 The Department of Conservation has since 1993 carried out annual <unk> and muster of <unk> to keep the herd population around a target level of 500 horses . The target will be reduced to 300 horses in stages starting in 2009 . These horses are either taken directly to slaughter or are placed at holding farms for later slaughter or adoption by private homes . A main reason for the strict population control is to protect the habitat in which they live . This habitat includes 16 plant species listed as endangered , which the Kaimanawa may endanger further through <unk> and <unk> . These plants include herbs , grasses , sedges , flowers and <unk> ; among these are <unk> <unk> ( a very rare <unk> grass ) , <unk> <unk> ( a vulnerable mistletoe ) and <unk> <unk> ( a possibly locally extinct sand iris ) . The 2009 culling of the population removed 230 horses from the herd , the largest culling since the beginning of the program , with homes found for 85 % of the horses removed . Conservation of these horses is an important matter to the public , and between 1990 and 2003 the New Zealand Minister for Conservation received more public comments on the Kaimanawa horse than on any other subject . In this period , more than 1 @,@ 400 requests for information and letters were received , with public interest peaking in 1996 and 1997 . This was due to a program of population reduction by shooting scheduled to begin implementation in 1996 ; due to public opposition the shooting was cancelled and a large scale muster and adoption program began in 1997 . In 1997 , around 1 @,@ <unk> horses were removed from the range and adopted , reducing the main herd to around 500 , and reducing their range to around 25 @,@ 000 ha from around 70 @,@ 000 . Since 1993 , a total of around 2 @,@ 800 horses have been removed from the range . Only one injury resulting in the death of a horse is known to have occurred . 
