How it began
There were no native horses in southern Africa. The first were brought to the Cape from Java by the Dutch East India Company in 1653, and were probably of Arab or Barb type. From about 1820 many European breeds were imported and crossed with the local Cape stock to make it larger. The Basotho pony descends from Cape horses that escaped that crossbreeding. Many were taken into what was then Basutoland in the 1820s, in the time of King Moshoeshoe I, and the mountain country shaped them into a distinct type.
How it works
The Basotho pony is a small, sturdy horse standing no more than 147 centimeters at the withers, usually gray or a dark color. It has good endurance, tolerates extreme temperatures, and can live on poor pasture. Its hooves are thick-walled and hard enough to go without shoes. Besides walk, trot and gallop it has two extra gaits, one of them a smooth stepped rack known in South Africa as the trippel.
How it spread
The Basotho took to the horse as their main way of traveling through Lesotho, a country that lies entirely above 1,400 meters. The breed is associated with South Africa by origin but with Lesotho by use, and its hardiness on poor grazing and rough ground suited the harsh mountain terrain.
Where it stands today
The original breed was close to extinction by the early 20th century. An attempt to add Highland Pony blood in 1917 failed, and a conservation project in the 1970s crossed surviving animals with Connemara ponies. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization listed the breed as extinct in 2007, though some authorities describe it as close to extinction.
