One of the Last Horse Transhumances in Europe
Drawn to the world of the outdoors and wide-open spaces, Hanna, Juan, and Laura, three international riders, embarked on one of the last Mérens horse transhumances in Europe.
For three days and three nights, they accompanied 30 Mérens horses from the high plateaus of the Ariège Pyrenees to the more temperate valleys below.
• 30 HORSES IN FREEDOM
• 100 KM AND 8,100 M OF ELEVATION THROUGH THE PYRENEES
• BREATHTAKING AND IMPRESSIVE NATURE
Beyond encountering the herd in freedom, it’s about our deep relationship with the horses.
The Mérens Horses
Traditionally raised in a transhumant system, the Mérens horse has developed most of its qualities from the mountains. It is a hardy, honest, docile, and enduring horse. Also called the "Méringais," it learns very quickly. Once used for small agricultural tasks, the Mérens has become the quintessential versatile horse.
Originating from the high Ariège Valley in the Pyrenees, the Mérens horse shows an astonishing morphological similarity to Magdalenian horses (13,000 years ago) depicted in the Niaux cave. Thanks to breeders devoted to this type of hardy, versatile, and long-domesticated horse, a sufficient purebred population has been preserved, raised in traditional transhumance systems. The use of this small agricultural draft horse continued until the 1970s.
- Average Height: 1.45 m
- Coat: black
- Mane and Tail: abundant, coarse, often wavy
- Head: expressive
- Neck: medium length, well set
- Chest: well-opened
- Shoulder: moderately long, fairly sloped
- Withers: prominent and extending towards the back
- Back: broad and well supported
- Loin: well attached, broad, and muscular
- Croup: rounded
- Foals: born black, silver-gray, or light coffee colored.
Haras Picard du Sant
Haras Picard du Sant is an organic Mérens horse breeding farm located in Ariège, at the heart of the Ariège Pyrenees Regional Natural Park, run by Jean-Louis Savignol and his family.
Long, beautiful lines of black "princes of Ariège" – that is what the Mérens can represent along roads, trails, GR paths, Roman roads, and mountain pastures. Also called in Ariège the "Montagagne," this history and tradition are practiced and promoted by HARAS PICARD DU SANT.
Pyrénéan pastoralism is a story of people, breeders, and mountain territories. Farms often lack enough pasture, so they rely on high-altitude summer grazing areas (estives). Herds are guided along roads, paths, GR trails, or Roman roads – as in our case, covering approximately 70 km over three days and nights at herd pace (7 km/h). Herds follow each other, and breeders use these moments to meet and share local products. The animals are brought to the estives to benefit from about five months of high-altitude natural forage.
Transhumance also helps preserve and maintain mountain natural areas. It contributes to biodiversity conservation and mitigates natural risks such as avalanches and wildfires.
