Taming the Kaimanawa (Part 2) - by Wendy O'Malley

July 2004

Horse behaviourist Murray Haitana has started a campaign to change the public perception of New Zealand's wild horse-the Kaimanawa.

Duchess stands in the middle of the paddock eyeing the man in the black hat. All eyes are on the pretty bay mare. The TV1 news camera records her every move. We are all here at Lindale Tourist Complex near Wellington to see this Kaimanawa be tamed. There is an element of suspense and danger. Horses are strong, fast and unpredictable. A six year old wild horse might prove to be a tough challenge.

"Self-preservation is tops in her mind," explains the soft-spoken Murray Haitana. He is here, risking his own neck, to prove the critics wrong. There are some people in government power who believe mature wild horses are untrainable and better off sent straight to the slaughter yard.

"The first thing we need to do is catch her, so we can do something with her," says Murray.

In fact, his goal for this first one hour session is simply to put a halter on Duchess. However, this is a very important foundation on which to establish a relationship with the horse. Murray believes in treating horses fairly. He will ask Duchess to accept the halter.

"I'm not forcing this horse to do anything. She should be free to make choices. I'm trying to set things up so the choices she makes are the ones I want her to make."

So, how do you ask a horse, 'Can I put this halter on you?' the audience wonders.

It starts with the first step. Murray takes a step towards Duchess. She swings her head and locks onto him, ready to run if he comes too close. Murray turns away from her. He has gotten what he wanted: her attention. He rewards her 'try' by giving her what she wants: to be left alone.

He continues taking a few steps toward Duchess. "Gidday, how ya going?" he greets her. When she focuses on him he stops or turns away. When she looks away, he takes another step closer. All the while, Murray is quietly talking, explaining how he is communicating with the horse and how she is answering back.

"Can you see how she's chewing? That's a pretty good sign that she's relaxed," he points out. "See the wee subtle signs she's making?"

The flick of an ear or the movement of her head by an inch is enough to send a clear message to Murray.

"It does help if you think like a horse. We can communicate with them in the rules they already know."

Duchess lays her ears back and moves away. As a flight animal, it is her natural instinct to leave when a predator approaches. Murray walks towards her hindquarters and encourages her to move. Moving has now become his idea. He is acting like a dominant member of the herd.

"She knows the rules. If someone is coming towards your hindquarters, you'd better move or you're going to get kicked."

He continues to follow after her using his body position to turn her. When she moves her hindquarters away from him and turns her head in to him, he takes the pressure off. She soon learns to stop and face Murray. "Thank you darling," he murmurs, every time Duchess chooses to trust him.

The audience is hooked onto the action inside the fence. These two species, human and horse, are communicating in a soundless, nearly invisible sign language.

After a swift thirty minutes, Murray is able to walk straight up to the wild mare and stroke her on the head. "It's time to add something else to the equation," he says as he fetches his rope off the fence.

"What's that-a snake?" he asks, as he shows the rope to Duchess. Now the audience understands the fear of the rope from the horse's point of view. We can see how hard she is trying to co-operate when the rope slides over her neck.

"We need to help them overcome and cope with fear," Murray explains, as he desensitizes the mare, rubbing her head and neck with the rope. "Same as always, I'm waiting for her to get ready. Preparation is very much the key to what we're doing. This is all preparation for the halter."

Little by little, Murray is asking Duchess 'Will you wear this halter?'

Duchess answers, 'Yes' by standing still and controlling her fears. She is choosing to trust Murray.

"What we're trying to do is build up a relationship of trust," says Murray, easily slipping the halter over the wild mare's nose. "I genuinely believe you get a much better response by asking for things."

Duchess is well on her way to answering yes to all the questions Murray will be asking her over the next week as he trains her in front of the public at Lindale. She is one of the lucky ones who has been given a chance to answer the questions. Most of the Kaimanawas mustered by DOC are considered too difficult to adopt because of their age.

Murray is passionate about saving these Kaimanawas from the slaughter yard. "I want to break down some of the barriers people have-age, sex, colour-it doesn't matter!"

His ultimate goal is to establish a sanctuary where New Zealand's wild horse can be protected. In the meantime, he will be doing all he can to save the Kaimanawas, one by one.