 The first horses were introduced to New Zealand by Protestant missionary Reverend Samuel <unk> in December 1814 , and wild horses were first reported in the Kaimanawa Range in central North Island of New Zealand in 1876 . The Kaimanawa breed descended from domestic horses that were released in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the middle of the North Island around the Kaimanawa mountains . Between 1858 and 1875 , Major George <unk> Carlyon imported <unk> ponies to Hawkes Bay and crossed them with local stock to produce the Carlyon <unk> . These Carlyon ponies were later crossed with two Welsh stallions , <unk> Caesar and Comet , imported by Sir Donald McLean , and a breed known as the Comet resulted . At some point during the 1870s , McLean released a Comet stallion and several mares on the <unk> Plains and the bloodline apparently became part of the wild Kaimanawa population . Other horses were added to the bloodline through escapes and releases from local sheep stations and from cavalry units at Waiouru that were threatened with a <unk> epidemic . It is also thought that in the 1960s Nicholas <unk> released an Arabian stallion into the <unk> Valley region . 
