The quality of the environment and the natural conditions - a mild and humid climate, numerous grasslands and bocages - of the Norman terroirs are essential to horse breeding. The practice is, indeed, deeply attached to the soil and the terroir, which ensure both the well-being and the good health of the animals. Some 543,632 acres (220,000 ha) of meadows located in wetlands - as here in the Cotentin and Bessin marshes - or in drier areas are consumed each year by horses. These meadows make Lower Normandy a benchmark but are threatened by the boom in cereal crops to feed the bovines.