Producing Cowboy-Style Workhorses Naturally

Pierre and Carine Kleinhans breed horses capable of patrolling large areas of land with minimal inputs, much like the animals used by cowboys in the American Wild West. The couple spoke to Glenneis Kriel on their farm near Touws River in the Western Cape about their operation.

- Glenneis Kriel

The past few years have seen a slump in South Africa’s horse market due to drought conditions in many parts of the country. This has pushed up feeding costs, in turn driving down demand and resulting in many horses, even top stud animals, selling at slaughter prices.

However, Pierre and Carine Kleinhans, owners of a horse-breeding operation on the farm Draaiberg, near Touws River in the Western Cape, saw the situation as an opportunity to rethink their business strategy.

“We love our horses and realised it was only a matter of time before the market recovered. It also made sense to hold onto the genetic material, rather than rebuilding stock from scratch once conditions normalised,” says Pierre.

In an effort to reduce production costs, they skipped the breeding season twice during the drought to maintain their herd size at about 17 mares and one stallion. The couple’s operation, Buckaroo Saloon, breeds rugged, cowboy-style workhorses.

“The demand for workhorses is likely to increase, due to the escalation in fuel prices, making it cheaper to patrol farms on horseback,” says Pierre. “Horses have the added advantage of being able to cross areas inaccessible to vehicles.”

BREEDING STRATEGY

The Kleinhanses’ breeding philosophy is rooted in the notion of the relationship between cowboys and their horses in the Wild West of the old US.