The minor presence of horses in Togo comes out of a few breedings and practices of equestrianism represented, at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, in the region of Mango and in the north of the current country. Horses were introduced at that time thanks to the Tem, who were the founders of a small kingdom that focused on the use of rifles and cavalry. The distribution of horses in the south is much more recent, as breeding was very limited due to the presence of the tsetse fly. After sporadic imports of horses by German and French colonial troops, a diplomatic gift from Niger in the 1980s allowed the creation of the first Togolese honorary cavalry regiment. The use of the horse-drawn vehicle has always been unknown in Togo. With an equine herd of about 2,000 horses, Togolese equestrian practices are exclusively for parades. This tradition takes place during the Adossa festival, an annual customary ceremony that attracts around 200 riders to the town of Sokodé. Horses are also used in Togolese fetish practices.
History Togo is not a country with an equestrian tradition, being one of the West African countries that have neglected horse breeding.
Pre-colonial period Robin Law's reference work, The Horse in West African History, published in 1980 and republished with additions in 2018 (in French: Le cheval dans l'histoire d'Afrique de l'Ouest), does not mention the presence of horses on the Togolese coast during the pre-colonial period and the situation inland remains unknown until the 19th century, due to the absence of sources. Another difficulty is the absence of a large African kingdom in Togo, which could have been written about by travelers. In his Histoire des Togolais, Nicoué Ladjou Gayibor (assistant professor at the University of Benin) mentions the practice of equestrianism by the nomadic Koto-Koli (or Tem) who settled near the present-day town of Sotouboua, near the Mono River, in the late 19th century. He also mentions the success of the Chakosi people led by Na Biema, who created a small kingdom around Mango at the same time, after having subdued the natives. Nicoué attributes this success to the introduction of rifles and the use of horses, which they may have learned from a neighboring tribe: the Gondja or Mamproussi. In fact, according to Siriki Ouattara's thesis, the Chakosi people of present-day Ivory Coast never knew the use of horses. Zarma riders and mercenaries, the Semassi, are known for having operated on Togolese territory on behalf of slave traders between 1883 and 1887. After having been co-opted by the Tem, they kidnap children on the roads at the level of Fazao mountains, or further south, and place up to two or three of them on the same horse before fleeing.
Observations of Hugo Zöller in 1884
The German explorer and journalist Hugo Zöller, who visited Togo in 1884, noted the absence of the use of pack horses (contrary to what he had observed in North Africa), which is why the goods were essentially carried by men. In the localities under the German protectorate that he visited, he pointed out that "One finds neither cattle nor horses. Our domestic animals are just pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and, from time to time, skinny dogs". By contrast, Europeans and colonial troops did use horses. Consul Randad (Togo's consul in 1884) rode a horse for his travels, especially to a Hausa camp. According to Hugo Zöller, the city of Lomé (located on the Togolese coast) had only two horses in 1884, and that of Baguida had none. These were ponies adapted to the local climate, purchased for 200 or 300 marks each, and exported from the market of Salaga, then located ten days inland, via Keta (both located in present-day Ghana). These two horses are fed on maize and abundant local vegetation, growing within fifteen minutes of their stables. Each of these horses has a personal groom, the first had a Krou young man and the second had a Hausa young man. The Togolese terrain is unfavorable for traveling by horse, and it is considered dangerous because for the most part, it consists of man-sized paths, sand, muddy silt, or very tall, sharp grass. However, the Savanna region offers abundant equine food. Finally, Zöller reports the interest of the inhabitants, especially the women, in his and the consul's passage, without being able to determine whether this interest is due to the unusual presence of horses in this region, or to that of white men. In Agoè, he writes that "the appearance of our horses caused almost more sensation than our own presence. They were constantly assailed by a group of women and girls who kept shouting 'enongto' which means “Oh, how pretty".
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