25 Day Wild Kaimanawa Trainers Workshops
Gentling a Wild Kaimanawa A 25 - Day Immersive Horsemanship & Conservation Experience
1–25 May 2026 (TBC) | Taupō, New Zealand
The Wild Kaimanawa Trainers Workshop is a 25-day immersive mentoring program that offers participants the rare opportunity to gentle a wild horse directly from the Kaimanawa Horse Muster and help give it a second chance at life.
This life-changing experience combines conservation, education, and hands-on training, guiding participants through every stage of the taming process under expert, one-on-one supervision.
With 150 Kaimanawa horses expected to require homes during the 2026 Muster, up to eight participants will be selected for this intensive program. Each participant is paired with their own wild horse and supported from first contact through to calm, confident handling at liberty and on the lead.
Participants may choose to return home with their horse, or gentle a horse for an owner attending the Owners Workshop.
This program is designed for those who dream of taming a wild horse but lack the facilities, mentorship, or confidence to manage the early stages alone. Here, the barriers are removed and replaced with knowledge, structure, and proven, ethical methods.
ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
This 25-day immersive workshop is hosted at Kelly Wilson’s purpose-built Wild Kaimanawa Sanctuary in Taupō.
Unlike most countries, New Zealand’s wild horses are mustered just days before training begins, making this one of the most authentic wild-horse training experiences in the world.
Historically, horses not rehomed through the muster system were sent to slaughter. Today, the future of these horses depends on people willing to step forward and take responsibility for them.
Throughout the program, Kelly works horses daily alongside participants, allowing students to observe and learn her proven methods in real time. The focus remains consistent across every horse: calm minds, willing attitudes, and emotionally sound partnerships.
During the autumn season, participants also enjoy weekly visits to the Wairakei Terraces Thermal Hot Springs, offering valuable recovery time after full days of training.
This is more than a workshop. It is a conservation effort, a personal challenge, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become part of a horse’s future.
YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Throughout the program, participants work directly with their assigned Kaimanawa under close supervision.
You will learn not only what to do, but why.
The program focuses on:
• Understanding the full taming process
• Developing timing, feel, and awareness
• Reading body language and emotional states
• Establishing safe handling routines
• Building confidence in daily interactions
• Supporting long-term wellbeing
• Reinforcing key milestones
• Preparing horses for life beyond the sanctuary
By the end of the workshop, participants leave with practical skills, confidence, and clarity to continue their horse’s education independently.
BRIDGING WILD AND DOMESTIC
This workshop is designed to support one of the most critical transitions in a horse’s life: the move from wild to domestic.
Through ethical, welfare-first horsemanship, participants learn how to:
• Preserve the horse’s emotional safety
• Maintain trust and softness
• Prevent common behavioural setbacks
• Build resilient partnerships
• Create sustainable training routines
This approach sets both horse and owner up for long-term success.
WILD HORSE MILESTONES
Throughout our taming program, horses work through 47 progressive handling milestones, collectively building toward the following core skills:
• Facing up and developing draw
• Basic body control at liberty
• Basic obstacle training at liberty
• Haltering
• Leading confidently, including over advanced obstacles, and trotting by the shoulder
• Introduction to electric fencing and paddocking
• Led adventures
• Full-body grooming
• Farrier preparation and first trims
• Truck and trailer loading
Each horse progresses as an individual. While most reach these milestones within 3 to 5 weeks, progression varies and cannot be guaranteed.
PROGRAM CONDITIONS & HORSE INFORMATION
Kaimanawa horses for this workshop are usually mustered by the Department of Conservation in late April. If the muster is delayed or cancelled due to weather or other circumstances, the workshop may be postponed or alternative untouched horses may be sourced.
By the time training begins, horses have typically had four weeks to adjust to yards, fencing, feed, and human presence.
All colts and stallions are gelded prior to the workshop. Fillies and mares may be pregnant.
Mature horses may require a custom program due to unpredictable age and training requirements.
All participants must complete adoption through Kaimanawa Heritage Horses and cover associated costs, including purchase, transport, and veterinary care.
Workshop duration may extend to seven days depending on participant numbers.
KELLY’S JOURNEY WITH WILD HORSES
Kelly’s journey with wild horses began in 2012, when she and her sisters tamed their first Kaimanawa horses. What started as curiosity quickly became a lifelong calling.
With every horse, Kelly learned something new. She discovered that no two wild horses are the same, and that true horsemanship is built not on force or shortcuts, but on patience, observation, empathy, and consistency.
Over the following years, Kelly went on to work with hundreds of wild horses across New Zealand, Australia, and North America. From Kaimanawa horses to Brumbies and Mustangs, each experience deepened her understanding of herd psychology, trauma recovery, and authentic communication.
Working with such a high volume of horses accelerated her learning in ways few trainers ever experience. Every success reinforced what worked. Every challenge revealed what needed refinement. Every mistake became a lesson that strengthened her system.
Through thousands of hours in yards, round pens, paddocks, and wilderness settings, Kelly developed a clear, repeatable approach to taming and training that prioritises emotional safety, trust, and long-term wellbeing.
This system is not theoretical. It is the result of lived experience, built horse by horse, year by year, across continents and cultures.
Today, every workshop, retreat, and training program Kelly delivers is grounded in this depth of real-world knowledge. Participants are not just learning techniques, they are stepping into a lineage of experience shaped by hundreds of wild horses who helped refine the method.
WHY THIS PROGRAM MATTERS
At its heart, this program is about one simple, powerful outcome: saving a life.
Kaimanawa horses are managed by the Department of Conservation to maintain sustainable herd numbers within the ranges. When population growth exceeds capacity, horses must be removed. Without rehoming pathways, those numbers would be managed through culling. The opportunity for a wild Kaimanawa to transition into domestic life exists only because people are willing to step forward and take responsibility for them.
Every adoption matters. Every owner who commits to learning, preparing, and doing the work creates space for a horse to live.
This workshop exists to make that commitment possible.
By providing professional initial handling and structured owner education, this program gives each Kaimanawa the strongest possible chance of a successful transition. It ensures that horses are not only removed from the wild, but truly supported into safe, knowledgeable homes where they can thrive.
Rehoming is not just about reducing numbers. It is about changing a horse’s entire future.
Through this program, a Kaimanawa who would otherwise face an uncertain outcome is given time, patience, training, and partnership. They are given the opportunity to become a riding horse, a liberty partner, a family horse, or simply a safe and valued companion.
This program does not just teach skills. It creates second chances.
Every participant is directly contributing to the long-term survival of the herd by choosing to rehome rather than allow numbers to be reduced through lethal management.
When you choose to take part in this workshop, you are not just beginning a training journey.
You are choosing to save a life.
A JOURNEY LIKE NO OTHER
For many people, there comes a time in their horsemanship journey when progress begins to feel slower, confidence starts to waver, and the connection they once felt with their horses seems harder to reach. What once felt exciting and instinctive can begin to feel repetitive, uncertain, or overwhelming. Some riders feel stuck in the same patterns, unsure how to move forward. Others quietly wonder whether they are doing enough, learning enough, or even heading in the right direction.
Working with wild horses has a powerful way of bringing clarity back into that space. It strips horsemanship back to its most honest foundations: presence, patience, consistency, and respect. There are no shortcuts and no quick fixes. Instead, every interaction requires you to listen, observe, and respond with intention. In this environment, communication becomes clearer, timing becomes more refined, and trust becomes something you earn rather than demand. Through this process, many participants rediscover what genuine partnership truly feels like.
For many owners and riders, this experience becomes a turning point. By learning to understand a horse before trying to direct it, participants develop confidence that is grounded in knowledge rather than force. They begin to read subtle changes in posture, energy, and emotion. They learn how to regulate their own mindset and body language, and how this directly influences their horse’s responses. These skills carry forward into every aspect of their horsemanship, long after the workshop has ended.
This program is not simply about gentling a wild horse. It is about reconnecting with yourself as a horseperson and rediscovering the deeper reasons you were drawn to horses in the first place. It is about learning to slow down, to feel before acting, and to build partnerships based on mutual understanding rather than control. Many participants leave feeling more grounded, more confident, and more inspired than they have in years.
For some, this experience reignites a passion that had quietly faded. For others, it reshapes how they approach every horse they work with in the future. Almost all leave with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity.
Ultimately, this program is about discovering a level of connection that makes working with horses feel meaningful, alive, and deeply fulfilling again, both on the ground and under saddle.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
Duration: 25 Days
Maximum Participants: 8
Requirements: An interest in wild horse training and liberty horsemanship
Equipment Required: Rope and web halter, 12ft lead, truck or trailer and a companion horse to take your horse home
Dates: Usually 1 to 25 May
Location: Taupō, New Zealand
Cost: $7000 NZD
Included: All lessons, accommodation, meals, mentoring, and professional photographs of your experience
BOOK NOW
Email: info@kellywilson.nz
