A Sanctuary For Free Horses

He is a reserved man, who works as a teacher and says he hardly knows anything about horses: he saw quite a few as a child in his village, that’s all. Little by little he gets closer to Gaïa , the gray mare that is revered in the herd.

He places his hands on one side and the other of the animal’s neck and with great delicacy he lets his face fall on the mane. It is an intimate hug and Gaïa squints her eyes, motionless. For a moment, the air stops.

Gaïa is very safe, has not suffered abuse and enjoys human contact.

The Miranda Foundation brought it along with two other healthy specimens from the Catalan region of La Cerdanya to serve as a reference for the rest of the horses released in Pla de l’Orri (Alt Berguedà): abandoned, injured, donated or withdrawn from competition horses to those who give the opportunity to live according to their gregarious nature and in their natural context.

The deep connection with the horse

We are on a farm with more than 100 hectares of pasture, in the Sierra de Catllaràs. We have gathered about twenty people to spend “a day among horses”, to open ourselves to a subtle communication with them and to remember our animal essence.

The idea is also to benefit from the energy of these horses that have been able to heal their traumas and stories of adversity in contact with the rest of the herd and with nature. “We can learn a lot from them – says Rosa Galindo, head of the foundation -. They are guides, if you know how to listen to them.”

It all started ten years ago. Rosa, a musical actress, felt the call of the horses. He says they remind him of who he is: “The wonder of creation that we are a part of and have drifted away.”

With his then partner, Maurici Biosca, now disconnected from the project, they settled at the top of the slope, rehabilitated an old barn and began to populate the meadows with horses, dogs, chickens and the occasional wild boar.

The Miranda Foundation is non-profit making and works by the almost exclusive force of its volunteers. “I am myself,” says Rosa with a smile. He recovers horses (he has a close relationship with the Equidae Defense Association) and offers them the possibility of space and group. “In the mountains and among themselves, they heal themselves.”

The foundation also works with people, especially with vulnerable groups such as battered women or children with problems.

Close to these horses, who are capable of turning their lives of suffering and pain into a fulfilling one, people who are faced with vital difficulties can feel a deep and restorative connection.

The entity also assumed custody of the territory, so that it takes care of the nature in which it is settled. Horses keep forest clearings clean and even, when they undertake transhumance, contribute to biodiversity by dispersing seeds.

A special energy

Marc is one of the children in the group we have come with. Sitting in his wheelchair, he enjoys the proximity of the horses. He usually rides in a horse race and his mother tells us that, by some very fine mechanism of perception, the horse manages to hold him in balance, not let him fall.

She has now wanted Marc to meet the horses in freedom. Estrella , a beautiful black mare, chooses him to put her nose on her knees.

Estrella arrived here with Kippur , an imposing black Carthusian stallion: she had fractured her hip and he, who was only four months old, suffered a fissure in the iliac crest. They did not respond to the aesthetic canons that are required of these animals and they were going to be sacrificed. Today the two of them walk through the meadows:

Kippur has become the stallion of one of the herds and Estrella , against all odds, has given birth to two foals.

The birth of the foals of Estrella has become an event in a pack of older horses. “We are not dedicated to breeding – Rosa points out – but from time to time it seems good and fair that the herds have offspring: to see how the whole group is organized according to this new life is precious”.

The foundation is not against riding horses if it is done with respect. During the transhumance, they are ridden without horseshoes or bits to accompany them on their way to the winter or summer pastures. They have farms in other regions and this November about 17 horses will go down to Garraf with the help of volunteers.

Rosa encourages you to participate in it as an initiatory path : “It transforms your energy. It changes your life.”

Who rules the pack?

Horses often break our beliefs and remind us to observe with a beginner’s mind.

Packs do not have an alpha male. “There may be competition for a resource but not dominance”, clarifies Rosa Galindo.

“The theory of animal dominance and alpha males is out of date. In fact, his own predecessor, David L. Mech, has said that he was wrong and that the term is not correct even for the wolves he has been studying for fifty years. years, “adds Rosa.

When the herd of horses needs to find water, the one who commands is the pregnant mare, or the one with foals, because she is the one who most needs to find it. At that moment everyone follows her, she is the true leader.

When there is a threat, such as a wolf that is prowling the area, the male, the stallion, takes command, whose function is to gather the mares and defend the group.

Another paradise for retired horses

Paul Serra and Sonsoles Letang, forestry and agricultural engineers, welcome horses in La Corona that need rest or a happy retirement after a life of competition, on a 137-hectare estate in Sant Quirze Safaja, 40 km from Barcelona.

In just over three years of activity, they already have about 60 horses, in addition to Pamela , the donkey they rescued from certain death. “We have wonderful clients, owners who have wanted to thank their horses for a lifetime of dedication,” explains Sonsoles.

CAVE, a leading equestrian center in Catalonia, relies, for example, on them to remove horses that “retire”.

People sensitive to animal suffering are also your customers. Like Jasmin Ommer, who brought them a trotter horse so pressured that it became unpredictable and sometimes aggressive. Today he jogs quietly through La Corona.