Very shortly after the affair at Willow Grange the tide began to ebb.

The precise cause for this is still a matter of surmise.

It may be that Joubert considered he had gathered in all that was needed to supply his positions around Ladysmith and behind the Tugela; it was reported at the time that 12,000 head of cattle were among the spoils.
It may be that he found the British force, although yet only partially concentrated and organised, too strong to justify a more extended movement.

It had been rumoured that he purposed to capture, if possible, Estcourt and Mooi River, {p.211} and even to push on to Pietermaritzburg, with the view of stopping the relief column as far as possible from its point of destination.

Such an effort was strictly accurate from the strategic standpoint, and accordingly his whole movement may have been of the nature of a reconnaissance in force, to receive greater development if circumstances favoured, and in any event to impose delay by destroying the roads.