Feral horses can be found in many regions of Greece. Most of them belong to the Pindos breed. Feral populations derive from farm animals set free at some point in their lives; some were abandoned due to old age and were no longer of service to their owners, others because of poor health and yet others because they were no longer needed for farm work. These animals reproduced and formed herds.
The geoclimatic conditions of the Greek mountains where these feral populations live act as a filter for characteristics and genes. Foreign or cross-bred animals cannot endure the harsh Greek conditions and eventually die-out. The result of this process is that foreign influences are eliminated and only genes adapted to Greek conditions survive.Feral herds can be found on Mount. Aenos in Kefalonia, Lesbos, the Achelloos River estuary and the area of Lepenou in Amfilochia. In the Epirus region they live near the Kalamas River estuary and in northern Greece, they can be found near the estuaries of the rivers Axios, Aliakmon and Evros as well as the Rhodope mountain range.
