('COUNTRY CALENDAR' THEME) - The best of New Zealand's rural heartland... Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024 - She gives wild horses a chance at a new life. (HORSE NEIGHS) - Go, Mark, go! They've all succeeded. They've all gone on to live a great life. Go! - And she gives purpose to the most misunderstood animals. - There is not a less athletic-looking horse that we own. He looks like a hot cross bun with legs. (HORSE WHINNIES) (LAID-BACK GUITAR MUSIC) - Good boy. This is the black. Although he's looking a bit more like Dusty at the moment. - Every day, Chloe Phillips-Harris works with each of the 20 or so horses that live with her on her tiny 4ha farm in Kerikeri in Northland. - The horses are a lot of work, just with feeding out and managing their health all the time, the riding and training. I think this is a job you only do because you love it, and you don't like having days off or free time. Good boy. Hey, pass me this foot, sir. - It's a bit of a reform school for problem horses. - Lots of our horses come to us as rescue or rehabs, or they come to us wild. And then I've also got my sport horses. And then I have a very unique team of elite racehorses that live out on the back of the property. (MUSIC RETURNS) Come on, guys, it's breakfast time! Come on. (HORSE WHINNIES) Good morning, guys. This is the elite racing team. Good morning. So these are miniature horses. I call them my race team. Quite often people get them as novelties and the novelty wears off. So they get really hard for people to manage. And then people don't treat them like horses. They can end up as little terrorists, basically. - So people send their unwanted miniature horses to Chloe. - They come in various states of sometimes neglect, sometimes with really, really bad health conditions. A couple of these, their teeth got so bad they struggled to eat, and they're very high maintenance. So I constantly come out every day and just check them over, making sure they're gaining condition. We've got some in here like Little Ernie, who gets very fat. This girl came to us struggling with laminitis, you know, struggling to walk, and she had to have pads on her feet, and now she's one of the best racehorses. Such a good boy, aren't you? Yeah. Little Tango's getting a bit older now, so he gets to come in for a special feed each day. You're my special guy. Skippy's a good boy, too. Let's go. They might not look like natural athletes, but they actually have incredible endurance, incredible stamina, and they're fast. I know they might look a bit comical, but these are actually racehorses. Ernie, some food for you. - Chloe has created an adventure race specifically to showcase the athleticism of the miniature ponies. - It is the longest miniature horse race in the world. It potentially is the only miniature horse race in the world. - Chloe got the inspiration for the miniature ponies' race from taking part in what's known as the world's toughest horse race in Mongolia. - The Mongol Derby is the 1000km race across Mongolia. It took me six and a half days. I lost about 7kg over that time. I got dehydrated, I got chased by wild dogs, but I also had nomads take me in who had no idea why I was there. And I think it was this real juxtaposition of extreme struggle and extreme suffering with this amazing hospitality and these amazing horses that really cemented the love of the country for me. - That was 11 years ago. Now Chloe returns to Mongolia every year, leading expeditions across the Gobi, working closely with nomadic tribespeople to whom many of the profits are returned. Covering vast distances with yak, reindeer, camels and, of course, horses made Chloe want to create something like that at home ` an event to show off the prowess of miniature horses. - (SMOOCHES) Come on, Erns. Come on. (SMOOCHES) Might` We might take that one again. (SMOOCHES) So a big thing about us doing the race is getting people to really enjoy them, enjoy that funny, cute part of them, but also show what incredible athletes they are in their own right. They are still an animal that is meant to travel across wide open terrain and get there in a smaller package. So, so often that part of them gets misunderstood. They can run for hours. They can go huge distances. They have 10 times the personality and a quarter of the size of the body of a big horse. - Small though they are, the elite racing team and all the other horses take up space, and space is at a premium at Chloe's little farm. (HORSE NEIGHS) - Come on, little ones. This way! Trying to juggle all the horses and paddocks is a little bit of a mission to find room for them all. Some of these guys, it'd be lovely to find homes for, because we always have a wait list of miniature horses needing to come into care as well. Lucky last. Off you go. - And in a few days time, there will be an influx of new horses here. (RELAXED MUSIC) (HORSE NEIGHS DISTANTLY) - I think the public is surprised to find that there are wild horses in Northland. - Every autumn, Chloe Phillips-Harris musters wild horses from all over the Far North. - We have hundreds, probably thousands. They are in the forestry blocks. They break into private land like we're on today. I would love to see them remain in the wild, but the big thing is they breed into numbers. They start running out of food, they cause damage. They end up in horrible conditions ` skinny, inbred, starving, thirsty or getting into problems with farmers and traffic. Do you want a drink before you go working, mate? - So iwi, forestry companies and landowners call on Chloe to round up herds of wild horses and take them into care. - We think we know where a herd is. We're gonna go have a scout and see if we can quietly bring them around back to these yards here. This particular site, you can't do it fast-paced cos there's so many hazards, and if you get the horses running, you'll lose them into the dunes and the scrub. - They're mustering an area halfway up Ninety Mile Beach, but volunteers have joined Chloe from as far afield as Waikato. - All right, guys. So, I think the plan is that there's a mob just out there. We're just gonna go slowly towards the beach and see if we can scooch around behind them and just quietly, quietly move them back this way. - A kati ake e te iwi, haere mai. Hei hua moku i te aro o te hoiho. Chee-hah! - I think we need to make that our new wild horse war chant. - This property used to be farmland, but the wild horses have destroyed most of the fences. - FAINTLY: There's a lethal bit of wire around here somewhere. Just watch out for the trip line. - Every time you see a fence post... - Yeah. - ...just kind of expect it, eh? Someone obviously used to farm this back in the day. - The wild horses are so hard on it. - Oh, there's that black one, Chloe. - Yeah. - Shit. Looks nice, eh? - Yeah. Well, do you guys want to stay slightly on this side and have us two just sneak around here on the other side? - Yup. (HORSE NEIGHS) - Yeah, this way just a little bit, Tee. Yeah, Push him a little bit. He's tame. The herd we're trying to bring in is touchy, really touchy. There's one in them that you can get close to, but the rest of the herd wants to run as soon as they see you. So it's really hard to kind of get them looking in the right way and try to get that herd moving, cos so much of it is about being able to read that horse behaviour and kind of anticipate what the wild horses are gonna do and get them there. But this herd is super reactive. Like, one tiny bit in the wrong spot and they shoot off in another direction. Yeah, you can push him a bit, Tee. Yeah. Go, Mark, go! (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) - We going inland now? - Yeah. Wait. And then if you just pop down here, and then we'll just see if we can push them straight for the log. Yeah, nice work. If they keep going on this trajectory, we're good. It is so tough because the wild horses have come in and caused a lot of damage. So there's wire and broken fences everywhere, so you can't go for a clean, clean gallop like you would in other places. But, oh man, I feel like this is my soul place in New Zealand. I just love it here. Just doing some gallops up and through the sand dunes is what I live for. (ROCK MUSIC CONTINUES) So happy. It all came together. Always had a tiny little bit of doubt that you might not see them or you might not be able to get them in, but honestly, it went like clockwork today. The horses just came flying, and it was fantastic. And now the hard work starts. I'm gonna divide them so that they can travel safely, load them up on the truck, they go home to my place, and that's where the real job of taming them begins. Those horses out there we were riding probably came in on your truck. - Gary Hooker from Cambridge is a specialist at transporting wild horses. - I really respect him as a horseman. He is so good at getting in and drafting horses, loading pens quietly and efficiently without stressing the horse. I've used him on many, many musters to get the horses home safely. - Push that shut for a minute, Chloe. - Everything we do, we do for a reason. We muster at this time of year because the foals are old enough to be weaned off their mother. - Come on, kids. - There's a stallion and a couple big colts. We've got some mares, some foals, some young horses. I think we've got about 20 in, which is great. And every horse that comes to my property gets a chance at domestic life. Out of the hundreds of horses we've done, none go to slaughter. They've all succeeded. They've all gone on to live a great life. (REVERSING ALARM BEEPS) - Come on, kids, gotta move over. There you go. - You gotta remember what these horses have been through. This morning they were running wild, then they have been mustered. They've been in yards. We've separated them. We've put them on the truck, driven them to a completely new environment, unloaded them, and now they're here surrounded by fences, which they've never seen. Despite everything they've been through, they are standing calmly. They're not smashing through fences. They're just being a sensible animal trying to figure out their new world. - These horses have got a soft nature. Like, walking in the yards before, scratching me. Grazing, drinking, eating ` neat! - The big priority tonight is just that the horses get settled, that they have food, water. Today has been a huge day for them, and I just want them to be able to relax, recover and kind of get settled into their new world. - The little grey... - Yeah. - ...and that one over there. - Me too. Those are my picks as well. - Yeah. She is so patient, so clever, so kind, and she just works with them until they submit to her. They're not forced to. They just want to do it. OK. - You're amazing. Thank you so much. - Good to see you. - You're incredible. Thanks for coming to my rescue again. - (CHUCKLES) No worries. - Very much appreciated. - And just like that, Chloe's tiny 4ha farm has doubled its horse population. - It's why it's such a big priority to get the foals handled first, and hopefully off to their new homes. (PLEASANT MUSIC) (HORSE NEIGHS) - Hey, little babies. - 19 Northland wild horses have just spent their first night as domestic horses. - When you first move into a pin with them, they don't know what you are. They're gonna jump around and try to get away from you. What's really cool is these guys have come straight back for a look, and look how curious these two are. Like, they've come straight back in to see what we're doing. Some of them are just so curious. - Chloe Phillips-Harris will tame them all and ultimately find new homes for them, starting with the foals. - Today we're doing a wild horse workshop. We want people to see how we train them. Also, it's a good way to get them homed. I'm gonna try and match you with a horse that I think might suit. And then you'll work with that horse over every day and make all the progress. And hopefully the end goal is that by the end of these days, they can be haltered and led out around the arena, they're comfortable with touch. Basically, that they've got the best start for a domestic life. All right, let's get cracking. All I'm gonna wanna with this horse to start with is see if I can get a stop and a go. Who understands pressure and release? So pressure is the question, yeah? And the release is when they get it right. OK. Can we move away? (SMOOCHES) And the pressure comes off cos he moved away. So the first thing I want to get is a step. Move, little buddy. And as soon as he starts to move, I'll just back away so that pressure comes off. That's pretty good. I might ask again ` can you come up here a bit, bud? (SMOOCHES) Good boy. To do things quickly, you have to do things slowly. Taking the time to do things right is absolutely crucial. Am I gonna do a stop? So good. If you see movement in their face, if they're blinking, they're still thinking. If you lose all that expression out of their face, they stop blinking, they stop moving their mouth, they're pretty stressed and they're not learning. Can we come? Can we move away? So it's been four days since the muster, and these new horses have been incredible. They have been so quiet in the yard. Quite a few have come up and sniffed us and tried to engage. Hi. Yeah. Do you have a preference on either one of these two? - I quite like the black one. - You can come in. So I'm just gonna shadow you for the first little bit. - Yeah. So the big thing's you're gonna try and be really clear in your body language. - Mm-hm. - Nice and slow and calm. - Yeah. (LATCH CLANKS) - You're gonna watch his responses all the time. - Yeah. - My gut feeling is he's gonna be on the quieter side, but you seem like you're high energy. So maybe that's gonna be a really good match because you might get him out of his shell a little bit. - OK. - (SMOOCHES) - (CLICKS TONGUE) - Good. They are like a sponge, just ready to absorb everything. And especially these little foals, they're going to adjust so quickly. So it's a really good window to use to try and get them into new homes where they're gonna be loved. Good. And they're gonna get good nutrition, good worming, good care, and the chance to really grow and develop to the best of their abilities. Move back that way. And we've even got someone today who's gonna come and have a look at one of the mares from a previous muster, but that mare came from the same block as these ones. So it's really cool for a prospective owner to see what they would have looked like coming out of the wild. Yeah. - Oh no, I've got it. - She knows all the basics. Farrier's picked up her feet. She's had a trim. She's been up to date with worming. That's a good girl. And, you know, she's pretty responsive. Like... - Yeah. She's super sweet. - She takes everything in her stride. - And just really even, and, like, you know? - Yeah. The end goal with so many of these wild horses is that we can get them off to a new home. So Kylie's turned up today to look at young Charlotte, who we mustered a couple of months ago. And hopefully ` hopefully ` she likes the horse and can give it a new home so that we can get the next lot out of the wild. Sometimes I have a hard time getting people coming at looking at a wild horse. What made you kind of take a chance and kind of come look at her? - Because I have one at home. - Yeah. - And, um, he's one of my most special horses that I have. He's extremely easy to train, super smart. They don't seem to have that flight response... - Yeah. - ...that some breeds have. That's it. - Oh, it went so well. She really loved the horse. It sounds like an amazing home. So Charlotte's got a secure future ahead of her, which is exactly what I want for all my wild horses. (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - Putting people together with horses is one of Chloe's gifts and one of her missions in life. - Oh, no, not this guy again. - (LAUGHS) - Hey, Little Ernie. Thank you. - Oh, Ernie's already trotting! - (CHUCKLES) - This is Surfie. He loves the sand and he's great to run with. Second go at it. Loved it so much first time round. - This is Lawrence. He's pretty speedy. It's all on. - Lots of carbo loading. Yeah. Mr Potato might be running like a spud. - This is day four of the Great Northern Gallop. The competitors have done 75km already, and today they'll clock out at 100. Three, two, one, go! (CHEERING) - Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch. (MOMENTOUS SYNTH AND PIANO MUSIC) - People don't ride the miniature horses. They run beside them. And so we get everyone from ultra athletes, marathon runners to people who have never exercised before in their life. And they turn up and they walk or run beside these little guys for 25km a day. - Most of the horses belong to Chloe, but some entrants have brought their own, like race favourite Mathilde Schwarz, who's running with Chester. - She has got a cracking lead on everyone. She's usually first, and Graham is not far behind her. Rob and Kelly are always kind of in second and third as well, but it could be anyone's today. This is Rob, who is an Ironman athlete and is heading to the World Championships later this year. And he has got Ernie, which is the most comical-looking pony in our team. There is not a less athletic-looking horse that we own. He looks like a hot cross bun with legs. Like, there could not be a better mismatched pair, and it just makes me smile every time I see them. Go, Ernie, you good thing! (ERNIE WHINNIES DISTANTLY) The ponies, they've come to us from very different backgrounds. Some that came as, you know, the worst of the worst welfare cases, and they're all out here racing today. So I love it! I love seeing them, like, have their job and do their thing. I think we've got an upset! That's Graham and Surfie followed by Mathilde. Oh, they're looking really good. (CHEERING) Go! Oh no! Whoo! (LAUGHS) (TRIUMPHANT MUSIC) Um, Graham, there's been some deliberation at the finish line. You were the first runner; Opi and Kelly were the first combination. But we've decided that you deserve a first anyway. - Thank you. - On the pony? 'Seeing them out there, seeing them do their thing, it makes me just so happy. 'It just brings me pure joy.' Whoo-hoo! - It's very different. You can't run your own race. You basically do whatever the horse wants to do. So if he's keen to run, you run. And then if he wants to walk, you just have to walk with it and be patient. - Awesome, guys. I have done so many things I dreamed of because horses have been in my life, so I will forever ` forever ` feel a huge debt of gratitude and feel that I owe them for everything. - Next time ` a large Wairarapa station has cracked the secret to no-wool sheep. - I just thought, God, we've just got to make farming a bit simpler. The sheep are just going to be in the paddock more which they should be. I think it's a win-win for the sheep and for us. - They're also running a thriving rural cafe and a chocolate factory. - We're a bean-to-bar chocolate maker. - That's next time on Hyundai Country Calendar.