Hundreds of thousands of horses and mules saw services in the Anglo Boer War. However, there are some unusual stories attached to some of these horses.

Rooibok

At the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War, Lodewyk Johannes Spies/ from the farm Koppie Alleen, was a member of the Utrecht Commando. He went to war on his faithful horse, Rooibok.  Lodewyk Johannes Spies saw through the whole war on his horse, which never once left him in the lurch. Rooibok saw service at the battles of Talana, Colenso, Spioenkop and other battles of the guerrilla phase of the war.

Rooibok was a seasoned and reliable horse who died on the farm in 1904. Lodewyk buried the horse on the farm and erected a headstone for him. Lodewyk died in 1962 and is buried about 100m from his horse.

Mapago

The Cape rebel Willie Hugo of the farm “Druk-my-Niet” in Dal Josafat, had a Basotho pony, Mapago, who carried him throughout the Anglo Boer War.

Many stories have been told about this faithful pony who saved  his owner’s life who on one occasion led him back to the commando after Willie Hugo had got lost in mist. They fought in the southern Free State under command of Generals de Wet and A.M. Prinsloo.

After the war the horse went back to the farm and when he died of old age was buried on the farm. Willie Hugo carved a headstone from stone and covered it in white lime.

Villebois

This Boer horse, originally belonged to a French General during the Anglo Boer War, lies buried in the small English village of Latimer.

In April 1900 in an engagement between the Boer and British forces, near Boshoff, in the Free State, General de Villebois-Mareuil was wounded and died a short while later and was buried at Magersfontein. His horse was also wounded.

De Villebois-Mareuil was a French general who had offered his services to the Boer forces and was the only foreigner to command a Boer Commando.

The British commander during this engagement was Maj. Gen. Lord Chesham who felt so bad about the wounded horse that he sent the horse by ship back to his family estate in England. Here the horse recuperated and spent the next 11 years of its life, dying in 1911.

He was buried at Latimer and a cairn to him erected on the village green, adjacent to the memorial to the 73 men who had died on active service in South Africa.

The inscription on the cairn reads “Villebois. Brought to England by Maj. Gen. Lord Chesham K.C.B. in 1900. Died February 1911.” According to memory and legend the horse was large, black and a swift as the wind.