DEHESA

In Extremadura and La Mancha, pastures were the basic unit used to farm livestock. They can be defined as enormous, privately owned areas of fenced grazing land, where, due to their size, it was possible to keep an entire flock (1,200 sheep) during the winter.

The shepherds and their f locks would normally stay in the same pasture, year after year. This had the great advantage that the shepherd really got to know the pasture and how to organise its resources, to get the most out of its different parts. The sheep would also remember the different livestock trails. They knew every corner of the pasture.

The type of pasture was directly related to the quality and quantity of the wool.

To herd: when the shepherd directs the flock to where it can graze.