La Réserve du Pottoka Discover the Pottok at the Pottoka Reserve in Bidarray

THE HOUSE OF POTTOK – POTTOKA RESERVE

Little Wild Horse of the Basque Country

Formerly the Pottok (pronounced pottiok), a small primitive horse from the Basque Country, was wild.

Brown or black in color, like its ancestors depicted on the walls of the caves of Lascaux, Altamira and Isturitz, it was found in total freedom on the moors and mountains covered with ferns, gorse and forests as far as the Atlantic Ocean.

Today, the Original Black Pottok is seriously threatened with extinction due to the extensive crossbreeding carried out by humans with domestic horse and pony breeds, as well as the increasing scarcity of its natural habitat, which has been cleared and fragmented.

Genetic studies have been carried out in the Southern Basque Country (Spain) since 1988.

Since 1992, Michel LAFORET, former wildlife filmmaker and photo safari guide in the Kruger National Park in South Africa (#mopayasafari.com) has been preserving some of the last Original Black Primitive Pottoks in the Reserve surrounding LA MAISON DU POTTOK in Bidarray in Lower Navarre (France) with a conservation herd and a stallion nursery.

Retro exhibition of old photos since 1897 at LA MAISON DU POTTOK and guided walking tours of the Reserve, the only site in the entire region where you can discover this small horse, emblematic of the Basque Country, roaming freely in its natural environment, with a magnificent view of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, observation of griffon vultures, Highland cows and Pyrenean goats.

In 1995, in the Southern Basque Country (Spain), the PRIMITIVE ORIGINAL BLACK POTTOK was officially called PONI VASCO POTTOKA and was the subject of an exemplary conservation program, relayed since 2020 by Michel LAFORET on the Pottoka Reserve in Bidarray, to obtain at least 3 complete homogeneous and stable generations in order to consider the ancestral strain saved from extinction.

Due to the summer heat and in order to increase the chances of seeing horses roaming free on the Reserve, meet at 3 p.m. sharp with Michel LAFORET at the start of the communal track at the green mailbox and then climb up to the Pottoka Reserve.

Directions from Bidarray: 1 km 100 after passing the Noblia Bridge in Bidarray towards Ossès and Saint-Jean-Pied de Port coming from Cambo-Les-Bains, left exit from the D918 road, Arnate – Adarre sign, Uhaina Rafting. This first GPS point will be sent to your mobile phone.

Once you've left the main road D918, display the second point on your mobile phone corresponding to the green mailbox where a volunteer representative of the association will be waiting for you. As a member of the association, you can take the mountain road restricted to local residents (Pastoral Zone).

Prices: €15, Children 7 to 12 years €10. Please plan to pay in cash with the exact amount, as the association's banking terminal does not always work well on this isolated mountain site, protected from modern overpopulation!

3:30 p.m.: Exhibition of old photos since 1897 at LA MAISON DU POTTOK and walk on foot on the POTTOKA RESERVE in the mountains with Michel LAFORET in search of the HERDS CONSERVATORY for around 2 hours.

Please note that due to the mountainous nature of the Reserve, the mountain tracks and trails are unfortunately not accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Bring walking shoes or sneakers, hat, cap, waterproof windbreaker in case of rain, binoculars and camera.

Our canine friends are welcome to roam free if obedient or kept on a leash.

Observation of griffon vultures and diurnal birds of prey, Highland cows and Pyrenean goats, with a magnificent view of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean (depending on weather conditions).

5:30 p.m./6 p.m. Shop, drinks and Basque Cake at LA MAISON DU POTTOK reserved for members of the association (private site not accessible to the general public).

Members of the association are also invited to the various activities planned throughout the year.

Next appointments: Beginning of September and end of November “ARRAPA POTTOKA” which means “Catch the Pottok” gently with treatment and identification of the foals.

We look forward to having you among the defenders of the POTTOKA, the last small wild horse of Southwest Europe.

Reservation required on the website.

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