Calm returns to Fisherhaven’s wild horses

Writer Hedda Mittner

We are very pleased that the herd has settled down after this difficult time,” says Leanne Dryburgh of Rooisand Horse Watch, referring to the three accidents that resulted in the death of four feral horses from the Fisherhaven herd earlier this year.

Three of the horses were stallions and, according to Leanne, conflict between the youngsters and older stallions in the herd had played a big role in the accidents that occurred between March and July.

The stallion from the Rooisand herd known as Luna, which has joined the Fisherhaven herd since three of its stallions were killed in road accidents earlier this year. PHOTO: Leanne Dryburgh

“There are no more challenging males left. The dynamics of the herd have calmed down and the whole situation is much more predictable now,” she says.

The first incident occurred on the evening of 29 March, when a VW bus travelling on the Middlevlei Road collided with a pregnant mare and two foals near the Meerensee turn-off, leaving the mare dead and one of the foals injured. The mare was known to locals as Star.

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