ISLAND LIFE
Organic farmer and horticulturalist Rowena Howard is saving not only plants with an interesting history, but also wild horses.
Howard and her husband Grant Horne own Free Settlers Historical Plant Nursery at Cradoc in the Huon Valley, and they’re using their skills to raise funds for the brumbies under threat from culling in Kosciuszko National Park.
“When I saw the radical plan to reduce the numbers of brumbies from thousands to hundreds in the mountains, I thought we could do something on our farm,” says Howard, who is pictured at home with Daisy, a three-year-old rescued brumby, who has joined the couple’s other horses (a draught horse, a clydesdale, a rescued percheron and a brumby rescued from Echuca dogger sales).
“I was really taken by the story of these beautiful, wild horses at risk of being sent to slaughter.”
Howard travelled to Belarabon Station near Cobar, NSW, to visit station owner Joe Hughes, who created 4BP (For Brumby Protection) Horses Australia. The group helps rehome, train and integrate the wild horses into the everyday lives of horse-loving Australians.
Using their propagation skills of heirloom apple varieties, Howard and Horne have set up the Smooch an Apple Tree fundraiser.
“For every fruit tree sold through the Smooch [campaign], $5 will go to 4BP Horses Australia to continue their work educating people who step up to help the brumbies,” Howard says.