The round-up, on the Central Plateau east of the Desert Rd, took place in perfect conditions yesterday.
It involved 50 Department of Conservation staff and volunteers and four helicopters.
In total 209 horses were captured, with homes found for all but 43. This is the best rehoming rate in 10 years of musters.
But vet Nigel Coddington, who checked all the horses as they came in, said the overall condition of this year's group was not as good as in past years.
"It didn't surprise me as we've had two big droughts up here," he told Radio New Zealand.
However, he said they were still in better shape than horses rounded up in the first muster, back in 1997.
"There were some terrible sights then."
Mr Coddington said everyone wanted to see the horses stay on the plateau, but they wanted the herd to be healthy.
A head count carried out in April revealed a total of 594 horses.
The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Advisory Group has recommended it be reduced to 300 over the next two years to keep the population healthy and prevent damage to threatened plant species.
The annual cull is also a pricey exercise, with this year's operation estimated to cost $120,000. Reducing the size of the herd could mean that a cull would only be needed every second year.
The last of the animals would be taken by trucks today to either the abattoir near Turangi, or paddocks around the North Island where they will be drenched and collected by their new owners who paid $200 for them.
Kaimanawa Wild Horse Preservation Society vice-president Shirley Blank said despite never being handled or fenced in before, the horses did not take long to break in.
"You get out what you put in. There's no short-cuts, all it is is tender loving care and good horsemanship."
The Kaimanawa breed is descended from domestic horses that were released in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
