When we first came to Portugal, we were deeply concerned about the way that the Portuguese keep their horses. Unless the horses are working, which is pretty rare these days, the horses are often kept indoors all day. They are fed on hay, much of which we in England would call straw.
The horses are usually allowed out for a few hours each night. The fields into which they are released frequently have nothing for the horses to eat.
The reason for the differences is the climate.
For much of the year the sun bakes the ground, so growing grass or hay is a problem. It is not practical for the horses to range over a grass field, as they do in England, because there is no grass.
Growing grass for hay is impractical in many parts of Portugal, so one grows oats or rye or a combination and uses that as hay.
Portugal has very nasty biting flies. Quite often we bring the horses into stables during the day. In the cool of the evening there are fewer flies, so we let them out overnight.
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