"Horses for Courses" - African Horse Safaris - written by Steven Rufus who operates our Songimvelo Wilderness Safari.

A flash of brown, hounds giving voice, the scarlet's are on the move and away we go! Through the Irish countryside in pursuit of the Meath fox hounds. What a rush, only comparable to sitting on a well trained safari horse in front of one of Africa's designated Big Five - Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Lion and Leopard.

At the check I then realize that most of my clients visiting Africa for their first horse safari must have the same anxiety that I had just experienced prior to climbing on my loaned mount to join the Meath, namely:

• 1) What sort of horse will I be given?
• 2) Will I be fit enough?
• 3) Will I be able to handle the horse?
• 4) What type of horse will it be?
• 5) What sort of equipment will it be wearing?

My name is Steven Rufus and with my wife Lucy we own and operate South Africa Horseback Safaris based on the borders of Swaziland in SA, a company designed for clients to take their holiday on horseback moving with the Big Game in their own terrain. As an operator and guide I will try to prepare you for the holiday of a life time answering some of the questions that appear above and giving you an insight in to what you can expect, starting with the most important participant of that week -

The African Safari Horse

There are many horse safari companies in Africa, and each location will have selected their horses to their own requirements and availability of breed. As an ex eventer I have always maintained that the type of horses I would like to use for my company should be the same quality as an event horse, and the main qualities should be:

• 1) Temperament and ride ability- a horse that wants to work with other horses, can adapt to many different riders and be settled enough to stand in front of Big Game.
• 2) Soundness / Conformation - as with any working animal these two go hand in hand. In particular I am looking for a good length of rein, short back and good paces
• 3) Durability - ability to endure all types of terrain and temperatures
• 4) Good Feet - as with the old saying "no foot no horse"
• 5) Smart Looking - you have to know that the client wants to ride the horse
• 6) Intelligent - possibly the most important attribute, this horse needs to be able to look after himself and to deal with any situations that he might find himself in

As a horse person you would have just read that list and said "ok, buts that what I look for as well in my own horse". What gives that safari horse the very special 'edge' that allows him to take a charge from a moving grey house (more commonly known as an elephant) or labour in the midday heat over rocky terrain?

This very special horse would be the African Boerperd Breed (Boerperd in Afrikaans literally means Farm Horse). This breed has evolved and developed to increase its hardiness to survive in the harsh environment of the African Bush, in addition it has the ability to be trained to subdue its natural instinct to adapt to circumstances and quite literally live to tell the tale.

To understand this breed we have to go back in time and realize that Africa has no indigenous horses to its name. The closest relative on this continent in the Equus line is the Zebra, of which there are three types Equus Zebra - Mountain Zebra, Equus Burchell and Equus Quagga.

The first horses to Africa came with the Dutch Traders who had decided to colonize the Cape Point for their ships to port. Jan van Riebeeck was Commander for the Dutch East India Trading Company and delivered the first horses in 1653....both of which feel prey to lion shortly after. It was not until 2nd March 1660 when ships arrived with more horses, it is thought that they numbered 48 in total and were of Arab stock, that horses arrived in Africa for good.

The colonizers recognized the need to have these animals so that the first settlers could move in to the interior of the country to locate their areas for farms and vineyards, they were also useful to 'control' the indigenous population from stealing cattle and pursuit of criminals. With a point to Africa now open there were arrivals from other countries over the centuries and with them they bought their respective breeds to add to the pot, namely these were: Hackney's, Throughbreds and Cleveland Bays from British Isles Persheron's from France Frieshan's from Holland American Saddlers from USA Andulusians from Portugal Plus a number of other breeds from Germany, Spain and South America.

From this gene pool the ideal working horse for Africa was created, utilized for riding, carriage and the cavalry. This horse was originally known as the Cape Horse and with the changing needs of the colonizers this evolved through to the Boerperd.

The Boerperd had to survive in the open bush veldt, eating what it could find, working all day in the heat, surviving the numerous diseases Africa could throw at these immigrants and escaping predators who must have been delighted at this influx of fresh food. Via natural selection only the strongest, most durable of these horses survived developing a character and intelligence that is unique even in today's world.

Having made it to this point and overcome the natural hazards these horses then had to go through the Anglo - Boer War in which over half a million were sacrificed on the battlefields and behind the scenes supporting the war effort for both sides. Due to the decreasing numbers there was a need to bring more horses in and during this time there was a great infusion of fresh blood from the British. Again Africa took its toll and after appalling losses the British Army were forced to look at the smallish Dutch horses that seemed to be able to cope with conditions and whisk the Boer's away through the bush to apparent safety. The breeding that occurred during these years were to form the basis of the horse that we select today for the modern horse safaris. Eventually a Boerperd Breeders Society was formed shortly after World War II, but it faced a difficult task in trying to save for posterity the Boerperd as its existed in the 1800's. Some experts consider that the modern Boerped, as registered by the society, shows a resemblance to the American saddle horse which made its appearance in SA in the 1930's.

The vast majority of horses that we use for our company would have at least 50% Boerperd blood in them. A huge advantage of this is that the pure Boerperd breed yields horses between 14.2 and 15.3 in height, which is ideal to navigate the bush which would not suit a larger frame. Our horses are mixed with Arab, Hanoverian, Quarterhorse, TB and Shire, for these different attributes, but all retain the unique features of the Boerperd. This allows us to supply different types of horses for all types of riders from advanced to a more confident novice and also ensure that we can match personalities to riders to ensure that they have the best week on holiday with their mounts.

This is probably most of the most important job of the operators, to ensure that the guests has the exact horse that they would want to ride in the terrain and in front of the game, everyone has to be able to trust their horse and yet at the same time have fun knowing that this special Boerperd breed will be looking after them, standing rock steady in 10 metres from Rhino, giving them a life changing experience and truly the holiday of a lifetime.

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