Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Transhumance with donkeys

I had gone out early for a mountain bike ride (in order to beat the heat) and saw someone riding a horse towards me. At this point, the trail was narrow and the mountain was steep, so the horse would probably be nervous. I got of my bike, moved well clear of the trail and sat myself and the bike down. It soon became clear there were several riderless horses following the rider and then ... lots of donkeys, at least 50 of them.

There were 5 or 6 other people helping 'shepherd' the donkeys up the trail. I asked the last one where they were going and she said they were taking them up to the high pastures, where they would spend the summer. This is very common with sheep in the area (and also done with goats and occasionally cows), but it's the first time I've heard of it being done with horses and donkeys. 

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