Also rescued from the closed zoo in Almuñécar, in the summer of 2008 we brought a herd of seven pottoka ponies to the Garraf Park. A rustic and very old pony that we think can adapt without problems to living in Garraf all year round. These ponies spent the first weeks in a reception enclosure, to be released in a 30-hectare transition enclosure. In this space, the Park Research Group and the Miranda Foundation with the UAB were able to carry out a study, to assess the impact of these equids on the vegetation, and their uniqueness with respect to the horse. We have observed that apart from grazing the pens, They pull up the thorns and eat the root, which can be very beneficial for biodiversity, given that they are a limiting factor for this plant that has colonized the entire Garraf.
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Our herd is made up of a male who underwent a vasectomy to control the birth rate and avoid imbalance due to an unwanted increase in the population, and six females of very different ages. It is a well-cohesive natural group and therefore with a great capacity for adaptation, organization and survival, which has quickly appropriated the space available to it.
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Currently, one year after their arrival, the pottoka are already grazing the 400 hectares of the Garraf Park. The Pottoka Project It is beginning to take shape, although it is still in the definition and expansion phase.

Third report on the Garraf Natural Park

Jordi Bartolomé Filella
Department of Animal and Food Science. Autonomous University of Barcelona.
July 31 2019
Enllaç

Garraf is a sensitive territory, with calcareous soil, shallow and vulnerable to erosion, and where threatened species live such as the Mediterranean turtle, which needs soils with a non-compacted texture to be able to make its nests or nesting holes.

For this reason, and after ten years of experience with horses in this territory, we have chosen pottoka ponies as ideal equines for grazing in this territory.

-Since they are small in size compared to other horses, and since they weigh little, the compaction of the soil derived from their presence is minimal.

-They also consume less water, which is essential in a territory with few available water resources, where, on the other hand, herbivory is essential to reduce the risk of fires and contribute to creating a resilient and biodiverse landscape.

-In Garraf, the Mediterranean steppe has been colonized by the sedge, a plant species of the grass family. The horse is the only large herbivore we have available that devours this plant, and specifically the pottoka often uproot it and after squeezing the root, leave the stems scattered on the ground in the form of mulching or plant cover. This favors soil life.

-In addition, their antiquity and rusticity make them very resilient and adapted to entering the forests and obtaining the necessary resources for their well-being. Originally from the Basque Country, and family of other lines of ponies or small horses such as the Asturcones, they have historically been dedicated to maintaining the undergrowth with a low load of combustible plant matter.

They therefore have consolidated and conserved skills through genetic transmission in the management and conservation of forest ecosystems, being especially skilled when moving in these contexts.

Their abilities amaze us!