BACKGROUND OF THE FERAL
HORSES IN THE NAMIB
Some 80 years ago the German Schutz- truppe and a certain Baron von Wolff, occasionally allowed their horses to run into the Namib Desert. Over the years a herd of different breeds survived in this hostile terrain and adapted to desert conditions. Due to very poor vegetation, 90% of their time was spent on grazing, walking to the watering hole and resting. | C |
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There is only one waterhole in an area of ± 40 000 hectares. As there is also virtually no shade,
these horses found no shelter from the extremely high temperatures at daytime, and the below
zero temperatures at night.
A number of these horses found their way to commercial farms and others were sold to farmers
to ensure their survival. Some of these, and their offspring, now live on a farm in the Khomas
Hochland - the central highlands of Namibia - and have become reliable, sturdy mounts after
years of adapting to farming conditions. (Health conditions initially posed a huge problem on the
farms as the desert is a sterile, low vegetation ecosystem, whereas the commercial farming areas
are infested with parasites, plagues and insects).
| C | This same ranch today boasts a variety of breeds. Starting off with only 6 horses, they now have 80! These are all different breeds from Arabs, Hanoverians, Trakehners, Lippizaners, Haflingers and ranch horses of various cross-breeds - even some descendants of the Namib desert feral horses. On average, they are middle-sized, swift and sure-footed as they were all raised on rough terrain in the bush. |
For the past five years, horse riding safaris across the Namib desert have been offered from
this ranch. During this short time - but thousands of kilometres on horse-back - these safaris
are now listed in the U.S.A. magazine Outside, as one of the "Top Ten Best Trips in Africa".
Considering that the selection was made by choosing the 50 best trips, world wide (10 from
each Continent), ending up amongst the "ten best" in Africa reflects these safaris' true value.
Music: Wild Thing
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