In the ever-intensifying battle against the increasing threat of wildfires in Mediterranean forests, a novel ally emerges from an unexpected quarter: horses. A comprehensive interdisciplinary study conducted by researchers affiliated with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Lleida (UdL) illuminates the pivotal role horses can play in forest management, offering promising new strategies to mitigate wildfire risks through their unique dietary adaptability. This pioneering work, recently published in the journal Agroforestry Systems, challenges traditional assumptions about equine grazing habits and their ecological impact, providing compelling empirical evidence of horses’ capabilities to reduce flammable biomass in fire-prone landscapes.
Traditional forest fire prevention has primarily concentrated on the management of sheep, goats, and occasionally rustic cattle, in sustained grazing efforts aimed at reducing undergrowth and thus fire fuel loads. Horses, by contrast, have often been overlooked in this context, viewed largely as grass specialists with minimal influence on woody shrubs and trees. This latest study systematically dismantles that notion by demonstrating horses’ dietary flexibility and their consequential utility in managing both herbaceous and woody vegetation layers. Spearheading the research, zooarchaeologist Ariadna Nieto-Espinet highlights that horses adjust their grazing behavior dynamically depending on variables such as breed, environment, and grazing pressure, revealing their potential as a complementary herbivore in silvopastoral fire prevention systems.
The study’s methodology is as rigorous as it is innovative. Targeting three distinct scenarios across Mediterranean landscapes, the research team scrutinized the diets of feral and domestic horses subjected to varying grazing regimes. These cases included the Przewalski’s horses at the Boumort National Game Reserve, Pottoka horses within the Garraf Natural Park, and crossbred domestic horses under controlled high-density grazing. By collecting and conducting microhistological analyses on 50 recent fecal samples, the researchers employed detailed botanical identification of plant epidermis fragments to decipher dietary compositions. Advancing beyond mere presence-absence data, the application of sophisticated statistical models enabled precise quantification of diet shifts and resource utilization patterns across both fine and coarse fuel categories.
Przewalski’s horses, inhabiting a mosaic environment with a patchwork of forest, scrub, and meadow, exhibited a predominantly grass-based diet year-round. Notably, their consumption minimally affected woody vegetation, implying a grazing pattern geared towards clearing fine fuels without disrupting woody understory plants. In stark contrast, the rustic Pottoka horses undertook a strategic shift in their feeding as grazing pressure extended over time. Initial consumption targeted fine, highly flammable grasses, but as these were depleted, their diet adapted towards woody species, effectively managing both fine and coarse fuels integral to wildfire dynamics. This adaptive feeding is critical in moderating the fuel composition that influences fire spread and intensity.
Crossbred horses, subjected to intensive yet brief grazing intervals supplemented with additional feed, demonstrated a rapid progression from grazing on grasses to browsing on woody plants. Their capacity for swift dietary adaptation underscores a promising avenue for targeted management tactics that seek to optimize the removal of diverse fuel types on demand. The interplay of supplementary feeding alongside grazing pressure appears to stimulate this agile utilization of available biomass, positioning these horses as flexible tools for landscape-level fire risk management.
The ecological significance of these findings cannot be overstated. Grazing by horses contributes not only to fuel load reduction but also to the preservation of open landscapes and heterogeneous mosaics crucial for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The maintenance of these spatial patterns is instrumental in interrupting the continuity of combustible material, thereby hindering the propagation of wildfires. Horses’ contribution to landscape complexity adds an important layer of defense in Mediterranean silvopastoral systems increasingly threatened by climate change-induced aridity and rural demographic shifts that lessen traditional land use.
The research also shines light on the undervalued potential of rustic horse breeds such as the Pottoka. Often marginalized in contemporary agricultural paradigms, these breeds reveal remarkable behavioral plasticity and resilience under extensive grazing regimes. Their ability to elegantly transition across dietary niches and suppress flammable biomass invites a reevaluation of their utility in integrated fire management strategies that merge ecological benefits with cultural and economic values linked to heritage breed conservation.
While the empirical data amassed provide a robust foundation, the researchers prudently note the imperative for long-term studies to accurately quantify the direct effects of equine grazing on fuel accumulation and wildfire incidence rates. Understanding the complexities of herbivore-vegetation interactions over temporal scales will enhance the predictive power of management models and optimize grazing prescriptions tailored to specific ecological contexts. The research team’s vision embraces the integration of horses into multifaceted, adaptive fire prevention frameworks that harness their dynamic feeding behaviors alongside other grazing species.
This paradigm shift in fire ecology and forest management echoes broader environmental challenges. In Mediterranean regions where anthropogenic pressures and climatic uncertainties converge, leveraging natural processes such as herbivory presents a sustainable pathway towards mitigating fire hazards. Horses, with their dietary adaptability and capacity to interface with diverse plant communities, embody an ecological tool whose potential remains vastly underexplored until now. The study propagates a compelling case for policy makers, land managers, and conservationists to incorporate equine grazing more deliberately in fire risk reduction practices.
Furthermore, the interdisciplinary nature of the study—bridging zoology, ecology, forestry, and agronomy—exemplifies the progressive research frameworks required to address complex environmental problems. Contributions from organizations like Boumort Wildland, the Miranda Foundation, the Forest Horses association, and the University of Barcelona enrich the collaborative knowledge base driving these innovative fire mitigation approaches. Their collective effort underscores how combining empirical scientific evidence with practical grazing management can architect sustainable solutions for landscapes vulnerable to catastrophic fires.
Ultimately, the promising outcomes documented with Pottoka and crossbred horses underscore the transformative potential locked within equine dietary behavior. Rather than being passive grazers limited to grassy diets, horses actively modulate their feeding according to resource availability and ecological opportunity, a trait that can be harnessed to sculpt vegetation structures in fire-prone ecosystems. As such, horses ascend from peripheral actors to central figures in the development of fire-resilient Mediterranean forests—a testament to the power of reexamining conventional wisdom through diligent scientific inquiry.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: Dietary strategies of feral and domestic horses under varying grazing pressures: insights for Mediterranean forest management
Web References:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-025-01291-9
Image Credits: Author: Jordi Bartolomé (UAB)
Keywords: Animal science, Behavioral ecology, Animals
