The Basuto is a

pony A pony is a type of small horse (''Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared t ...

breed from

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Characteristics

The Basuto is considered a small

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

, since it possesses horse-like characteristics, such as an exceptionally long stride. Basutos have rather heavy heads, long necks and long, straight backs, straight shoulders, and muscular, sloping croups. They have very tough legs and sound, very hard hooves. They can be up to 14.2

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi- fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on ea ...

high (56.8 inches or ~142 cm), but rarely taller. Basutos can be

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed ...

or black, and have white markings. They are usually

sure-footed Sure-footedness is the ability, especially when hiking or mountain climbing, to negotiate difficult or rough terrain safely. Such situations place demands on a person's coordination and reserves of strength as well as requiring sufficient apprecia ...

, fast, fearless and are known for their stamina.

History

The first horses arrived in

in 1653, when four horses were introduced to the Cape area by the

Dutch East India Trading Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...

. The exact breed of these horses is unknown, but they may have been

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

, Persian or similar to the

Java Pony The Java pony is a breed of pony developed on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is thought to have descended from wild forebears of Mongolian Wild Horse ancestry. It is larger and stronger than the Timor pony, with more Arabian breed inf ...

. They were upgraded later with Arabian and Persian blood.Summerhayes, R.S., The Observer's Book of Horses & Ponies, Frederick Warne & Co., Great Britain, 1948 These original imported horses became the founders of the Cape Horse, which became extremely popular and especially gained an admirable reputation during the

Boer Wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...

. The Cape Horse and the Basuto probably were originally the same

; with continual infusions of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

and

blood the Cape Horse became a larger, better-quality animal, and the Basuto remained smaller and stockier.

(formerly known as Basutoland) acquired Cape Horses as spoils of war between the

Zulus Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...

and the settlers. As a result of harsh conditions and interbreeding with local ponies, the Cape Horse lost much of its height and nobility, and the Basuto pony largely replaced it. Due to the rocky and hilly terrain the Basuto ponies were continually ridden over (often at great speeds), they developed into tough, sure-footed animals with great stamina and courage. These qualities, however, were nearly the undoing of the breed. The Basuto became so popular that thousands were exported, and many of the best horses were killed in action during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

at the end of the 19th century. There is now a concerted effort to re-establish the Basuto breed.

Uses

Basotho are used for

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

, hacking,

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain ...

or polo. In 2001, two Basuto ponies carried the French poet

Laurence Bougault Laurence Bougault (25 August 1970 in Toulouse – died 26 October 2018 in Rennes), was a French writer and academic. She was also well known as a long-distance adventurer on horseback. Biography Bougault studied literature in Lyon in preparatio ...

on a trek alone from

, through

, and northward to

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

. In all, her trip covered a distance of 3,300 kilometers (2,100 mi) in eight months and became the subject of her book in French, ''Sous l’œil des chevaux d’Afrique (Under the eyes of African horses)'', 2003.

References

External links

The Basuto Pony
{{Equine, state=collapsed Horse breeds originating in South Africa Horse breeds Mammals of Lesotho Mammals of South Africa Horse breeds originating in Lesotho

Characteristics

History

Uses

See also

References

External links