Their family tree is impossible to trace with any accuracy. According to one heroic tale, some of their ancestors, while en route to Australia from Europe at the turn of the 20th century, found themselves fighting for their lives in the cold Atlantic currents after a nautical disaster. It’s thought that those who survived the swim landed near the small coastal town of Lüderitz, from where they walked inland to Garub, some 110km away.

A more romantic theory is that the wife of ‘Baron’ Captain Hans Heinrich von Wolf ordered the doors of their stables at Duwisib Castle opened after her husband died in the Battle of the Somme during the First World War. It’s believed that while she was unable to bring herself to return to Namibia without him, she wanted his thoroughbreds to be free to roam there.

Others have argued that the horses were left behind by German colonial forces as they retreated from advancing South African soldiers in 1915. However, while there were indeed 2000 horses kept at Aus by the Germans, evidence suggests that the Europeans retreated in an orderly fashion, which casts doubts as to why they would have abandoned their useful horses in the process.

Finally, and perhaps most credibly, is the idea that the wild horses are actually descendants of the horses used by South Africa’s forces. Local archives mention that, on 27 March 1915, a German pilot dropped bombs on the camp of the advancing Union soldiers near Garub. Considering that some of his bombs fell “among the 1700 or so grazing cavalry horses”, and the fact the South African forces were in a hurry to pursue the Germans, it seems fair to believe that many of the quadrupeds that had scattered into the desert were left behind, never to be recaptured.

To make matters of lineage more complex, these desert horses have probably received genes from domestic horses in the region, as they possess certain physical characteristics associated with the Hackney and Trakehner breeds that are common in local farms. Although fences now separate neighbouring farms from the wild creatures’ open territory, they weren’t built until the 1960s, so it’s anyone’s guess how much actual interbreeding took place.

The only certainty about the desert horses’ past is that their choice of territory ensured their continued freedom. Until the mid 1980s, access to their stomping grounds – a northern part of the Sperrgebiet – was completely restricted because it was part of the tightly controlled Diamond Area 1. Sperrgebiet actually translates as ‘prohibited area’ in German. Although depleted of its diamonds, the area was still rich in flora, fauna and natural landscapes, facilitating its inclusion into the Namib-Naukluft National Park in 1986. It was this move that first enabled public access to the horses. The lower part of the Sperrgebiet, still rich in diamonds, remains under tight governmental supervision, so don’t stray south!

Although the horses had few people to threaten them, their survival was anything but easy. Their habitat on the Garub plain, an integral part of the Namib Desert, is an incredibly austere environment. Besides being subjected to winds of up to 140km per hour, this valley, which runs between Lüderitz and the diminutive town of Aus, often suffers from a lack of water.

During the 1970s and 80s, Jan Coetzer, a security officer working for Consolidated Diamond Mines in the Sperrgebiet, was concerned for the horses’ survival and made sure the pumping station at Garub Pan, once used to supply steam trains running between Aus and Lüderitz, was kept in order to provide water for the wild herd. This site was eventually modernised by Namib-Naukluft National Park officials when they took over care of this region in 1986. The horses continue to commute between their grazing grounds and this artificial water source.

During droughts, such as in 1991-1992 and in 1998-1999, the horses cover a distance of up to 35km a day to quench their thirst. When the weather is more clement, as has been the case this century, the horses don’t typically roam further than 5km from the waterhole. On average, they come to drink once every 72 hours in winter, when the temperatures fall below 22 degrees Celsius, and every 30 hours in summer, when the temperatures are above 30 degrees Celsius. While this sporadic attendance means a sighting isn’t guaranteed, the waterhole still affords your best opportunity to witness them.

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At present, with some luck on your side, you can count up to 170 wild horses. Over the years the population has varied in number between 50 and 280, with these large swings being explained by changes in climatic conditions: poor rains lead to poor vegetation and malnutrition, the largest cause of mortality. Run-ins with vehicles on the B4 road, which tracks through the park, linking Lüderitz and Aus, are the second-largest cause of deaths. The increased frequency of these road accidents has been tied to the rising numbers of tourists visiting the region, particularly those drawn to the nearby Fish River Canyon. While young foals or old horses, weakened by long marches, lack of food, or injury, are known to have fallen prey to hyenas, deaths by predation are few and far between.

The coexistence with other local species, such as oryx, ostrich and jackals, does not seem to outwardly cause any problems, with animals patiently waiting their turn at the waterhole, and grazing within metres of each other. However, there is some debate in the scientific community about the competition for the limited edible vegetation adversely affecting the indigenous fauna.

The Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism, who are keen to protect the local wildlife and the wild horses, have stepped in on occasion to manipulate things. When the vegetation was deemed insufficient to sustain the horse population in 1992, 104 horses were captured and sold to private owners. While this action was said to protect against overgrazing, and to guarantee a viable breeding nucleus for the wild horses, it caused a huge controversy at the time.

Today, the wild horses live in small harems, comprising two to twelve members, or in bachelor groups, made of up to four stallions. The male-to-female ratio, which is tipped in favour of males, may be the reason behind the small size of the groups.

The breeding stallions are not territorial in a traditional sense, defending their role and vital space more than an actual territory. Surprisingly, the harems and bachelor groups move almost in conjunction, and stay close to one another. Piet, part owner of Klein Aus Vista, a lodge built to accommodate those wishing to observe the wild horses, explained that it’s not unusual for a breeding stallion to accept a bachelor within his ranks. In theory, the latter is not authorised to court the breeding stallion’s mares. However, this ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ is not always honoured!

In order to determine their dominance, the stallions are usually satisfied with a well-established ritual in which each stallion leaves his faeces on top of his competitors’ excrements – the highest in the hierarchy being the one who’s waste is also top of the pile. All this is accompanied with a lot of bodily expressions!
Disputes among stallions, featuring kicking and biting, flare up frequently, but they rarely deteriorate into full-blown fights. Keen observers, the young colts lose no time in imitating their elders. Besides providing valuable lessons, these play fights also help each colt to evaluate their respective strengths and weaknesses with each of their future rivals. This knowledge may then help them avoid potentially lethal clashes later in life.

Apart from these impressive outbursts among males, the wild horses lead a rather peaceful life. On average, they spend about 70 per cent of their time grazing. The main source of their feeding is Eragrostis nindensis and Stipagrostis obtusa, two local plants. Coprophagy is frequent, providing a rich source of nutrients for the young ones. Eating their mothers’ faeces also allows the foals to gain the microorganisms required for the proper functioning of their intestinal system.

When they are not eating, they are usually sleeping, particularly during the day when temperatures reach their maximum. Not bad a life, you may say, except that finding shade is often a difficult task since trees are scarce on the Garub plain. A few valiant acacias survive in the dry beds of temporary rivers, but these locations can quickly become treacherous after a sudden downpour. Instead, most young foals find a trusted friend – perhaps their mother – who will agree to stand in front of them and be their portable parasol.

Witnessing the wild horses and their distinctive behaviour may not be something you ever imagined when thinking of visiting Namibia, but it should be. It’s a unique and captivating experience, one that I for one will not easily forget.