Update from the weekend in Galicia, where much of the territory is monte - high hills, moorland and forests. Most of this is unfenced, with cattle, horses, sheep and goats roaming free. However, they are all owned by someone, and come late spring/summer the livestock owners want to check out how many young have been produced.
All through the late spring and summer villages hold curros where they round up the bands of wild horses, and take them to be counted, branded, have their manes and tails clipped and give them wormers. Some foals are sold for meat, others (especially females) are allowed to stay on the hills to breed in the following years.
The curro starts early. On horseback, families set off far and wide over the approx 20 hectare area, finding the horses and herding them towards the enclosure. The walled enclosure is perhaps 2 square km. It's quite a sight seeing the riders herding the bands of wild horses towards the entrance funnel, where old men stand waving their sticks to scare them in.
The dress code runs to the printed t-shirt (normally from a previous curro), jeans, cap and long stick. Riders sport jeans, boots and evil looking spurs.
Once all the horses are in, it's time to identify them. The mares all have brands from previous curros, but their new foals are as yet unmarked. The first step requires about 10 men, who creep up on a small group of horses, circle a foal and pounce. One grabs the neck in a vice hold. Another the tail. Another holds the nostrils in a pincer. Uncountable others grab the body. The mother scarpers but then stands at a distance whinneying. The foal kicks if it can, but the tail pulling immobilises it well. Then in comes the man with the scissors. He'll cut the owner's brand pattern into the hair, so that later it can be branded on. He cuts the tail to just below the tail bone and chops off the mane. When that's done (a matter of 1 minute), the foal is let loose and charges off to find its mother. Sometimes it runs around for about 5 minutes winneying and sniffing, until it finds the right mare.
Later in the day, (we didn't stay for this), the foals and mares are separated by driving them through a 'funnel' and they are all given worming pills. The foals that have been sold for meat are taken away, and those who are to stay are branded and then released.
It all sounds (and is) very brutal, but it's a way of life here, I suppose related to the cowboys of USA, the rancheros of Mexico and the ranchers of Australia. The curros here are very social occasions. There are beer tents and bbq tents set up incide the enclosure. Families set up their picnics in the shade of eucaliptus or pine trees, and teenagers stroll around in small groups eyeing each other up. In fact, it's great to see that these traditions, which you might think would be dying out, are still alive and strong.