Resurrecting The Pietperd From Genetic Remnants

Boerperd breeder, Dirk Odendaal, has spent over 40 years trying to recreate a true-to-type Pietperd, a legendary but now-extinct horse breed. Mike Burgess spoke to Dirk on his farm near Barkly East about his relentless quest.

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In the 1870s, two stallions named Piet and David were transported from the Netherlands to the Cape, where they sired exceptional offspring that became known as Pietperde. They were named in honour of Piet, a grey-dappled stallion and the more influential of the two. Two decades later, Pietperde became sought-after across Southern Africa, only to be decimated during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899 to 1902).

“Piet is the only South African horse that has a specific bloodline named after it; he had exceptional prepotency,’’ says Eastern Cape Boerperd breeder, Dirk Odendaal (62).

The historic Pietperd was an intelligent, five-gaited horse with outstanding constitution, temperament, conformation and endurance, as well as a renowned natural ability to trippel.

Sadly, it no longer exists as a distinct breed, but Dirk believes that it is still possible to recreate this horse-type that was once renowned as a functional dualpurpose riding and carriage horse.

“Not everything is lost,” he says. “There are still horses with Pietperd genetics and characteristics that one can use to recreate the type. I’ve been selecting for the Pietperd since the 1970s.

“Everything I have is due to horses and everything I don’t have is also due to horses. This ‘horse sickness’ is in my blood!’’

Dirk’s equine infatuation is indeed hereditary. His grandfather, Dirk, a blacksmith and farrier based in Hobhouse in the Free State, was known for his knack of rehabilitating temperamental horses. Dirk’s father, also named Dirk, travelled throughout the Free State constructing roads. While doing so, he always kept a handful of horses on the local commonage. It was here, on the outskirts of various Free State towns, that young Dirk spent many afternoons nurturing his lifelong passion for horses, and in particular the Pietperd.