Emmanuel Ortiz

• Doma, Criollo horse training
• Pato, at play
• Yerra, working livestock

Emmanuel Ortiz offers :

• > Signed prints.
• > Information about exhibitions.
• > Reports about your horses, your own set-up, or about the equestrian activities which you organise and practice.
• > Portraits of your horses or stories about your horse-breeding.

Emmanuel Ortiz at Tropoja in northern Albania on the frontier with Kosovo. While the world's attention was concentrated on the « World 98 », war was starting in Kosovo…

La Yerra, working with livestock

Report in pictures by Emmanuel Ortiz
Extract from the exposition, « Man and horse »

« La Yerra » consists of the branding of livestock and the castration of calves.  There are two types of brand, on the ear by a notch in one or other ear which also identifies the sex of the calf, an iron brand on the left rear thigh, even though it is usually recommended today to mark the jaw so as not to mark the leather.

Beforehand « La Yerra » was a feast, beasts were slaughtered and roasted on a huge grill (l’asado), the owner of the livestock provides meat and wine for his friends and family.  It is a get-together for the farming community.  « La Yerra » usually takes place in autumn because when the temperature is lower, there are fewer flies.  Today, the animals are herded into corrals where they are vaccinated, branded and where the calves are castrated in the « manga ». The festive felling is not often the order of the day.  Often, also, the men clean the cow dung off the tails in view of the early departure the next day to sell them at auction.

The Criollo horse which can, at this event, show his indispensable dexterity in working with livestock, is the pride of his owner who shows him off to his friends.