On summer nights, horses’ manes and tails are said to become tangled, or, according to others, mysteriously braided by supernatural beings: nameless birds or fairies with the body of a bird and the face of a woman.
This happens on summer nights, especially around Midsummer.
Horses grow restless and agitated, biting, rearing, and striking out with their hooves.
Their manes and tails become so tightly tangled that no one can unravel them.
What people can do is sprinkle the animals with holy water and as soon as they do, the horses calm down instantly, as if a spell had been broken or an evil spirit cast out.
But it takes great skill: the horses won’t stand still, and few are able to approach them without being harmed.
(this story is attested in different regions of Romanian, including Letea, where we recorded it in 2023)