 In 1994 , a working party was established to look at the management of the Kaimanawa herd . They aimed to decide which organization was in charge of long term management , to ensure that the treatment of horses is humane , to preserve and control the best attributes of the herds , and to eliminate the impacts of the herds on other conservation priorities . Goals included ensuring the welfare of the horses , protecting natural ecosystems and features that the Kaimanawa herd may impact and keeping the herd at a sustainable level . Ecological objectives included ensuring that Kaimanawa horse does not adversely affect endangered , rare and biogeographically significant plants ; ensuring that the herd does not further degrade the ecosystems in which it lives ; and preventing the herd from spreading into the Kaimanawa Forest Park and the Tongariro National Park . Herd objectives included ensuring that the public was safe from roaming horses , while still allowing and improving public access to the herd and ensuring humane treatment of the horses ; reducing conflict between the herd and other ecological values and land uses ; and ensuring that the herd is contained to a population that is tolerated by the ecosystems in which they live while still maintaining a minimum effective population that is in general free ranging . 
