Horseback Game Counts

One of the activities we do here at Na/an Kuse is horseback game counts. So the Na/an Kuse reserve covers over 3,200 hectares with a lot of wildlife of course. We actively track and conduct research on what we have roaming around and one way to do this is by doing game counts. In the past they used to drive around with pick ups an observe what they saw, but more recently they found that by going with horse you could get a lot closer as the animals weren't scared of the horses. 

Jules

Whilst Looking for Game 

So anyway, my group was assigned to horseback game count this morning with Tessa who is in charge of the horses here. Almost all of the horses are rescue horses and are being "broken in" here at the farm. So as we walked to the stables we had a look around at the horses, there were cute ponies, some medium sized horses and a HUGE Stallion! When meeting Tessa she asked us about riding experience (i've ridden at the beach in hua hin once or twice) and whether we were confident with horses. Surprise, Surprise, I told he that I was fine and that she could give me any horse. And yes... That bigggg stallion that we saw earlier...well... that was gonna be my horse for the next 3 months (Karma!!). While everyone else was getting their calm little ponies ready and combing them, Jules (my horse) was causing trouble, resisting, and generally not pleasant! But after half an hour of trying to please him, we got on our way to start counting the game (wildlife).

A Herd of Springbok

And the Kudo's

WHAT.AN.EXPERIENCE!! Going out with the horses in the middle of nowhere, complete silence, and seeing Springbok, Oryx, Kudo, Water Buck, Ostrich, Wild Baboons, a herd of Zebra, and much more, was breath taking. Seeing them in the wild and getting as close as 10 meters away from them is an amazing sight!

The research part included identify the sex, the age, and the number of animals we spotted (if we spotted 12 Springbok, we would count how many males/females and how many youngsters there were). After a two hour ride around the reserve we spotted over 60+ animals! There was however one on my list that we didn't see: the Giraffe! So there are 11 giraffes roaming around here and I definitely hope to spot them soon!!

Ostrich looking for trouble

The horseback game count is definitely one of my favorite activities here, anyway enjoy the photo's!!