UPBEAT COUNTRY MUSIC We're the Wilson sisters. We live and breathe horses. We ride them, train them, show them... and fall off them. Vicki's the oldest. She's what we call the talent, because she's good at everything. Vicki took all the bravery in the family. I love extreme ` fast, little bit dangerous, little bit scared. Kelly, she's like our media rep. And smile. She's the girly one, the princess. If something's going to go wrong and I'm involved, it's drama times five. And then there's me, Amanda. I'm the baby of the family. Amanda's always been the mischief-maker. I'm the entertainer, if you will. ALL LAUGH (SNORTS) Whoa. We're unorthodox,... competitive... Yeah, I got it! I got it. That was me hitting it. That was me. There were two shots. ...and don't hold back. The hell is wrong with you? Oh, my goodness. Me and my sisters are on our wildest ride yet. We've gotta tame our Kaimanawas in time for NZ's first ever Wild Stallion Challenge. Don't! It is probably one of the most terrifying things I've done. We're going to prove to everyone these horses are worth saving. Oh, look at you! Copyright Able 2015 Tonight ` surprising success... It is amazing what they're allowing us to do. ...until we call in the medic... Oh! Smell that. (GROANS) ...as reality bites. He's terrifying! (GROWLS) ROCK MUSIC One week out of the wild and our horses are home. All up, we've saved 10 wild Kaimanawas from slaughter and the training's begun. I'm taking Argo to the river to swim. Do you wanna come? You kidding? I can't even touch my horse. Amanda? My ponies would probably drown me on purpose and then you'd be really sad. No, I wouldn't. I'd cry for you. (LAUGHS) (CHUCKLES) Well, water for the Kaimanawas is kind of like their freedom; back to their wild days. Who does this crazy stuff? There's no fences, no yards, no restrictions on them. My boy Nikau needs a wash down too, but my methods are a little safer. Amanda, could you get any further away from your horse? Actually, I could. Don't come out. Funny. < Wow, that's awesome. He loves the water. He looks really happy. You're doing a good job, I think. Considering I didn't even wanna go near him, I think we're slowly making progress. He's happy now because he doesn't realise he's one of the stallions losing his manhood today. Nah, you don't like him. Don't you like him? The horses get sedated first. So they're asleep and not gonna feel anything. Argo, the baby pony, he's up first for gelding. ACOUSTIC MUSIC Putting them on the ground, it's a big strong animal, and all of a sudden, it's got no control. It is a little bit sad. ACOUSTIC MUSIC CONTINUES For the stallion challenge, all the horses competing have to be gelded. It is a pretty` pretty horrible procedure ` getting their balls ripped off. You'd think Lucas, our builder, was up next. SAW WHIRRS Nikau doesn't want his balls chopped off. CHUCKLING Look at his` I just` I just built his trust up. Feeling a bit sorry for my boy. He'll really have a reason to bite me after this. (LAUGHS) SAW WHIRRS Well, that's it for poor Nikau. But both my wild boys are getting the chop today. Bet you won't be feeling so sorry for Hoff. Damn right, I'm not. And you wouldn't be either if he'd tried to attack you last week. (WHINNIES) Oh, God! Think you can convince Vicki to do him for you? BOTH CHUCKLE I'm hoping once he's a ball or two lighter, his staunch attitude will change. But it's not just the stallions the vet's here for. One of our Kaimanawa mares needs help. We're a little bit worried about a crack in her front toe. And so we've just filed it off, um, and shortened her toe up. But because she's literally out of the wild, I have to see if she's gonna let me shoe her. Well, four days ago, she was still aggressive in the stock yards. She was very very angry, and at one stage, she tried to double barrel me and kick my head. But today, she's been incredible to handle and coped with the situation, uh, but the sedation's really important. We don't wanna give her a fright and make it an issue. Put a wire through so there is no movement and then bog her. And if you leave it, what's gonna happen? Well, it just moves. Both sides are sort of moving constantly. Never heals. Never heals. Can't heal. And it'll keep splitting open worse. So she would've just been had it, useless. While my bad boy Hoff's still sedated, it's safe to check out the deep wound in his head. We've treated it for infection, but he's probably still got one hell of a headache. He's still scary. He's coping with it better but he's half asleep. Eh? You hate me that much? (GRUNTS) Good boy. Amanda has a lot of crazy ideas, and the vet had hardly left before she was trying out one of her hare-brained schemes. But I was wanting to put the massager on him, but I'm` at the moment, it's on my arm, and the vibrations are going through my arm on to his head. Here. Amanda, can I just try something? No! No! No! I wanna put in on your head. It's completely different. It isn't. Yes it is, because he` No. You have a skull. Yeah and he has frickin' muscle on top of his skull. I don't have muscle on top of mine. Not that much muscle. Yes, he does. If it` If it was bone, you'd hear it. And if he didn't like it, he'd bite me. MASSGER WHIRRS You do the weirdest things with your horses. No wonder they don't like you. I reckon he's loving it. I'm not hearin' any complaints from the patient, Kelly. While Hoff was enduring Amanda's TLC, her other horse Nikau gave our stablehand Paula a taste of just how wild these stallions can be ` or he got a taste of her. I was in the way and he decided to eat me. (CHUCKLES) Paula turned her back when she went in to feed Nikau, and he took the chance just to show her who's boss. Tiny little puncture from one of his teeth. Pretty decent. Definitely decent, and on the muscle too which is worse. But she's tough. Great shot. You see the difference? Grew muscles overnight. < Yeah. Casualty number one, and I bet it's not the last. Dad! Dad! Hey. Hey. Dad! Reduce volume. Reduce volume. Dad! Locate undies. Locate undies. (WHINES, PANTS) Read top stories. Play favourites. ROCK MUSIC New Holden Cruze with voice-controlled MyLink ` what you say goes. Three, two, one. Good. Kelly can be a ditz, but she's a talented ditz. Yeah, they're perfect. She has a graphic design and photography degree, and now she's using her skills for a good cause. I have a book deal. I started writing six months ago, which was a massive undertaking with 70,000 words. I write anywhere and everywhere I can find the time, so in the truck on the way to horse shows or at night. The book's called For the Love of Horses, and it's essentially an autobiography about our work to save the wild horses and our childhood growing up. This is the final draft of the book, and so I'm just making sure there's no mistakes in the writing. It's hard to believe that these pages are going to be a finished book, and I can't wait to see it in a hard copy for the first time. I've got a big meeting with my publishers today. ROCK MUSIC (BARKS) I'm hoping that my book will raise the profile of the Kaimanawas so that more horses will be saved. So, there were two global changes that needed to be done through the whole thing. There's only a few last edits to go over, but more importantly, does he think anyone's going to buy it? Of course, publishing is a risk` risky business, and you hope that it` that it` that it sells. For me, this would probably be the book I'm most excited about, especially in terms of sales. I'd say that this will be one of our biggest books in the autobiographical genre. It's gonna be fantastic. A pretty amazing feeling to be 24 and have a book coming out, and it would be awesome if this book could change how people perceive Kaimanawas and improve how they work with horses in the future. And that's something we're all passionate about. We've got 60 or so horses on our farm, which keep us busy. But they're not the only animals. There's two dogs, three calves, eight kittens, 12 chooks and our goat, Screamer,... Poor, poor Screamer. ...who's currently nursing two broken legs. Screamer, probably five weeks ago now, was unfortunately run over by our truck. Mum was in the truck about to back out and go get some building supplies, and she reversed, and next minute,... GOAT BLEATS ...people screaming and goat screaming, and he was underneath the tyres. Screamer's a real character. He's kinda like part of the family. He's the goat that comes inside, jumps on the couch, watches TV with us. And so when he hurt himself, we kinda had no choice. We had to try. And yeah, it is cheaper and easier in the long run to put something down, but we got some splints made and` and we cast them ourselves. That's better. He's very very good now. If the truck starts or a car starts, he runs for cover, so he has learnt his lesson. (BLEATS) While Screamer chills his boots, we're also resting our stallions after their big chop, so it's the Kaimanawa mares who get the first beach adventure. We think it's really important for the horses to be happy and to get out into wide open spaces as quickly as possible. So once they're safe to load and that they can be caught if something went wrong, we bring them to the beach because it kind of just gives them an adventure. Anzac's chop isn't for a few weeks, so he's fit enough to hang with the ladies. RELAXED MUSIC We're also taking some trained horses to make the Kais feel safer in this new environment. These Kaimanawas have come from an amazing place where they're running free, running wild, and suddenly they're locked up in yards and life's changed so dramatically for them. It helps them to feel free again. It just gives them some fun. They've never seen waves before, they've never seen the sea before, so to go out there and start pushing their boundaries, it means that everything else becomes easier for them. That's so cool. They'll have a wonderful time just rolling and feeling, um, really content and happy with life. (BLOWS) When they're really happy and relaxed and confident around us and` getting them used to us on their backs is kind of the first step towards riding. I try and really think of the horses, all of them, as kids at school. We try and create a really fun learning environment for them where they want to learn and succeed. They have to want to be here with us. I don't wanna force them to do anything; I don't wanna make them do something they don't wanna do. Vicki's already riding one the mares. Which is really annoying, because what Vicki can do in one week, it takes us about six. It is amazing what they're allowing us to do, and they're so relaxed. They're` They've got the light back in their eyes, and that's the key. But some may have a little too much light in their eyes. Kelly's little one I've seen bolt across the paddock. So... (CHUCKLES) I don't think he's wanting to go home. This could take forever. Kelly likes to do things her way in her time, and we've learnt a lot of patience over the years. We're eating chocolate. The challenge rules say we have to do all the training ourselves, so Kelly's on her own. He's in no rush. I am. I have stuff to do today. Yeah. CURIOUS MUSIC I have the patience of a saint. No you don't. LAUGHTER 40 minutes and just one king-size block of chocolate later, we're finally on the road. BIRDS CHIRP (CROWS) The next day, Kelly has yet another struggle on her hands ` she's having a crack at horse number two. Well, I had this amazing idea about how I'd catch Elder and I would handle him. (NEIGHS) Not gonna happen. Oh, he's crazy, man! (WHINNIES) I'm not going in that paddock again. LAUGHTER He's terrifying! No, he comes up like this, and he eats out of your hand and... (GROWLS) Since he's not a challenge horse, Kelly can send in the big gun, Vicki. VICKI: Shouldn't have left you, should she? She shouldn't have left you. No. No, I try` I try and be brave. I'm like, 'I will stand my ground,' cos as soon as you withdraw or retreat from them, they, like, feel like they've won, so they're like, 'Yes, I can intimidate her,' and they keep doing it. Yeah, but I ran from the paddock. (LAUGHS) That failed. Good boy. And of course, Vicki's more than happy to show us how it's done. Well, I'd rather her put herself in a dangerous situation than me be in a dangerous situation. It's not even, like, the end of it. Now I have to touch him. All he wanted you to do was hold your ground and stand up to him. She's an expert with horses but has a little less patience for us. And don't we know it. The wild Kaimanawas aren't our only big project this year. Every spare cent Vicki makes goes towards building the stable of her dreams. ...once it's aligned. I really would like to one day have a big stable complex and a` a big property where young riders can come and train and learn and be part of a team environment. So it's kinda step one. Yay! So my horses will be in in a month? Yeah, probably. Probably? In a month it should be looking pretty good. Roof on, all lined. Yeah. Oh, I'll hold you to that. Yeah. (LAUGHS) Do that. Definitely. It keeps Lucas, our builder, busy, but doesn't stop him moaning about the lack of baking in the house. I've decided a special treat's in order. Kia ora and welcome to Amanda Cooks. Today, I'm making a very special treat for Lucas. (BARKS, GROWLS) PLEASANT 50S MUSIC This should put a little bite in his bark. Let's ice these puppies. It's actually really good for you. Got strong bones, fit and active, healthy teeth and gums. At the end of the day, I'm doing him a favour. I did it to Vicki. She took a bite and said they were the horrible-est biscuits she'd ever tasted. Almost broke her teeth off. (CHUCKLES) It's not just Lucas' teeth that will be getting a workout this afternoon ` the dentist is here to check out the boys. Vicki's pony Doc is already sedated and is up first. I'm a little worried about Doc. Uh, straight after his gelding, while he was on pain medication, he was a different pony. He was happy, I could actually handle him, and he was a lot more relaxed. But since coming off that pain medication, he's gone back to being wild. Oh, you're sweating. I think it could be his teeth. Now this guy, you can't touch under his jaw. Is it sore or just that he bites? He still bites. Yep. This is` I think it's cos he's simply` cos he's so in much pain. (WHINNIES) We'd never ask most people to put themselves in this situation with a wild horse, but Warwick is so good with horses, he understands them so well and has got such good horse sense. I'm gonna make you feel better, buddy. Warwick's grinding off any excess tooth so they're all smooth and aligned, and he's removing any teeth that would have issues. FILE GRINDS I think they're metabolic disorders in his teeth. When I was filing them, you see all that white? Yeah, they shouldn't do that; it shouldn't come off as easy as that. With the Kaimanawa horses, they don't get the nutrition, so their teeth are kind of chalky and will break easier. That's exactly what we're seeing today. So is there pain involved at this point in his life with this going on, Warwick? With the way his teeth were? Yeah. Oh, definitely. Warwick's worried. It looks like Doc's got a broken tooth and exposed root canal. Bring him down and we'll have an explore. Doc's problems are serious enough for a trip to Auckland. There, he can get a complete physical and X-rays. What's the day today? 16th. Vicki's competition chances are fading fast. With Doc now in serious doubt, her other stallion, who could be too young for the challenge, is up next. Whoa, Argo. Good boy. You're all right, son. He's` Good boy. Hey. Uh-uh. Hey, hey, hey. Uh-uh. Argo, we've done this. Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Argo's got a lot of rotten teeth and a nasty abscess. Yuck! Warwick's also found a disgusting chunk of old grass stuck in Argo's gum. Look at that. It's real bad. That's coming out of the socket as well. See how it's got blood in it? Oh! Smell that. That is... I don't wanna smell it. (GROANS) That's, um` Yeah, that blood in it's because it's bleeding inside the socket. That's infected. Smell that. Just smell it. (GROANS) Ew, gross! How many times do you have to smell it, Vicki? Where the problem is is in the back of the mouth. This is the ones that he grinds the food with. They are critical to survival. If we keep treating it, we can make his mouth last 40 years. Without treatment, he won't last very long at all. With some antibiotics and further dental work, Argo will have the best looking choppers in town. Our best worry, though, is that he's still a baby. He has to be three to be in the competition, so now the $50,000 question. < How old is he? Well, he's, um, probably just 2�. That's all he is. Probably 2 years, 8 months. That's really good news. It means he's old enough to compete in the challenge, cos by the time the competition comes, he'll be 3. It's exciting. He's a cracker, ain't he? He's gonna grow into a nice horse. He's a very strong horse. It looks like we're all back in challenge mode, including Screamer. (WHOOSHES) Fight me. Come on! (BLEATS) Look at him! He looks crazy as! He's rolling his eyes back. OK, reverse. Beep, beep, beep! Now go! Oh, look at him. He's angry. (CHUCKLES) Ow! Screamer's not the only one up to no good. I've got my special treat for Lucas ready. You want one? Thank you. Paula, do you want one? Or are you not feeling good? I'll half one with someone. > Mmm! That's awesome. Really? It's really good. Thank you. I am actually a pretty good cook. I reckon. Spent a decent half an hour in the kitchen. (SIGHS) So much effort. Pretty much just buy it ready-made. Does the job. Tastes great. Yeah, it's pretty nutritious. Mmm. Awesome. Well, I guess we're good to go. I did it. I could've won an Oscar for that performance. (LAUGHS) Hey, Lucas. Yeah? > How are you feeling after those biscuits Amanda made? Why? (CHUCKLES) Amanda! Amanda! AMANDA: What are you doing? Oi, no! No! Get off! Mum! Mum! No! (SCREAMS) Ow! My frickin' bum slapped!