‘Wild’ horses in medieval and early modern landscapes of Europe

Historical mentions of herds of ‘wild’ horses in Europe are frequently taken unquestioningly as a reference for natural grazing in nature conservation. It is often assumed that such herds roamed the wilderness freely and functioned in a socially and ecologically unrestrained manner, uninfluenced by humans. On the basis of a survey of historical (primary) sources, it is examined if these assumptions are justified, or whether these herds should be considered as cultural artifacts. Truly wild horses seem to have disappeared from the North-West European landscape shortly after the Early Mesolithic. Meticulous examination of mentions of ‘wild horses’ in a wide variety of sources from the Early Middle Ages onwards testifies to the fact that these animals had owners and were actually domestic. They were intensively managed in enclosures in the wilderness and deployed in agriculture and warfare. The social functioning of these ‘wild horse’ herds has been influenced for centuries by restricting allowance of stallions, early withdrawal of foals, and protection against predators. In turn, this will have impacted the way these animals influenced the landscape. It does not, however, mean that grazing by free-roaming horses is a bad idea from landscape and nature conservation perspectives. On the contrary, it offers an excellent opportunity to combine protection of both nature and cultural heritage by reinstating the medieval agricultural technique that horse-keeping in the free factually is.