Indigenous horses dying out in Somaliland

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SirLancelLord

Reformation of Somaliland
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Dahir Mohamed Jam’a has lived around horses all his life but changes in the way of life in northern Somali and perennial drought has meant that indigenous Somali horses are fast dying out.

“Since childhood I have lived with horses. I have reared horses for 30 years but noweverything is completely changing. Horses relied on certain grass in the valleys and such grass has become extinct,” Dahir told Radio Ergo.

In the last five year, Dahir has lost nine of the 11 horses he inherited from his father in Sibbaye village in Sanag region’s Hingalol district. He believes there are only around 30 horses remaining in the district.

Somali ponies have been around for decades and have adapted to withstand the harsh climate and poor food sources. In the past they were bred for use in inter-clan warfare, for going in search of livestock, and to pay wedding dowries.

“When a man wants to marry a girl, he used 100 camels and a horse. Horses are used to welcome leaders and people used horses for exploration to search for water and pasture,” Dahir explained.

He lost his last horse in April, after coming back to Sibbaye from Badhan, where he had moved with his livestock in search of water and pasture.

“I left three horses in the village when I left for Badhan, but returned to find only two weak horses. They were so weak they could not even run away from the hyenas,” Dahir said sadly.

“They have been able to survive in such a climate as this but now their food is becoming non-existent,” said Dahir, who has two stallions left.

Ali Diriye, 80, also in Hingalol district, has reared horses for 50 years. He regrets the fact that horses are dying out. For most herders they are too expensive, costing at minimum $2,500.

“The horses are not sold in the markets. People liked to buy them from the owners in different places. But they are very expensive compared to camels,” Ali said.

Another horse keeper, Osman Farah Guled, lost several horses during the recent drought. He remains with just a mare and a stallion. Unfortunately, when times are hard and food is so short, pastoralists have had to choose between horses and their other livestock.

“This problem has been going on for a long time. We face a difficult choice when severe drought hits your area – you can either save the horses or the other domestic animals that are our lifeline,” he said.

Ali Askar, a veterinarian, attributed the near extinction of horses to disease and the lack of food. He said keeping animals healthy needed to be prioritized.
 

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The main uses of the Somali horses were for war purposes, and to search for grazing/water.

Guns made cavalry useless, and the British colonials completely stopped somali clans from raiding or fighting one another.

And due to technology advancement (phones), there is no need to scout for grazing and water with a fast and mobile horse when you can get a phone call from your reer that will tell you where you can find grazing and water.

So they serve no real purpose anymore other than ceremonial purposes and somali nomads stopped breeding them.

It's very sad to hear that our horses are nearing extinction, i don't know about other clans but the dhulbahante were mainly a cavalry army. We had tens of thousands of horses, the dervish army had over 10,000 cavalry most of whom were dhulbahante.

Harold Swayne:
"Of the Somali tribes I have met on different expeditions, those having the most ponies are the Dhulbahante. In the Dolbahante country we saw enormous number, one man sometimes owning 150"

Drake-Brockman:
Previous to the expeditions against the Mullah, the tribes which were, in all probability, the best off in horses were the Dulbahanta. At all events, most of those in a position to speak are agreed that the Dulbahantas are the best horsemen among the Somalis.

Speke:
The other people I met here were some Dulbahantas arming for the fight. They said they were 4000 strong in cavalry, and were slaughtering sheep wholesale for provision on the road. Each man carried a junk of flesh, a skin of water, and a little hay, and was then ready for a long campaign, for they were not soft like the English (their general boast), who must have their daily food; they were hardy enough to work without eating ten days in succession, if the emergency required it.

The mohamud garad of the Dhulbahante had 4000 cavalry, and they are only a sub clan. :wowsweat:

@Starscream
 

SirLancelLord

Reformation of Somaliland
VIP
The main uses of the Somali horses were for war purposes, and to search for grazing/water.

Guns made cavalry useless, and the British colonials completely stopped somali clans from raiding or fighting one another.

And due to technology advancement (phones), there is no need to scout for grazing and water with a fast and mobile horse when you can get a phone call from your reer that will tell you where you can find grazing and water.

So they serve no real purpose anymore other than ceremonial purposes and somali nomads stopped breeding them.

It's very sad to hear that our horses are nearing extinction, i don't know about other clans but the dhulbahante were mainly a cavalry army. We had tens of thousands of horses, the dervish army had over 10,000 cavalry most of whom were dhulbahante.

Harold Swayne:
"Of the Somali tribes I have met on different expeditions, those having the most ponies are the Dhulbahante. In the Dolbahante country we saw enormous number, one man sometimes owning 150"

Drake-Brockman:
Previous to the expeditions against the Mullah, the tribes which were, in all probability, the best off in horses were the Dulbahanta. At all events, most of those in a position to speak are agreed that the Dulbahantas are the best horsemen among the Somalis.

Speke:
The other people I met here were some Dulbahantas arming for the fight. They said they were 4000 strong in cavalry, and were slaughtering sheep wholesale for provision on the road. Each man carried a junk of flesh, a skin of water, and a little hay, and was then ready for a long campaign, for they were not soft like the English (their general boast), who must have their daily food; they were hardy enough to work without eating ten days in succession, if the emergency required it.

The mohamud garad of the Dhulbahante had 4000 cavalry, and they are only a sub clan. :wowsweat:

@Starscream

They were better men,

But also due to droughts where the man in the post is from Dhahar Xingalool & Badhan surroundings former part of Dhulbahante country.

Laascaanood local authority in February reported in February that tax income received hit the 1bn SLSH mark the mayor needs to invest that in people create a livestock market for the town and ranches in the surroundings to take care of horses and other animals
 

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They were better men,

But also due to droughts where the man in the post is from Dhahar Xingalool & Badhan surroundings former part of Dhulbahante country.

Laascaanood local authority in February reported in February that tax income received hit the 1bn SLSH mark the mayor needs to invest that in people create a livestock market for the town and ranches in the surroundings to take care of horses and other animals
The land can no longer support nomadic ways. It's over. Things are only going to get worse due to climate change. There are also far too many nomads on the land. Every year there are droughts that kill 90 % of the livestock, but 30 years ago, droughts were never this common or that bad.
 
They were better men,

But also due to droughts where the man in the post is from Dhahar Xingalool & Badhan surroundings former part of Dhulbahante country.

Laascaanood local authority in February reported in February that tax income received hit the 1bn SLSH mark the mayor needs to invest that in people create a livestock market for the town and ranches in the surroundings to take care of horses and other animals

What is that in dollars walaal?
 
The main uses of the Somali horses were for war purposes, and to search for grazing/water.

Guns made cavalry useless, and the British colonials completely stopped somali clans from raiding or fighting one another.

And due to technology advancement (phones), there is no need to scout for grazing and water with a fast and mobile horse when you can get a phone call from your reer that will tell you where you can find grazing and water.

So they serve no real purpose anymore other than ceremonial purposes and somali nomads stopped breeding them.

It's very sad to hear that our horses are nearing extinction, i don't know about other clans but the dhulbahante were mainly a cavalry army. We had tens of thousands of horses, the dervish army had over 10,000 cavalry most of whom were dhulbahante.

Harold Swayne:
"Of the Somali tribes I have met on different expeditions, those having the most ponies are the Dhulbahante. In the Dolbahante country we saw enormous number, one man sometimes owning 150"

Drake-Brockman:
Previous to the expeditions against the Mullah, the tribes which were, in all probability, the best off in horses were the Dulbahanta. At all events, most of those in a position to speak are agreed that the Dulbahantas are the best horsemen among the Somalis.

Speke:
The other people I met here were some Dulbahantas arming for the fight. They said they were 4000 strong in cavalry, and were slaughtering sheep wholesale for provision on the road. Each man carried a junk of flesh, a skin of water, and a little hay, and was then ready for a long campaign, for they were not soft like the English (their general boast), who must have their daily food; they were hardy enough to work without eating ten days in succession, if the emergency required it.

The mohamud garad of the Dhulbahante had 4000 cavalry, and they are only a sub clan. :wowsweat:

@Starscream
I like how mohamud garad male numbers were 10k @ the year 1960:snoop:
Meaning in 1800s they had same male numbers as 1960:snoop:
100 years of negative growth rate:snoop:
Idk what these nikkas are talking about couple of horses near my village couple months back .:patrice:
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How did they survive the drought in 2016 tho?:patrice:
 
I like how mohamud garad male numbers were 10k @ the year 1960:snoop:
Meaning in 1800s they had same male numbers as 1960:snoop:
100 years of negative growth rate:snoop:
Idk what these nikkas are talking about couple of horses near my village couple months back .:patrice:
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How did they survive the drought in 2016 tho?:patrice:
Yeah due to centuries of battles
 
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