CHEVAUX SAUVAGES DE LIVNO

America has its mustangs. Livno has its wild horses (Livanjski Divlji Konji). These have become the number one attraction here. Forming four herds, there are 600 to 800 of them living on the Krug plateau, at an altitude of 1,000 m, under Mount Cincar (2,006 m), and up to the Borova Glava pass, between Livno and Kupres: an inhospitable and uninhabited karst area of 150 km2. These are domesticated horses that have been abandoned since the 1960s due to the mechanization of agriculture and poverty. The last war also played a role, as some horses were left to fend for themselves with the sudden departure of the inhabitants. The horses of Livno are close to the horse before its domestication. For the most part, they are descended from the "Bosnian mountain horse" also called "Bosnian pony", even though it reaches 1.30 to 1.45 m at the withers. The breed was created by the Austro-Hungarians in the 1890s by crossing the tarpan, ancestor of the modern horse which disappeared in 1897, and Asian horses of the Ottoman cavalry. Robust, these animals were designed for the rugged terrain of the country. This is what allowed them to survive.

To discover alone or accompanied. The old beasts of burden or draught animals have learned to feed themselves, to find water and to beware of predators: wolves, but especially men, hunters who slaughtered them for their meat. Until the local association Borova Glava intervened. Thanks to a petition signed by 7,500 residents in 2013, the municipality of Livno banned horse hunting. Due to political bickering, the ban was suspended in 2017. But it is now frowned upon to kill horses. As a result, the number of animals would have increased from 286 in 2013 to 418 in 2019. As early as 2013, an agency was created in Croatia to bring visitors from Split and Dubrovnik. It is now the local agency Livno Wild Horses Adventure Tours that provides guided tours. In winter, the horses can only rely on themselves. The lack of water leads them to venture further and further away. When the frost arrives, they flock to the Livno-Kupres road to lick the salt off the asphalt, which has already caused accidents. So much so that the Borova Glava association recently had to create three water points to prevent the herds from moving. This also means that it is now easier to know where to find the horses.