Wild fires that once saved the forests above the Spanish village of Barro every summer have almost disappeared since Lucia Perez began to burn wild horses in the area.
“There used to be a fire every year, but since 2019. When we started coming here, in the first year we had a small fire and nothing from then,” Perez said, 37. She explained that horses help reduce the risk of fire by cleaning the origin between trees, preventing the burning and expansion of fire.
Fire prevention is just one of the environmental benefits that provide wild horses in Galicia, the region in the northwestern Spain known for its delicate ecosystems.
Scientists said the largest flock of wild horses in Europe played a key role in maintaining these landscapes, although the population fell dramatically. In the 1970s, about 22,000 wild horses wandered mountains, forests and Heathlands in the region. Only half remains today.
On Serra da Heathland grave, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Barro, wild horses feed on the yellow flowers of the mountain – very flammable plants. “Selective cleansing [gorse]Horses help prevent fire, “said Laura Lagos, a researcher at the University of Coruna.
The frying of the horse allows other plants, like a purple flower of Heather and white Asfodel, bloom, Lagos explained. “It also helps to preserve Heather around the cherry wetlands, which are abundant in sphagnum braws – one of the most effective ecosystems for carbon recording,” she said.
The 2021 study of the University of Coruna, where Lagos participated in, revealed that the grazing of a wild horse is the most effective method for preventing fire, promoting plant biodiversity and carbon capture. The study compared this method with other use of land, including planting of long -term pine forests, short -term eucalyptus plantations and grazing of domesticated animals.
Although sheep and cattle can also help reduce the risk of fire through grazing, Lagos noted that the wild horses were uniquely adapted to the rough ground of the Galicia. She emphasized one characteristic characteristic: “The mustache that appear designed to protect their lips from spines.”
Tinlje, dried weather due to climate change increases the frequency and intensity of wild fires in Galicia. From 2001 to 2023. The fires were burned through 970 square meters (375 square kilometers) in the region, according to Global Forest Watch.
This trend coincided with the spread of eucalyptus trees, which was brought to Galicia from Australia by a 19th century missionary. The trees are pyrophites, which means that they rely on the fire to let go and scatter their seeds. Their expansion contributed to increased fire risks, while reducing the pastures for grazing for wild horses, as only ferns grow below them.
Eucalyptus Galician Forests now make up 28 percent of the total population of the region trees, according to a local government study. Demand for eucalyptus wood from regional mills of pulp has triggered the spread of these plantations.
The history of wild horses in Galicia has died for thousands of years. The rock horses hunted by people suggest their presence in the region during the neolithic period.
Over time, people and horses developed a symbiotic relationship. Known as “Besteiros” in the Galician dialect, people have traditionally monitored the health of free roaming horses in exchange for occasional tangling or selling them for meat.
Once a year, the horses were rounded off during an event called “Rapa Das Bestas”, or “The Beast Haircut”. During these gatherings, the animals were destroyed, vaccinated and trimmed to prevent the wolves from caught.
Today, “Rapa Das Besters” has developed into a cultural festival. The most famous event in Sabacedo is attracted to thousands of tourists a year, which gather to watch the residents of Greža wild horses on the ground for treatment.
While these traditions continue to pay tribute to the connection between Galicia and its wild horses, growing risks of climate change, loss of habitats and declining numbers of herds emphasize the urgent need to protect the horses and ecosystems they maintain.
