The wild horses in the juniper grove
They are tarpans, or more precisely back-breeds of the originally European wild horses, which became extinct in the 19th century. Well camouflaged behind impenetrable juniper hedges and dense mixed forest, we finally discover a group of eleven mouse-gray animals. Five are taking a nap, the rest are browsing and doing an important job. Like the Scottish highland cattle and sheep that graze in the juniper grove, the wild horses prevent the area from encroaching and thus displacing the juniper. A method that was already used in the Middle Ages, because that is how long the juniper grove has been used as a pasture area. It has been a nature reserve since 1937.
The tarpans, backbred from Przewalski stallions and mares from Scandinavian, Icelandic and Polish ponies, curiously and by no means shyly follow the strollers who roam through the undergrowth, but they keep their distance. And so should the visitors to the juniper grove. Feeding the animals is prohibited. Treats can cause fatal colic for the tough animals that stay outside all year round.