Spanish horses brave fire to fight virus

At full gallop, the horse emerges from the darkness and races through a string of bonfires in an ancient ritual to ward off sickness performed every January in a tiny Spanish village.

Known as Luminarias, the festival takes place every Jan. 16 in San Bartolome de Pinares, a village perched high in the hills about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Madrid.

By the light of an almost full moon, several local officials are sweating copiously, despite freezing temperatures, as they pile branches onto the bonfires blazing along the main street of this village of just 600 residents.

As the bells ring out, there is a sudden clatter of hooves as the first horse and rider come charging out.
After the first horse passes another follows, then a group of them, sparks flying from their hooves as they gallop down the street, cheered on by hundreds of onlookers here to witness this mystical, medieval-like spectacle.

The tradition takes place every year on the eve of the feast of San Anton, Spain's patron saint of animals, and dates back to the 18th century when an epidemic devastated the horse population.
"Before when animal died because of infection, they had to be burned," said Leticia Martin, a 29-year-old physiotherapist riding a horse called Fiel.

"So when the epidemic disappeared, people began to believe that the smoke protected the animals."
"These fires, which purify animals from all diseases, are lit on the eve of San Anton's day, which is celebrated on January 17," said Anton Erkoreka of the Museum of the History of Medicine in Spain's Basque Country region.

During the feast, masses are held across Spain to bless animals.
"Fire is always a purifying element and this festival asks the saint for his protection on...