The Wild Horses of Namibia

After reading a lot about the mustangs in America, I thought I would write about the wild horses of Namibia.

In the arid desert and semi-desert region of Namibia there is a herd of wild horses. They have been spotted in the area since the 1920's and have adapted quite well to the conditions.

How they got there is a cause for speculation - there are three main arguments:
1.

One plausible theory relates to the German occupation of South West Africa a large number of horses were needed for the cavalry and an eccentric German nobleman, Baron Hans-Heinrich von Wolf, set up a horse breeding station at his outlandish castle, Duwisib, on the edge of the desert. Once the Baron went off to the first world war in Europe nobody looked after the stable of more than 300 horses and after his death herds of them ran wild, roaming the veld around Duwisib until 1950. It is possible that some of them wandered the 150 kilometres south- westward to the water at Garub.

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2.

Some theories point to a ship with a cargo of horses and other domestic animals which was wrecked on the Skeleton Coast in the late 19th century, about 25 km south of the Orange River mouth

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3.

In the morning of 27 March the indefatigable pilot officer Fiedler flew to Garub and caused great bewilderment by successfully dropping bombs onto the enemy camp and among about 1700 grazing cavalry horses” (Hans von Oelhafen: Der Feldzug in Südwest 1914/15, Berlin 1923, page 117

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They have adapted to conditions, and sometimes go as long as 72 hours without drinking. They will even eat their own dung in order to obtain vital nutrients!

The horses in the Namib has been breeding for 90 years and can now rightly be regarded as the "Namib" breed.

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Here is an interesting sidebar. The horse skeletons of Swakopmund (Namibia):

For a long time here have been a several versions about masses of horse bones in the dunes a few kilometres outside of coastal town Swakopmund. Only a limited number of people, usually 4x4 drivers or dune quad bikers have come across the long rows of white horse skulls and bones in the dune valleys about 4 km to the south of the Swakop river. Many of them have wondered about the origin and the story surrounding them. The most mysterious fact is that skulls have a bullet hole in the forehead.
The most popular theory or version that has been common for a long time that the horses were used by German Schutztruppe during World War 1 and that they died of unknown horse decease. Other versions include opinions that the horses died of food poisoning or lack of food/water. But why every skull has the bullet hole? Were they German Schutztruppe horses or horses of South African Occupation Forces? Why so many died or were shot?
The answer has been finally found in the military archives in South Africa.
In a telegram sent on 15 May 1916 from the Ministry of Defence (Johannesburg) to the House of Parliament (Pretoria) the following information was given:
Sixteen hundred and ninety five (1695) horses and nine hundred and forty four (944) mules were destroyed near Swakopmund in November / December 1915 on account of a glanders (horse decease) outbreak which occurred amongst South African Union Defence Force animals that had been moved down to the coast in October. Immediately all possible steps were taken to deal with the glanders and to eradicate the disease. On receiving of notification of the glanders outbreak in Namibia a veterinary officer with a supply of mallein (a fluid used in the diagnosis of glanders, when injected into an animal infected with glanders mallein causes a sharp rise of temperature) was dispatched from Cape Town on SS ''British Prince''.
Unfortunately the ship was wrecked on its way and the officer's arrival in Swakopmund was delayed by 10 days. Animals showing critical symptoms were immediately destroyed by the veterinary officer.
The remainder was tested with mallein and those that reacted positively were also destroyed to prevent the spreading of infection.

Horse Skeletons of Swakopmund

reply to post by deltaalphanovember

Amazing how adaptable horses are.
For them to survive and settle in Namibia is awesome.

Perhaps the horse disease story has some truth, but around a decade earlier the Germans and native Herero people
had completed a devastating war. It ended with the near complete genocide of the Hereros in death camps that foreshadowed the holocaust.
I think horses were shot on both sides for food, in the vast, harsh landscape.
The shooting of starving horses for meat in the cat-and-mouse war is recorded.
Ultimately it's hard to say for sure.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember

Just spoke to some people who lived in Namibia recently, and I'm glad to say they know of the horses, which are still wild and free.