In New Zealand our Kaimanawas (wild horses) are mustered every two years. The herds are thinned through an adoption programme. You have to apply months beforehand and have your home thoroughly checked by a representative of the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses organisation. The property they ship the Kaimanawa(s) to must have strong, tall cattle yards with a loading chute at a minimum height of 1.5 metres. They will not allow the ponies to be kept in sheep yards or any enclosure with a normal-sized fence (as they can and will jump them). You need to provide two referees who can vouch for your ability to handle a wild horse, and must have at least one other horse if you plan on adopting just one Kaimanawa (as they have been running in herds their whole lives).

The cost to adopt is $250, with additional horses being $220. There is a $100 application fee that is deducted from the final cost and only refunded if the KHH can't provide you with a horse.

This year's muster was amazing. They fo

In New Zealand our Kaimanawas (wild horses) are mustered every two years. The herds are thinned through an adoption programme. You have to apply months beforehand and have your home thoroughly checked by a representative of the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses organisation. The property they ship the Kaimanawa(s) to must have strong, tall cattle yards with a loading chute at a minimum height of 1.5 metres. They will not allow the ponies to be kept in sheep yards or any enclosure with a normal-sized fence (as they can and will jump them). You need to provide two referees who can vouch for your ability to handle a wild horse, and must have at least one other horse if you plan on adopting just one Kaimanawa (as they have been running in herds their whole lives).

The cost to adopt is $250, with additional horses being $220. There is a $100 application fee that is deducted from the final cost and only refunded if the KHH can't provide you with a horse.

This year's muster was amazing. They found homes for a record number of horses, with very few ending up being sent to slaughter (to maintain the herds they must keep them at a set amount). There is a Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge running where trainers get a stallion, geld him and train him up in time for Equidays later this year where there will be a small competition and showcase. This is the first time any such thing has been run in New Zealand which has a tiny equestrian community compared to other countries (I think the New Zealand Horse & Pony magazine subscription numbers are only at 400,000 so that's a rough estimate).

There are a group of sisters who compete sporthorses and, in 2012, got a group of Kaiamanwas from the muster. They've become very famous now after they showed the journey of their ponies on Facebook. They also got a bunch of horses from the 2014 muster, and set up a fund to collect donations in order to save other horses from the muster and find homes for them. It seems that everyone in New Zealand is very keen to save Kaimanawas now. I was bummed that I couldn't get one from this muster, but I definitely will one year!

I just wanted to point out that Chicoteague Pony foals are not "adopted", they are sold.

There are two herds, one on the Virginian side of the island, and one belonging to the state of Maryland. The Virginia herd is the largest and is limited to exactly 150 adult members, since that's the limit on the grazing permit the National Fish and Wildlife Service gives to the Volunteer Fire Company that maintains the herds.

Chincoteague Pony mares have one of the highest wild horse fertility rates with 75% of able mares becoming pregnant each year, so this means there are lots of foals that need to be moved off the island each year, only a few are kept to replenish the population as needed, leaving between 60-90 foals that have to be sold.

You neglected to mention Buy Back foals, which go for the highest prices. These are the foals that are auctioned off, named by the buyer, and then released back onto the island to roam wild.

They're never adopted out, they are sold, and the procee

I just wanted to point out that Chicoteague Pony foals are not "adopted", they are sold.

There are two herds, one on the Virginian side of the island, and one belonging to the state of Maryland. The Virginia herd is the largest and is limited to exactly 150 adult members, since that's the limit on the grazing permit the National Fish and Wildlife Service gives to the Volunteer Fire Company that maintains the herds.

Chincoteague Pony mares have one of the highest wild horse fertility rates with 75% of able mares becoming pregnant each year, so this means there are lots of foals that need to be moved off the island each year, only a few are kept to replenish the population as needed, leaving between 60-90 foals that have to be sold.

You neglected to mention Buy Back foals, which go for the highest prices. These are the foals that are auctioned off, named by the buyer, and then released back onto the island to roam wild.

They're never adopted out, they are sold, and the proceeds benefit the herd. It's as easy as bringing a trailer and you're good to go.

I really wish you would provide links and documentation with these articles. I often find wrong or missing information.

You're right, that the pony adoptions are sales rather than adoptions. All of the information has been taken from the CWHI website, the BLM site and the Chincoteague Pony Swim site. For brevity, I can't include all of the details about each program and the reason for its existence. Certainly fodder for future content. :-)

You're right, that the pony adoptions are sales rather than adoptions. All of the information has been taken from the CWHI website, the BLM site and the Chincoteague Pony Swim site. For brevity, I can't include all of the details about each program and the reason for its existence. Certainly fodder for future content. :-)