Free-roaming Rooisand horses
Roads, new developments and fences being removed threaten the horses’ safety. Help is needed. By
small and dedicated team of seven citizens, at 7am they pulled Bella to safety. The vet came to check her, and gave her the all clear, but thereafter she disappeared. A drone has been sent up, eyes everywhere and a reward is out but so far there are no obvious signs that she has died, such as raptors circling. The team is still looking for her. “Often when one of these horses get injured, they take themselves off to heal. If she has not passed, she will reappear when she is ready.”
Last month Bolt, a young stallion who had been seen grazing safely at the edge of the estuary at sundown, roamed up to the R43 with his older brother Slate, to the same area where the fencing is still down. Bolt wandered into the road where no lighting has been erected and was hit and killed.
Volunteers say all they can do is raise awareness – throughout the country if needs be. There’s a real sense of urgency to move the six remaining wild Fisherhaven horses to safety and give them a life of freedom.
The herd fulfils an ecological function that was once fulfilled
by locally extinct herbivores. Like their ancient predecessors, their large bodies keep the water channels open
Significance of the Overberg horses
For more than 100 years these wild horses have roamed and survived in the wetlands of the Bot River Estuary. For decades they’ve been admired by eminent environmental scientists, and are widely regarded as a national treasure. They have also roamed the Bot-kleinmond estuary and wetland between Hermanus and Sir Lowry’s Pass for well over a century.
They have been classified as the fifth largest herd in the world never to have been given food or water.
Ecologists say that the herd fulfils an ecological function that was once fulfilled by locally extinct herbivores. Like their ancient predecessors, their large bodies keep the water channels open and they should largely remain free, roaming in the wetland-estuary.
There are a few theories about their origins. Some suggest they are survivors of the Birkenhead, a British troopship that foundered off Danger Point in 1852 (although this has been largely discounted).
Others think they descend from horses brought in by the British for combat use during the Anglo-boer War. In the period from 1899 to 1902 the British empire shipped 360,000 horses to South Africa. Equally, they could be from Boer horses hidden in the area during the same war.
Or they could descend from horses abandoned in the marshes by a local farmer when mechanisation rendered draught animals obsolete at the beginning of the 20th century.
The late Professor Frans van der Merwe who studied them for four decades believed they were descended from the Boland waperd, or wagon horse. On occasion, new genes have been brought into the herd.
Facts about the wild horses
They are the only horses in South Africa known to survive and thrive in the wetlands, which provide them with food and water sources. They are known for their unique and hardy nature, adapted to the coastal environment.
Until now, their population has barely fluctuated over the past 30 years. When the herd numbers increase, stallions are born, and when they decrease, mares are born.
They are sometimes seen grazing in the shallow water, pushing their muzzle down under the surface to ingest mouthfuls of water grass. They also eat the edible shrubs and grasses on the sides and in the reed beds.
During the winter months, the horses grow a thicker fur that shields them against the frigid breeze and icy rain. Their hooves are saucer-shaped and manage the soft, wet underfoot conditions surprisingly well.
Latest update
In response to a letter from the volunteers to the Overstrand District Engineers Office, the issue of fencing for the area has been noted.
In the meantime “wild horses crossing” warning signs will be installed on the approaches to the affected sections of the R43 and R44.