Wild horse choice a mare difference
A young Motueka woman who saved a wild Kaimanawa stallion from slaughter made a surprising discovery upon meeting her new friend.
Soley Pauls, 15, from Riverside Community in the Motueka Valley, travelled to Whangarei last month to train what she was told was a wild Kaimanawa stallion.
Pauls fundraised over $1800 through her Givealittle page to pay for her and the horse’s return trip. She is being mentored by the Wilson Sisters, known for their hit television series Keeping Up With The Kaimanawa.
Pauls said she was ‘‘surprised and a bit disappointed’’ when she arrived to discover the stallion was actually a mare – and she was maybe even pregnant.
‘‘Then I was given the choice to choose a different horse, but I chose to stay with her,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m glad I did because she’s my favourite out of all of them.’’
The dark bay mare, now called Ruru, has a ‘‘white star’’ on her forehead. Pauls said they had been bonding over the past few weeks.
Ruru was one of the most ‘‘nervous’’ and ‘‘flighty’’ horses who arrived, and would hide in the corner. Pauls said she couldn’t even raise her arm without her bolting.
However, after three days Ruru was eating out of Pauls hand, and she was ble to lead her.
On Monday they went to the beach, and she loved rolling in the sand and swimming.
‘‘By the end of the week, I’m planning to pick up all her feet and brush her all over.’’
Pauls said she was initially told Ruru was pregnant, but now she had her doubts.
Although Ruru ‘‘looks pregnant’’, she was ‘‘acting in season’’ with another stallion just recently.
Only time would tell, Pauls said.
A muster is held every two years by the Department of Conservation to manage the wild herd that live in the Kaimanawa Ranges, near Waiouru. DOC wants to keep the herd to 300.
This number helps the horses maintain a healthy condition and protects fragile and unique ecosystems in the Moawhango ecological zone.