At The Foothills

Beneath the big sky and hugging mountains of Greyton, wild horses roam.

In the late afternoon hush, beneath the towering folds of the Riviersonderend Mountains, a lone pied horse grazes quietly on the plains outside Greyton. Its head is bowed low to the grass, unconcerned with the camera or the watcher behind it. Behind it, a scattered trio of horses — auburn, bay, and piebald — roam loosely across the veld, content in their rhythm, their freedom. The mountains rise like ancient gods in the background, the sky streaked with high, wispy clouds, and the land stretches soft and wide beneath them all.

This image, titled Horse Plains of Greyton, is part of a larger photographic journey that seeks to capture not just the wildness of South Africa’s remote places, but the soul of its rural heartlands. And in Greyton, a small village nestled at the end of a road in the Overberg district, that soul carries the shape of a horse.

Here, the horses are not just part of the scenery — they are part of the story.

They move through the days as if folded into the landscape, grazing along footpaths and paddocks, standing framed beneath arching oaks or silhouetted against pinking skies. Their presence is both physical and symbolic — loved by many, critiqued by some, but increasingly woven into the identity of this mountain town.

To see them like this — grazing under an open sky, backdropped by hills that rise like waves into the Overberg range — is to witness something quietly majestic. They are remnants of a bygone era, yes, but also a living emblem of the town’s rustic character, its in-between-ness — between nature and settlement, heritage and modernity.

A Story Etched in Hooves

The feral horses of Greyton are descendants of domesticated animals — released or abandoned decades ago, likely in the mid-20th century. With time, they adapted, forming loose herds and carving out an existence along the fringes of farmlands, reserves and rivers. They are not managed in the formal sense, but cared for informally by concerned residents and animal welfare groups. While some debate their numbers and welfare, their continued presence suggests endurance and creates a peculiar beauty of rural South African life.

Unlike wild mustangs or remote mountain ponies, these horses live in plain view — between hiking trails, public roads, and grassy commons. They may not answer to anyone, but they have become something of a town signature. A tourist might remember the Dutch gables or the bakery’s fresh bread, but they’ll more likely speak first of the horses: “I woke up to find one grazing outside the guesthouse,” or “I had to wait at the gate for a group to pass down the road.”

This coexistence, however imperfect, lends Greyton an air of timelessness — a reminder that the boundaries between wild and domestic, natural and built, are sometimes blurrier than we think.

Beauty With a Bit of Tension

Not everyone agrees on how the horses should be viewed. Some see them as a charming relic — part of the village’s appeal. Others worry about overpopulation, neglect, and the occasional hazard they pose when wandering onto roads or grazing near rubbish sites. There are stories of mistreatment, of overworked cart horses, and of foals left to fend for themselves. And yet, there are just as many stories of kindness — of locals feeding the horses in drought, of volunteers helping with veterinary care, of children growing up around them.

The truth, as always, lies in between. These horses embody the contradictions of small-town life in South Africa. They are beautiful and burdensome, free and vulnerable, romantic and real. And in that, they represent Greyton itself — a town deeply tied to the land, shaped by its human and animal inhabitants alike.

For those who photograph, walk or simply pause in their presence, the horses offer a moment of connection — to something slower, older, more grounded. You feel it in the way they move, unhurried; in the way they regard you, if at all, with calm, intelligent eyes. You feel it in the stillness that follows after they’ve passed, a hush that lingers like smoke after a fire.

A Living Symbol

Whether you love them or worry about them, the horses are here. They have become part of Greyton’s cultural fabric — appearing in paintings, postcards, travel journals, and now, photography collections. Their bodies may carry the marks of a tough life, but their presence holds something gentle, almost sacred.

They are, quite literally, the spirit of the plains.

In this image — one of many captured on long walks through the area — the pied mare stands quietly in the foreground, the lushness of the grass offset by the rugged outline of the mountains behind her. There’s a visual tension here: the softness of the horse’s grazing posture against the power of the landscape rising behind. It’s a metaphor for the horses themselves — humble, often overlooked, but undeniably a part of this place.

The Feral Horses of Greyton: A Brief Background

Greyton’s feral horses are not native to the area but have become naturalised over decades. Their origins are believed to lie with domestic horses used for farming and transport during the 20th century. As farming declined and people moved away or modernised, the horses were left behind. Without strict controls or breeding programmes, the population grew, and small herds now roam the town and its surrounding commons.

While no formal ownership exists over many of these horses, some individuals claim stewardship, and several animal welfare groups have stepped in to manage their health, prevent cruelty, and in some cases, support castration and vet access. The town has not reached full consensus on how best to manage or support the animals, but there is wide acknowledgment of their symbolic importance.

They are more than livestock — they are part of Greyton’s landscape, its lore, and for many, its very spirit.

Greyton Stories

Nestled in the foothills of the Riviersonderend Mountains in the Western Cape, Greyton is a village that whispers tales of time, nature, and community. Founded in 1854 and home to just over 2,000 residents, it remains one of South Africa’s most beautifully preserved rural gems. Here, history lingers in the oak-lined avenues, artful porches, and timeworn pathways. These images are moments drawn from quiet mornings, dusty roads, grazing horses, and garden gates left ajar — fragments of a place where the past and present coexist in stillness. Greyton doesn’t shout its beauty; it reveals it, slowly, to those willing to look.

Sony A1, Sony FE 70-200mm GM OSS II, FL: 70mm, S:1/1,000, F:6.3, ISO:640