It also depends on the bonds between individuals.” I discovered that, unless stressed, the groups generally interact peacefully. “It’s not black and white,” she told me, “it varies from situation to situation, and between groups. Unlike some of the pecking orders described in other wild horse populations, there is no set norm among the Namib horses. We discussed dominance hierarchies, something that has long been taken as fact, but Telané has different ideas. It involves fillies dispersing from their natal groups, groups splitting and mares moving between stallions. Over the next few journeys, I would begin to understand that there is a natural flux among the Namib breeding groups, like streams joining a river and diverging at a later point to converge again. The Mongolian Wild Horse or Przewalski’s Horse, the only population never domesticated, a striking contrast to the taller, leaner Namib Horse below which returned to its wild ways a little over 100 years ago. Considered extinct at the end of the twentieth century, the small breeding herd that survived in captivity has since been reintroduced into its natural environment. The only horse population that was never domesticated, and still exists in its true genetic form, is Przewalski’s Horse or the Mongolian Wild Horse. Countries were explored, wars were fought, agriculture and industry progressed at the expense of the horse’s freedom. It was on the horse’s back that civilisation advanced. Horses were domesticated on the Eurasian steppes 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, and have been in service to humankind ever since. It certainly was an eye-opener.Īll the wild horses in the world, with the exception of a single population, originate from domestic stock. I was about to receive my introduction to the lives of wild horses, living as they did before they were domesticated.
We rarely see breeding groups of stallions, mares, fillies, colts and foals interact, or groups of bachelor stallions and what Telané refers to as ‘outsider’ stallions that live on the fringes. Most people are unaware of the natural behaviour of horses.
“There’s been a lot going on in the groups today,” she muttered as she scribbled. Telané had been jotting down the morning’s activities. ©Judy and Scott HurdĮventually, the sun rose and the horses left the waterhole to be replaced with ostriches and gemsbok. I soaked it up knowing that the flip face of reality is always hovering somewhere close by. I forgot about the icy wind while I absorbed this view of unfettered freedom. As the first groups moved off and disappeared into the hills, others arrived, and so it went for a while. In the distance, the next group began to appear like mirages. They quickened their pace and began to gallop as they neared the water where they soon sated their thirst. It is no wonder that wild horses all over the world elicit responses of awe – the horses exude a spirit of freedom only discernible in those creatures living on the wild expanses of the Earth. When we arrived at the Garub waterhole in the pale morning light, a family group of horses was making its way to the waterhole, the golden sun anointing their manes and the dust exploding under their hooves. Recording births and deaths, she is able to identify every horse and knows the population intimately. Telané humbly avoids the limelight, but she is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person on Namib horses and is a central figure of the Namibia Wild Horses Foundation. ©Judy and Scott Hurd With the exception of one population, all wild horses originate from domestic stock Having lived in the Namib for more than a century, the resilience and ability to adapt that ensured the survival of Equidae over aeons means these horses have made a home for themselves in one of the most unlikely places on earth.
I was going to visit the wild horses of the Namib Desert with Dr Telané Greyling, who has studied this particular population for over twenty years. A layer of ice clung to the windscreen as we climbed into the vehicle at Klein Aus Vista, but it couldn’t dampen my spirits. The searing desert temperatures had traded places with a blast from the South Pole.