The Nooitgedacht Breeding Project

The standing committee on Indigenous Livestock of the S.A. Department of Agriculture was instructed in 1951 to purchase a nucleus of typical Basuto type ponies with a view to saving the “breed” from extinction...

...as well as to establishing a governmental stud at the Nooitgedacht Research Station outside Ermelo in the Eastern Transvaal. A special subcommittee subsequently bought the stallion VONK II and six related mares from Mr. J.A.N. Cloete’s Haasiesfontein stud at Molteno in the Cape Province, and acquired another five mares from the stud of Mr. M.G. Willemse, of Memel, in the Orange Free State.

In addition one stallion of Arab-Boer type was obtained, however without success and in time his progeny were all culled. Likewise a later purchase of an ostensibly “Basuto” stallion failed to improve upon the excellence of the type of pony produced at the stud.

As an ultimate object, the project set out to stimulate the establishment of private studs elsewhere in the country with a view to reviving the breed to its former status and usefulness. The authorities realized the present keen demand for ponies of this type in and around the bigger urban communities of South Africa, but they firmly adhered to the policy that the ponies bred at Nooitgedacht should retain their pre-eminence primarily on livestock enterprises. Initially culled stallions were given out following their castration, but only to governmental institutions. These animals of 50 to 75 percent Basuto blood proved to be excellent hacks and a ready demand was apparent. In 1967 eight daughter studs were established as part of the breeding project. Only the applications of bona fide farmers anxious to breed Basuto type ponies were accepted following approval of their studs and farming operations by a panel of judges.

At the outset co-operators were provided with a stallion plus one or two mares, the latter added to as they became available in order to strengthen their breeding nuclei. This caused a reduction of the parent stud to 20 mares and two senior sites.

At a meeting of the co-operators in 1969 a breed society was established as a preliminary to ultimately obtaining recognition of the breed in terms of the Registration of Pedigree Livestock Act (No. 28 of 1957). The following Standard of Excellence was moreover agreed upon for the guidance of breeders and judges at shows:

A strongly built pony with emphasis on riding qualities and stamina.
A docile temperament and high degree of intelligence.
Hardiness, dense bone, strong joints and high quality hoofs. The ponies should preferably not be shod.
Ability to carry a person weighing 80 kgs for a considerable time.
Preference to all shades of grey, but deviations permitted provided the hides are clearly pigmented.
Ideal height for a stallion; 14.0-14.2 hands (140-145cm) and for mare; 14 hands.
(In ponies qualifying for provisional registration a range of 13.2-15.0 is allowed)

Mature stallions should weigh 440 kg and mares 340 kgs.

One aspect of the project which remained a matter of concern until a breed society came into being was the question of name: Though the parent material came from acknowledged Basuto Pony studs, there was no doubt of a faint percentage of other blood, notably Boer Horse and, though to a lesser degree, Arab. However, to perpetuate the name of the institution where the project was initiate, it was agreed to call the breed the Nooitgedacht Pony, moreover it was decided to be guided by the standards arising from scientific measurement and observation rather than rely on guide lines stemming from vaguely recorded descriptions or even legendary anecdotes.