Changes for horse owners in Ōpōtiki town
At the 21 December 2021 council meeting, a number of changes were made to Ōpōtiki district bylaws that will impact horse owners who bring their horses into the town area.
Over the past few months, Council has been debating the issue and working alongside responsible horse owners to find a solution.
Ōpōtiki District Councillor, David Moore, said that it came down to balancing the culture of horses being in the township against the health and safety issues that roaming horses cause.
“For many people here in town, having a horse to get around and ride occasionally is part of living here – it is practical and social and for many people it is part of our very own Ōpōtiki-ness. I think councillors agreed that this process really isn’t an attack on horse owners at all.
“But we have been aware for some time now that things are changing – Ōpōtiki is busier than it has ever been with more traffic and more industry and more housing and people returning home.
“On top of that, there is also less grazing than there used to be.
“While most motorists take it easy around town and give horses plenty of room, there is an ever-growing risk of something going wrong and there being a major accident,” Councillor Moore said.
Councillors have debated the matter over previous meetings and discussed the feedback from horse owners in town offering solutions for a way to allow horses and the rest of the town to safely co-exist. They agreed to make several changes to the bylaw so that ‘known horses’ with secure grazing can stay in the town area.
The bylaw states that while horses are permitted in the town centre, horse owners must provide council with evidence that their horses will be kept securely in a fenced paddock. Council will keep a register of horses and will be able to check that the horses in secure paddocks in the township are identified in the register. Horses not in the register are not permitted in the town area and may be impounded.
Stallions continue to be banned from the township unless desexed (geldings).
“These changes are a bit of a middle-ground to see if we can make this work – keep people safe and allow responsible horse owners to enjoy having horses in town.
“With even more horse trails built in and around the town areas, I think we’ll also have a lot of visiting horses and riders who want to make the most of Ōpōtiki being such a horse-friendly town.
“If we can work together to make this work, I think we’ll have struck a good balance so people can enjoy horses in Ōpōtiki safely,” Councillor Moore said.