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Comment by Kt Mehers on June 16, 2009 at 3:58am

Word Transhumance is the Geographers technical word for the mass movement of domestic animals from one type of pasture to another. In these mountainous regions it is from the lowland pasture to the upland pasture for Summer and then in reverse for winter. For the Pyrenee's it covers Horses, Cows and Sheep. It's all very "Heidi" including the some of the animals wearing bells!

Comment by Barnmice Admin on June 15, 2009 at 11:21pm

Thank you so much for explaining all this. It is absolutely fascinating! How lucky that you were able to see all this first hand. I must google the area - and the word transhumance!

Comment by Kt Mehers on June 15, 2009 at 9:40am

I've just come back from the Pyrenees in France, nearest true civilisation is a town called Foix, and the 'photo was taken on the very high mountain plateau behind our Gite. It is so rural and remote that they are allowed to wander free, a bit like the New Forest Ponies here in the UK. The region is famous for prehistoric cave paintings, carbon dated back to 14000 years ago from present. Some of the paintings are of horses and it is believed that the painting are of this breed. They are "owned" by a Farmer in the local Village of Les Cabannes. There is also a herd of cows wandering the same plateau owned by the same guy. The whole region pratices Transhumance which is where the animals are allowed to run wild during the summer in the upper mountain pastures. This is an incredible site when they move them from low land pasture to the upper pastures and the pratice is centuries old.

Comment by Barnmice Admin on June 15, 2009 at 8:56am

Incredible photo! Where is this? What are they doing just walking along the road??