Wild horses' manes and tails lay down on the ground after being cut off during the Rapa das Bestas festival in Torroña, Spain.

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Wild horses' manes and tails lay down on the ground after being cut off during the Rapa das Bestas (Shearing of the Beasts) festival in Torroña, Spain, 5 June 2011. The herds of of wild horses roam freely the hills of Galicia in the north-western Spain. Each year, in the beginning of summer, villagers herd horses down from the higher ground, rounding them up in the curro, a centuries-old stone arena. Here, ranchers catch the animals one by one and shear their manes and tails. Some of the young men, showing up their strength and courage, fight the untamed horses just with their bare hands. At the end of Rapa das Bestas, a 400-year-old Spanish tradition, the newborn foals are branded and all horses are released back into the wilderness.

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Size: 5316px × 3544px
Location: Torroña, Oia, Galicia, Spain
Photo credit: © Jan Sochor / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, beasts, bestas, culture, curro, cut, cuttings, das, festival, fiesta, galicia, galician, horse, horses, mane, nature, rapa, shadow, shear, shearing, shearings, spain, spanish, tail, tame, tradition, trimmings, wild