Lesotho

Lesotho (pronounced Li su:tu) is a tiny landlocked country entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.

Formerly known as Basutoland, Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 metres.


Made up mostly of highlands, many villages in the Kingdom of Lesotho can only be reached on horseback, by foot or light aircraft. The harsh environment of the highland plateau and limited agricultural space in the lowlands makes greater dependence on the country that surrounds it.

A desperately poor country, Lesotho has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV-AIDS, with the average life expectancy recently being estimated at just 35 years old (men) and 38 years old (women).

Background

Due to the ILPH’s affiliation with the Cart Horse Protection Association, our work over the past four years in South Africa (Cape Town) has grown from strength to strength. Through this work we have become well known throughout the Southern Cape of Africa and are often approached for help by neighbouring African countries. Such a request came from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria regarding the condition and welfare of the horses of Lesotho.

Following a consultation period, a small team departed in July 2006 to research the possibility of undertaking a whole horse project and identify whether our training project would be sustainable and achievable in Lesotho.

Horse Welfare Need

With an estimated population of 87,000 horses and 147,000 donkeys in Lesotho, it did not take long to determine that there was a great need for ILPH training.

Heavily reliant on tourism as one of its main sources of income, villagers and farmers in Lesotho take their horses to the tourist lodges for hire to tourists, who wish to discover the wild side of this beautiful country.
A typical villager’s saddle in disrepair

In addition, like many of our projects in the Developing World, it was evident that peasant farmers heavily rely on horse power in order to make a living. Horses are used extensively as primary means of transport between villages, pulling carts and working the land.

Our initial findings clearly indicated a true need for an ILPH five-year training programme in farriery, saddlery and management and nutrition.

Click Here to read about the successful completion of the ILPH’s first year in Lesotho.