 <unk> from land development and an encroaching human population reduced the range and the number of the Kaimanawa horses , and in 1979 it was found that only about 174 horses remained . Starting in 1981 , the Kaimanawa population , range size , and herd movements began to be officially measured , and a protected area was formed for the breed in the Waiouru Military Training Area . Legislative protection was similar to the <unk> and other native species . There was a rapid increase in the herd size following the protection of the breed , and 1 @,@ 576 horses were known to exist in the area by 1994 . There is also a small population of horses on the <unk> Peninsula at the northern tip of the North Island , which is mostly unmanaged by the New Zealand government . In 2008 , the Kaimanawa herds were the focus of a novel called Kaimanawa Princess , by <unk> <unk> . 
