Safira · Sesmaria · Semente
Born in 2022 · Agolada, Portugal
Three unmarked mares, three uncertain lineages, and a story of resilience, identity and hope.
There are three fillies from 2022 who, by irony of fate (and sheer lack of time), carry fewer marks on their bodies than stories behind them: Safira, Sesmaria and Semente. None of them are branded. Not by choice, but because that year came heavy — a hard winter, relentless field work and branding was postponed. It remained undone.
They received only what was indispensable: microchip, written descriptions and biological samples for paternity identification. Without exterior marks, they grew almost like small living enigmas: three mares who move together:
Safira was born at Agolada on January 24th, 2022, daughter of Jóia and Cardo.
Sesmaria was born at Agolada on April 16th, 2022, daughter of Obstinada and Zimbro.
Semente was born at Agolada on April 27th, 2022, daughter of Cereja and Cardo.
What distinguishes them — more than any number on a shoulder — is the story of their fathers.
In 2020, during Covid, the owner of a fully wild herd in the Vale do Zebro, in Lamarosa, near Agolada, decided to disperse his animals. He opened the door to anyone who wished to take them. And we, with our herd already caught in a web of consanguinity, seized the opportunity to acquire two more stallions: we needed new blood. Our stallions were, in practice, brothers or first‑degree cousins to almost all the mares. Continuing like that was closing the future.
We chose two stallions: Zimbro, older but known to be fertile; and Cardo, only three years old, full of the raw energy of a wild horse. These horses had grown in the wild, carrying only microchips and, we believed, clearly identified paternity.
Cardo was released with the herd of mares: he was young, virile and the herd accepted him as if he had always been there. Zimbro, older, stayed in a small paddock with only two mares.
And the births came.
From Zimbro came Sesmaria.
From Cardo came Safira, Severa, Semente and Sossegado.
Only later, when the lab results arrived, did we receive the heavy news: neither Cardo nor Zimbro had confirmed paternity. The former owner assured us — “on his word” — that all were pure Sorraia and that everything had been sent for genetic confirmation. But the truth is that the paternities were never verified. Although we are certain they are offspring of Sorraias, without identifying their genealogy they cannot be registered in the breed’s studbook.
So today we are in a long and costly process: trying to identify, among dozens of animals that made up that herd (some of which we still have blood samples from, others not), the possible genealogy of Zimbro and Cardo. A task only possible with the help of the Portuguese Sorraia Horse Association and the molecular genetics laboratories at INIAV.
Severa did not reach adulthood — she died at two years old. The other three — Safira, Sesmaria and Semente — are the ones who remain. They move together, as if bound by a small pact. They have an apparent fragility, a health that keeps us always waiting for a sign, but they also carry a promise: if we manage to uncover the origins of their fathers, perhaps in them lies the genetic renewal the herd needs.
Yet the most striking story is Sesmaria’s.
Sesmaria carries a story unlike any other — one of birth, instinct, courage and survival.
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By becoming a Guardian of the Three S Mares, you help us protect Safira, Sesmaria and Semente while supporting the work to establish and preserve their maternal heritage.
Every mare has a story. Their story is one of identity, resilience and the hope of uncovering what has yet to be told.
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