WILD HORSE HUNT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18236, 3 November 1933, Page 5

WILD HORSE HUNT

A THRILLING SPORT ('A I’TURKS MADE BY SETTLERS The' hunting of wild horses was a thrilling sport frequently indulged in. on unoccupied lands in various parts of the Auckland province several years ago. Closer settlement has narrowed down the localities where the wild horses roam, but there is still opportunity for a very lively few hours, according to reports from the. Ngaroma district, to the smillt-west of Te Awamulu. Recently a -party of settlers from the district visited the vast area of unoccupied land lying to the eastward and bounded by the Waikato River, not many miles from where the liver issues from Lake Taupo. Wild horses have roamed this territory for many years, and old settlers tell of thrilling experiences in trying to capture them. One in particular, a magnificent-looking grey stallion, evaded capture time after time, and inquiry later showed that lie must have perished by falling over a cliff or getting into a swamp, for it is very unlikely that he migrated south or across the swift Waikato River. To the northward were occupied lands. One method of capture was to station men at chosen -points of vantage several miles apart, and then one. would ride after a selected wild horse, keeping it on the move, until it showed signs of distress. The horses, -being grass fed, were not particularly noted for their powers of endurance. Then one of the other members, with a fresh horse, would harry the animal until he was driven into a corner or was trapped in a swampy area. DAYS NOW NUMBERED Another method of capture often followed. was to set snares along tracks that the horses customarily followed, either to permanent water or to evade capture. This was the method adopted by the latest party of Ngaroma settlors, and they came home with nine captures, including some very attractive-looking young horses, which will now undergo a period of gentling, and will then be drafted into use on various iarms. They are particularly sought after to use as stock ponies, their early days of roaming making them remarkably sure-footed. The day is not far distant when wild horses will disappear completely from the Ngaroma hinterland, for, as settlement proceeds, the wild animals will lie crowded out. The horses are the descendants of Maori-owned animals that were allowed to roam uncontrolled, and stories are told of thoroughbred stallions and mares having been allowed to join up with these Maori ponies. Rome of tho wild horses, when observed standing on an eminence at a distance, give the impression of being typical specimens of the thoroughbred. But closer inspection proves those impressions to ho erroneous, for usually the stallion turns out to be weedy in size, and many removes from the ideal of a thoroughbred. The mares, too, do not measure up at all favorably with (hose in use on the racecourses or stpd : farms.