Nooitgedachter
# Nooitgedachter

The Nooitgedachter is a South African breed of riding $horse.^{:59}$ It is the result of a selective breeding programme established in 1952 to preserve the Basutho Pony of Lesotho. It was later decided to give it a different name; it was at first called the Nooitgedacht Pony, named for the Proefplaas Nooitgedacht, the research station near Ermelo in Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) where it was bred; it was later called the Nooitgedacht Horse until the present name was $chosen.^{:490}$ It is a rare breed, with only about 400 purebreds in existence.

## History

The Nooitgedachter was created in the mid-twentieth century by the Department of Agriculture of the Union of South Africa, which established a programme of selective breeding at the Proefplaas Nooitgedacht, a research station near Ermelo in Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga). The project was initially called the Basutho Pony Project, and had two aims: to preserve the Basutho Pony of Lesotho, which had been in decline since the time of the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902; and to create a breed of hardy riding horse for South $Africa.^{:59}$ The name was later changed, first to Nooitgedacht Pony, then to Nooitgedacht Horse, and finally to $Nooitgedachter.^{:60}$ Although the Afrikaans word nooitgedacht means roughly "never imagined", this is not the origin of the name of the breed, which derives from that of the research $station.^{:490}$

## Characteristics

The Nooitgedachter was bred to be a sturdy and compact riding horse capable of carrying a heavy adult rider over difficult terrain for extended periods, with good stamina, a good temperament, and hooves so strong that it does not normally need to be $shod.^{:60}$ Height at the withers ranges from 138 to 163 cm (13.2 to 16.0 hands).

In the early years of the breeding programme grey – in all its shades – was the preferred coat $colour.^{:60}$ Under the 2015 breed standard, the horses may be of any solid colour; patterned coats – such as spotted, skewbald or piebald – are disallowed, as are blue eyes and de-pigmented skin.

The horses commonly have five gaits. In addition to the usual walk, trot and canter they may also have an ambling gait, known as strykstap, and a rack, which in South Africa is called "triple".

## Uses

The Nooitgedachter is a strong and hardy riding horse, well adapted to the environmental conditions of South Africa, and suitable for use as a working horse in the management of farm $livestock.^{:59}$

