A manade ( prov. ''menada'', originally from lat. ''manus'' = hand) is a term used mainly in the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ''P ...

area in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for a semi-

feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...

group of

Camargue cattle The Camargue is a breed of domestic cattle native to the Camargue marshlands of the river delta of the Rhône in southern France. It is used for the traditional sport of '' course camarguaise'', a kind of bloodless bull-fight, but not for the ...

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

led by a

gardian A is a mounted cattle herdsman in the Camargue delta in Provence, southern France. The work is akin to that of the Mexican , the North American cowboy, the Tuscan buttero or the Portuguese . Gardians ride Camargue horses. See also * Camarg ...

, or herder. In French, the word ''manade'' dates from 1867. In older texts it also referred to herds of sheep, but modern use of the term is limited only to raising groups of larger livestock. Raising animals in manades is specific for the

Crau The Crau is the ancient confluence of the Durance and Rhône, and constitutes their vast flat alluvial fan. Agriculture The Crau is composed of two different parts: The dry Crau is in the south, and has been used as pasture from Roman times. Th ...

, Camargue (

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

) and Petite Camargue (

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

) regions of France, and therefore the term itself is strongly associated with the same area.

Defining a manade

Conditions of breeding

In 1967 the Camargue Horse Breeders' Association of France (Association des éleveurs de chevaux de race Camargue or AECRC) defined the term manade to refer to the "extensive breeding" of horses at liberty and out of doors in groups of at least four

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s of reproductive age and grazing on at least . "Extensive breeding" means that the animals move around freely looking for suitable vegetation for their feed and that no extra feed in provided. As a rule the role of the gardian is minimal: with the exception of emergencies, the animals are gathered up only once a year for a health check,

branding Branding may refer to: Physical markings * Making a mark, typically by charring: ** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.) ** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...

and

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

of selected males. Camargue map

Since both

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and

have long been raised in the same fashion in the same areas, inter-species herds are often formed. Even the terminology referring to animals of different age as well as some terms of herding apply to both horses and cattle. Each individual breeder has their unique brand for marking the animals on the left haunch. Today, the

Haras Nationaux The Haras Nationaux in France (English literal translation ''national stud farms'') was the French national public administrative body responsible for the regulation and administration of breeding of horses and donkeys in France. It administere ...

, the French national association of horse breeders, has further refined the definition of living conditions for animals in a manade: "a manade means raising Camargue horses in freedom with at least four mares in reproductive age stationed the year long in the native area of the breed (''berceau de la race''), in an area with only one animal over 18 months of age per two hectares in an area of at least 20 hectares owned or rented by an individual." Camargue-Stiere 2

The rules for raising Camargue cattle in a way meriting the use of the AOC-label (Taureau de Camargue ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

'', "controlled designation of origin" ), are much in the same vein: both dry and humid areas necessary, six months of grazing in a humid area obligatory each year, "extensive breeding," less than 1 grown animal per of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

Names of breeding establishments

The term manade is often seen in names of different establishments related to cattle and horse breeding. A manade is led by a manadier (''bayle'' in Provençal). As regards horse breeding, only breeders who raise their animals in manades in the native area of the breed are entitled to use the word Manade in the name of their establishment. All others must be called ''Élevage'' or

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

. Horses are always present even if a Manade specialises in cattle, since by tradition the Camargue horse is the only mount of a gardian.

Further development

By tradition all manades have to do with raising large animals, but a Paris-based trade name for a manufacturer of office items such as desk accessories and lamps seems to indicate a trend towards additional uses for the term.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=Présentation de la Filière bovine , format=pdf , url=http://www.agri13.fr/uploads/tx_categorizedFiles/filiere_bovine_13.pdf , publisher=Chambre d’agriculture Bouches du Rhône , year=2007 , language=fr , url-status=bot: unknown , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114212539/http://www.agri13.fr/uploads/tx_categorizedFiles/filiere_bovine_13.pdf , archivedate=2008-11-14 Archived 14 November 2008. {{Cite book , author1=Casanova, Paul , author2=Dupuy, Pierre , title= Dictionnaire tauromachique , publisher= Jeanne Laffitte , place= Marseille , year= 1981 , isbn= 2-86276-043-9 , language=fr {{Cite book , author= Macaire, Pierre , title=Saint- Gilles, Aigues-Mortes, Le Grau-du-Roi et la Camargue (Au cours du Vidourle) , publisher = Le Plein des sens , year= 2003 , isbn= 87-90493-73-7 , language= fr {{Cite web, title=Les traditions camarguaises , url=http://www.ot-paysdelunel.fr/pages/accueil_rubrique.php?cat_id=4&sub_id=102&page=&PHPSESSID=eecf83ace243d9db1f91e4b1527fa2d1 , publisher=Office de Tourisme Communauté de Communes du Pays de Lunel , year=2011 , language=fr , url-status=bot: unknown , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322085542/http://www.ot-paysdelunel.fr/pages/accueil_rubrique.php?cat_id=4&sub_id=102&page=&PHPSESSID=eecf83ace243d9db1f91e4b1527fa2d1 , archivedate=2012-03-22 Archived 22 March 2012. Camargue Horse breeding and studs