We would like to thank Ivan Sanmartin Eirin and the Asociación Rapa das Bestas for filing this entry.
Species: Equus caballus
Subspecies/Breed/Type
The horses of Sabucedo, like many horses in the Galician hills are of pony type. It has been proposed that some of these horses may actually be a subspecies of wild horse, Equus ferus atlanticus (Barcena, 2011). However these claims are pending DNA testing.
Country: Spain
Region/Province/Range: Mountains around Sabucedo, Estrada, Cuntis, Moranha, Campo Lameiro, Cerdedo, Forcarei, all of which are in the province of Pontevedra
Population type: Semi-feral
Estimated Population size: about 400 horses (2015)
Management Authority: Private association: Asociación Rapa das Bestas de Sabucedo
Management Practices: Yearly round.ups – Micro-chipping – Ear clipping – Parasite control – removal of foals
Images by Victor Ros
Details of Population:
The horses running freely around Sabucedo have been doing so since at least the 16th century when, according to legend, some horses were set free in the mountains as an offering to St. Lorenzo to protect the people from a plague. Since then, horses are rounded up and driven down to the town of Sabucedo for the annual Rapa das bestas (shearing of the beasts) festival. During the ‘Rapa’, horses manes and tails are sheared, ears clipped, and some horses are removed from the herd to keep the population number at bay.
Structure and demographics
Approximately 300 mares, their offspring (n=85) and 15 stallions live freely in the mountains surrounding the town of Sabucedo. Given the mare-stallion ratio, it is customary to find all mare groups wandering the hills with their young.
Issues worth noting and needed actions
These horses are not afforded any legal protection and are allegedly under threat from encroaching cow ranchers.
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More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;
Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon
Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress
Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom
McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom
Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola
Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos
Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling
Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus
Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom
Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist
Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui
Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever
Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli
Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin
Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus
Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo
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This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.
Ethology - Wild Equus - Horses - Behavior 