The ghost horses of Rooisand

A herd of wild horses has lived on the shores of the Bot River estuary for over a hundred years. Meet Leanne Dryburgh, who is fighting to keep them wild.

-  NICK DALL

I meet Leanne Dryburgh outside the White Rabbit - a pub in the town of Fisherhaven - and we drive together in her Kombi. She's barely changed into second gear when we encounter the first wild horses: a group of seven grazing on kikuyu next to a suburban road.

“That’s the palomino herd,” Leanne says. “Some people think they’re not related to the other wild horses because of the butternut colour. But it’s actually a recessive gene... like a king cheetah or a white lion.”

We stop the car a respectful distance away from them and continue on foot. The horses soon disappear into the bush. “That's exactly what I want,” Leanne says. “The moment they become habituated to humans, that’s when the problems start. As I always say, 'admire from a distance.'”

Leanne is the driving force behind Rooisand Wild Horses, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to keeping the horses wild. “The horses need very little. They have loads food and they're in excellent condition,” she says. “They just need to be left alone.”

To this end, she and her fellow patrollers coordinate an army of around 60 volunteers who keep tabs on the horses' movements via WhatsApp groups - and they step in when visitors get too close. The sale of Leanne’s annual calendars (They make great Christmas gifts. - Ed) pays for signage and the occasional vet bill.

It all starts with education: Leanne often gives talks at community events. “The biggest problem we have is people feeding them,” she says. “That's why the Fisherhaven herd is in town every day. They know exactly which houses will give them apples. It’s heartbreaking.”

Origin theories