicate that they are in pain. By ensuring that our horses, both wild and domestic, are sound before we begin riding them, we are able to give them the best chance at a successful and enjoyable ridden career, something that is vital to us.

  Knowing that prevention is better than cure, we booked the equine dentist in to do our Brumbies’ teeth, and couldn’t wait to have their ages confirmed and also deal with many of the dental problems that are rife in horses. A year earlier, we’d had a misunderstanding with a passionate Kaimanawa advocate because it was felt that our television show Keeping Up With The Kaimanawas suggested that Kaimanawas had poor teeth, reflecting badly on the breed. Argo, DOC, Elder and Hoff from the 2014 muster did have bad teeth, but we quickly realised that for many horse-lovers who weren’t knowledgeable about equine dental care this wouldn’t have seemed like the norm. Rather, it would have appeared to be an issue exclusive to the wild Kaimanawas. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have seen far too many showjumpers, young horses and bush ponies with equally severe issues. Some have never had their teeth done, while others have had work done by poorly qualified or inexperienced equine dentists.

  Many dental issues were resolved when 10-year-old Zali had her teeth done.

  The white lacing on Zali’s back was most likely due to a past injury, something that became more noticeable with time.

  Thankfully, the need to attend to horses’ teeth is now more widely recognised; many owners get their horses’ teeth done annually from a young age, preventing major issues from developing. But still, too often we get horses arriving on our property, surprisingly many coming from renowned studs and riders, with riding issues that could easily have been prevented by good dental care. One top showjumper with a rearing problem was simply reacting to fragments of blind wolf teeth that had shattered beneath her gum line, and another pony in poor condition couldn’t eat properly because one of its bottom teeth had grown through into the top jaw. In many instances, sharp edges and hooks on the teeth also cause issues, by lacerating the inside of the horse’s mouth. While people often believe that teeth issues are more common in older horses, many of the worst cases we have seen are in horses as young as three years of age — we try not to put a bit into a horse’s mouth or expect them to work on a contact until their teeth have been looked at and treated where necessary. This is not a wild horse problem — it’s simply a horse problem; the wild ones, who are often older, have just missed out on several years of potential dental care.

  Our equine dentist confirmed Ballarat as being four years old, Shyla five and Zali 10. Zali’s poor condition was not from having foaled at a young age, but rather, like one of our ponies several years earlier, from having a top molar missing. Because a horse’s teeth never stop growing, the missing top tooth had allowed the bottom molar to grow up into the gap and then right through into the top gum and jaw. (Normally, the bottom molar would have been ground back by the top one, and vice versa.) Fortunately, our equine dentist knew how to help her; with a little time and a lot of care, he was able to correct the alignment of the teeth and surgically cut the bottom tooth back to the correct length. This explained so much about why Zali had been struggling to gain condition and why she was overly reactive to contact on her head — the locked jaw would have been incredibly painful.

  Getting all three Brumbies lined up was quite a mission as Zali was still very shy.

  A collection of caps and wolf teeth removed from the Brumbies and showjumpers.

  CHAPTER 15

  Snowstorms and Silver Brumbies

  Brumbies digging for gras
s after a snowstorm.

  Road signs were some of the few things visible in the whiteout.

  While the Brumbies recovered from having their teeth done, Alexa, Mum, Hilary (a family friend) and I headed to Australia for a Brumby protest. Wild-horse-lovers from right across Australia were marching on the New South Wales parliament to protest against the state government’s plans to cull 90 per cent of the 6000 Brumbies estimated to be living in the Snowy Mountains. As well as joining the protest, we were interested in gaining more knowledge about the plight of the animals, and were keen to talk with people who were equally passionate about saving Brumbies.