In Botswana’s south-western Okavango Delta, safari horses lead a different life to the average riding horse. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
I once had a horse that refused to walk over zebra crossings; now I know horses that need to gallop alongside actual zebras – which still strikes me as slightly surreal.
Back in England, we spend years desensitising horses to plastic bags, fillers, traffic and the occasional rogue pheasant. In Botswana’s Okavango Delta, safari horses are learning something entirely different. They must learn to move calmly through one of the most wildlife rich and unpredictable landscapes on earth.
Safari horses learn to move alongside other animals on the Okavango Delta, such as wildebeest. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
Elephants are a common sight for safari horses on the Okavango Delta. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
“The best safari horses are
often the most thoughtful…”
At Okavango Horse Safaris in Botswana’s south-western Okavango Delta, becoming a safari horse is not simply about bravery – it is about trust, instinct, patience and partnership. Horses learn to navigate deep water channels, sleep beneath African skies, stand quietly while elephants pass nearby and, eventually, canter across floodplains alongside zebra and wildebeest.
And according to owner Alex Smith, not every horse is suited to it. “People often imagine safari horses as fearless,” she explains. “But actually, the best safari horses are often the most thoughtful. You want a horse that listens, learns from the herd and trusts itself and its rider.”
The training begins slowly. Young horses are first introduced to the environment from the safety of the herd whilst grazing near camp. After that they accompany older, experienced safari horses who effectively become their teachers on training rides, before progressing to becoming guest horses at their own pace. This can take months or years depending on the horse.
The Okavango itself also plays a huge role in shaping them. Unlike arena horses working within fences, safari horses must constantly assess changing terrain, scents, sounds and wildlife movement.
“The older horses are incredibly important in this process,” says Alex. “The young ones take confidence from them and if the rest of the ride stays calm, they learn that they can stay calm too.”
One of the first major lessons is water. In the Delta, horses regularly cross floodplains and channels, sometimes swimming between islands depending on seasonal water level, and for a young horse this can feel strange at first.
Zebra are often one of the earliest introductions, not because they are dangerous but because they are visually confusing to horses. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
Young safari horses learn not only to tolerate zebra, but eventually to move among them quietly and without tension. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
Then comes wildlife. Zebra are often one of the earliest introductions, not because they are dangerous but because they are visually confusing to horses. Their movement, scent and behaviour are unfamiliar and highly stimulating. Young safari horses learn not only to tolerate them, but eventually to move among them quietly and without tension.
Later come giraffe, wildebeest, buffalo and elephant.
Lion are treated very differently.
Okavango Horse Safaris operates out of a 90,000-hectare unfenced private concession in the southwest of the Okavango Delta. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
“You cannot force a horse
through this environment.”
“Horses know when lion are around long before we do,” Alex says. “You can feel it go through the ride. They smell them and the experienced horses teach the younger ones how to react without panicking.”
This relationship between horse and herd becomes especially important on Okavango Horse Safaris’ new fly camp experience, launched this season in a quieter and more remote corner of the concession. Here, guests ride deeper into the Delta before spending two nights under canvas surrounded by wilderness.
Safari horses become familiar with a wide range of animals, including African wild dogs. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
Safari horses canter past Red Lechwe antelope. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
CAMP LIFE
For the horses, camp life itself is another essential part of training.
They hear hyena calls, lions in the distance, shifting wildlife around camp and the unfamiliar sounds of canvas moving in the wind. They learn patience and spatial awareness around both people and horses.
“It is not just about riding,” Alex explains. “A safari horse has to learn how to live out here – and life out here is unlike almost anywhere else in the equestrian world”
Days can involve weaving through palm islands, splashing through shallow channels, standing silently while a breeding herd of elephant crosses ahead, or cantering through open floodplains as red lechwe antelope scatter across the water. Riders might finish the day arriving at camp at sunset while horses settle nearby beneath huge African skies.
Okavango Delta is home to many different species, including the Greater Kudu antelope. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
The result is a horse that becomes extraordinarily attuned to both its environment and its rider.
Perhaps surprisingly, many safari horses become calmer and more emotionally balanced through the work. There is very little artificial pressure – no loudspeaker systems and no indoor arenas and no endless circles. Instead, horses spend much of their lives moving naturally through open landscapes and living in a herd structure that encourages confidence and communication.
“You cannot force a horse through this environment,” says Alex. “The relationship has to come first. If they trust you, they will try incredibly hard for you.”
For riders arriving from the UK, where horses often spook at road markings, wheelie bins or fluttering signs, watching a safari horse quietly approach a herd of zebra or remain steady as elephant move through nearby bush can feel almost unbelievable.
Safari horses become accustomed to camp life and develop trust in the herd and humans around them. Image supplied by Okavango Horse Safaris.
“If they trust you, they will
try incredibly hard for you.”
But perhaps that is the point. These horses are not fearless machines. They are prey animals learning, adapting and building trust within one of the wildest ecosystems left on earth. Every calm crossing, every quiet approach to wildlife and every night spent beneath African skies is earned slowly through experience, patience and the reassurance of the herd around them.
And somewhere out in the Okavango, a young safari horse is standing quietly beneath the stars, thinking on the lessons of the day and learning that courage is not about fearlessness at all, but trust. EQ
Find out more about Okavango Horse Safaris here.
Equestrian Life does not condone riding without a helmet.
Related articles
It all began with a bay quarter horse named Betsy – progressing to a journey around Mongolia, filming a documentary, the writing of a book and the development of the Horse Boy Method.
Carol Sharpe fell in love with the rugged beauty of the Indonesian island of Sumba years ago and made it her mission to incorporate the local horses into the resort experience at Nihi Sumba.