Native South African man riding a Basuto pony, Lesotho, South Africa

The Basuto is a pony breed from Lesotho and South Africa. The first horses arrived in South Africa in 1653, when four horses were introduced to the Cape area by the Dutch East India Trading Company. The exact breed of these horses is unknown, but they may have been Arabian, Persian or similar to the Java Pony. These original imported horses became the founders of the Cape Horse, which became extremely popular and especially gained an admirable reputation during the Boer Wars. The Cape Horse and the Basuto probably were originally the same horse, and then with continual Thoroughbred and Arabian blood, the Cape Horse became a larger, more quality animal, with the Basuto remaining smaller and stockier.