The Boerperd is a modern South African

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

riding horse A riding horse or a saddle horse is a horse used by mounted horse riders for recreation or transportation. It is unclear exactly when horses were first ridden because early domestication did not create noticeable physical changes in the hors ...

. It is a re-creation of the traditional Cape Horse or old-type Boer Horse, which is now extinct.

History

The origins of the Cape Horse go back to horses imported from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

to southern Africa by the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

in 1653; it is likely that these were of

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

type, but some may been of

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

origin, as Mongolian horses had earlier been introduced to Java. A few Persian Arab

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s were later added to this stock when a ship sailing from Java to Persia ran aground on the South African coast. Some use was made from about 1820 of imported stallions of both Arab and

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

stock, and then – in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – there were various additions of Cleveland Bay, Friesian, Hackney,

Norfolk Trotter The Norfolk Trotter is a historical horse breed once native to East Anglia and Norfolk, England. It was said to be "a large-sized trotting harness horse originating in and around Norfolk". In 1542, King Henry VIII required the wealthy to keep a ...

and

Oldenburger The Oldenburg or Oldenburger is a warmblood horse from the north-western corner of Lower Saxony, what was formerly the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. The breed was built on a mare base of all-purpose farm and carriage horses, today called the Alt-O ...

blood; the Friesian could not legally be shipped from the Netherlands, so instead were shipped from

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

as "Flemish" or . 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 i ...

between 1880 and 1902, many old-type Boer horses were killed: some died in the fighting, while others were shot on Boer farms. By the end of the wars, numbers were greatly reduced and conservation efforts began. From 1905 until about 1920 the horses could be registered with the horse-breeders' association of

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. A

breeders' association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the Kaapse Boerperd Breeders' Society of South Africa, was formed in 1948. A separate association, the Boerperd Society of South Africa, formed in 1973. It became the Historiese Boerperd Breeders Society in 1977, and SA Boerperd in 1998. The Historiese Boerperd was officially recognised by the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in 1996. Both associations are members of the SA Stud Book Association. Many Cape Horses were exported to India in the nineteenth century. The first horses to be imported into Australia were of this breed, which thus contributed to the evolution of the Australian Waler. The extinct Basuto Pony,

Calvinia Calvinia is a regional town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa named after the French people, French religious reformer Jean Calvin. The town falls under the Hantam Local Municipality which forms part of the Namakwa District Municipalit ...

, Cape Harness and Namaqua Pony all derived from the same original stock, as does the Nooitgedachter.

Use

The Boerperd is used as a general

and in agriculture; it is suitable for competitive

endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rar ...

References

Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in South Africa Afrikaans words and phrases {{bots, deny=Citation bot