African Hoofprints: Rahaal

Rahaal was born in Libya, when we don't know, but we guessed him to be about 10 when we bought him in May 2006. He was a local Libyan pony, chestnut in colour and full of character. When I say bought, I actually mean swapped! We had needed a pack animal and had purchased a donkey, but soon discovered that she was too slow although very strong. We did what the Libyans call an "Afari" and swapped her for Rahaal, with a little extra payment from us.

When we first saw him, there were 3 or 4 horses to choose from. We looked at him first and I just knew he was the one, so much so that I became rather irritated with Billy for even bothering to look at the others!

He did not have a very illustrious start as one of our horses - the very first thing he did was to chop our good friend Abdallah on the head! Billy started working with him and he soon became a special member of our herd.

He taught Chami everything he knew about foraging for food... Chami would be seen following him everywhere and before he ate anything he would get Rahaal's approval. He allowed Nali to be the youngster that he was, playing with him for hours on end.

He had a tough castration and so we didn't ask him to carry any weight until we reached Egypt. Here he stepped in when Chami got laminits, carrying more than his fair share and Billy!

He was a pleasure to ride, always willing and happy, a real plucky little horse. On arrival in Khartoum, he and the others were struggling with the repercussions of heat stroke from the severe heat wave in the desert. He got laminitis and biliary and despite our best efforts he died in September 2007.

He remains in our hearts and we remember him with love.

Here are some photos of his short time with us...