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Sweet ending for 'Almíbar', the horse evicted from the Generalitat

2022-05-27T05:49:01.372Z


The journalist Juan Ramón Lucas and the model Sandra Ibarra will take care of the horse in Asturias, after an agreement with the Catalan Soil Institute


The former model Sandra Ibarra hugs 'Almibar', last Saturday, at her home in Noriega (Asturias).

Alberto Losa

The Three Wise Men have arrived late this year to the marriage of Juan Ramón Lucas and Sandra Ibarra.

On January 6, the journalist learned from EL PAÍS about the story of

Almíbar

, a horse for which the Catalan Soil Institute (Incasòl) was looking for a home.

The equine had been abandoned in Mollet (Barcelona), after the eviction of some illegal barracks.

From that day on, the couple became interested in adopting him and a week ago the sweet ending arrived.

Almíbar

, a 22-year-old sorrel, will spend the rest of his life enjoying the green of the Sierra de Cuera, in Asturias, and sharing meadow, salt and feed with the other members of his new herd:

Magnum

,

Bella

,

Zeus

,

Diana

and

Max

.

The gift was long in coming, but it arrived last Friday afternoon, after almost a year of legal travel, more than 750 kilometers of slow road travel and leaving some broken hearts along the way.

Aside from the sawdust, he only had with him the identification card that his original owner also left behind.

Telegraphic data: Hispano-Arab, 22 years old (they usually live a maximum of 30), castrated and with whirlpools on the head, neck and chest.

“He has a very good footprint.

If you look at the stride you see that he carries his feet [hind legs] further forward than his [front] handprints,” says the announcer as he points to the ground.

Such a horse has a hard time finding a new home.

Almost a year ago, the lawyer who attended the eviction in the Sierra de Galliners park was stunned to find the horse tied to a post, next to an orchard that a man visited on weekends.

By law, abandoned property remains in public custody.

The judge, effectively, entrusted the entity with the guardianship of the horse while waiting to decide his future.

He opted for the easiest solution: take him to the nearby Castillo de Mogoda, also belonging to the Generalitat body that manages public land.

José Luis Sánchez and Toni Pérez, two Incasòl employees, had to quickly go after the animal and, without knowing how it would react, slowly bring it along the entire side of the C-17 motorway.

Almíbar lived with a marquis.

Literally.

The castle belonged to the Marquis of Comillas and passed to the Generalitat in 1980. Sánchez and Pérez used their ingenuity and advice from friends to accommodate the horse in stables that had been empty for decades.

From the start, like Lucas, they were impressed by his nobility and seemingly constant need for company.

Until January, the Generalitat had failed in its attempts to find a social project that would take care of the quadruped.

Meanwhile, the horse had already finished with all the figs, pears and medlars around Mogoda.

Lucas's proposal (who assumes all the maintenance) was the most advantageous although, yes, the one that most broke the hearts of Sánchez and Pérez and other employees of the castle, completely delighted with the sorrel.

More information

Almíbar, the surviving horse of the Mollet eviction cared for by Incasòl workers

In this throwaway world, sadly, the question of why would anyone want a horse already in stoppage time fits.

"People simplify the relationship with the horse to being on top of it, but much more happens on the ground," defends Ibarra.

After surviving two leukemias and dedicating his life to raising awareness about cancer, he explains that the way of relating to the world has changed and in horses he has found another meaning of trust.

The director of the program

La Brújula

, on Onda Cero, also enjoys them in his own way: he does his meditations surrounded by animals.

“They have an impressive silent language.

You enjoy it more than the rides,” he notes.

The origin of the idyll with quadrupeds has an anecdote.

“My second horse left me for my wife!” Lucas jokes when he recalls the origin of his love for equines.

He was born in Madrid but his family is from Boquerizo, near the property where the only limit of the herd is that of 2.5 hectares of land.

But the real click came thanks to his relationship with bullfighter and breeder Sergio Vega.

His first animal was

Bulería

, 15 years ago.

Then came

Hercules

, a stormy character that a completely inexperienced Ibarra managed to change from day one.

Since then Lucas calls her "the horse hugger".

And, for now, those hugs seem to be key in the integration of

Almíbar

.

It is not an easy task, especially given the lonely life he had led up until now.

There is room and food for everyone, but the gregarious nature of horses rules.

They had already experienced this process when the siblings

Zeus

and

Diana

joined

Bella, Max

and

Magnum in 2019.

, who at 11 years old is acting as the leader of the pack.

“It can take a day or a week.

Or not to pass, "said Lucas last Saturday while Ibarra sang to the newcomer, hugging her neck, before the attentive gaze of the rest of the herd.

They are still separated, the journalist explained yesterday by telephone.

The "horse hugger" is in Asturias following the process.

"We're not in a hurry," he added.

Although there are also advances.

Syrup

is already approaching the old chestnut tree that the pack uses to scratch itself.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-05-27

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