That little Apollon is quite a pipsqueak and I have to keep him in line!
#1 told me about her visit to the mare's milk place. She made some friends there, it would seem... This little guy was so cute that it looks like one of the ladies who went along with #1 is actually going to buy him when he is weaned!
And then there was this Picardy Shepherd pup who quite stole #1's heart!
As for the little Charolais calves in the field next to Poupounette Central, they are continuing to grow nicely under the eye of their mums:
By the way did you know that there is a fabulous flower show on over at Alassandra, The Cats and A Dog blog? We sent them our contribution, but in the spirit of things, here are a few more shots of our wildflowers:
#1 here. I would like to thank all those who left interesting and thoughtful comments to yesterday's post. There are just two more things I would like to say on the matter. Exploitation is clearly something that worries many people. Firstly, please be aware that mares have an excellent built-in anti-exploitation mechanism: unless their foals are with them and they are feeling relaxed, they will NOT give milk! Secondly, please bear in mind that rural life is tough and operates on the same economic principles as the rest of the world. Farmers are pragmatic and will simply not keep/feed/take care of animals who do no have "jobs." Draft horses came dangerously close to extinction after mechanisation, and finding them new "jobs" is part of the ongoing fight for their survival. The point is not that they work, as we all must do, but that they can do so in a humane and respectful environment, as the great Temple Grandin has spent her life working towards.
What a great post!
ReplyDeleteOf khourse, Mom and I love all the pikhs but I just KNOW zooooooming with the sweet PSP would be a blast!
Mom thanks woo fur the additional khomments about the topikh touched on Thursday's post -
We khould all learn from TG - in many ways!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Hi Tommy! Happy Friday Fun!
We love that Picardy Shepherd Pup -is he going to work or is he purely a pet? You have some lovely wild flowers in the fields.
ReplyDeleteLuv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
The visit to the milk place was fascinating. We love seeing pictures of you. You guys are beautiful
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
What pretty flowers! We like the orange one best of all and of cos the calves. They look fine comfortable and happy. A totally excellent post we thinks.
ReplyDeletesan did think she would like to taste mare's milk but she said singaporeans are very reserved when it comes to food and it will never make its way here.
the amigos and san
Well said about yesterday's topic!
ReplyDeleteLove all the photos as usual
We love watching Vidock play! We always send photos to our pet sitter. Maybe next week we will link to her site and Vidock can meet Spike (a mix of many lineages)
ReplyDeleteI loved looking at all the outdoor/ farm pics of the past couple of days (maybe I was a farm cat in a past life!). My human likes them too, and it makes her sad that there are big farm conglomerates here in the States that look nothing like the idyllic scenes she sees here. That is the only time she has an issue with farming - when the animals are treated cruelly, and without respect.
ReplyDeleteMe? If I catch a bug, I not only kill it, I play with it while I'm killing it. So I take the fifth on the cruelty thing.
That shepherd pup is totally adorable!
ReplyDeleteI just read your previous post; I do not think goat's milk is strange, but I never even knew about horse's milk and it seems sort of the same thing.
AHHH you all looking beautiful as always!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with #1. Keeping, raising, maintaining, feeding + providing vet care to these magnificent horses are NOT cheap. So they need to do something to earn back money for the farm so that they will still have a roof above their heads, food,vet care, etc. And selling their milk will also help to keep the farm & business running. And anyway, there are people out there that can really benefit from horse milk especially those who have serious allergies with other animals' milk like my mom.
Even MY dogs have jobs. We provide them a good home, they have all the necessities that they will need in their lives BUT in return they have to WORK & win at competitions to earn bags of dog food for themselves. That's how everything works at our house. Everybody has a job including the dogs. They don't just sit around & do nothing.
If these horses are not used for milking, then this farm will go bankrupt & they will need to find new homes for ALL their horses & I'll tell you this. It will be very likely that the majority of them will NEVER find go to new homes. They will be PTS because very, very few people can care for a horse. Not many are capable of caring for a horse & they are very costly.
So, make use of them. Like I said in my previous comment, as long they are treated well with respect & are given a very good life, why not? Milking them is NOT going to affect their lives. This also applies to all the other animals that are used for milking. Treat them well, then I will have absolutely no problem with it.
Melissa
I always learn so much from your post. Happy Friday to you guys. :)
ReplyDeleteWe're a day late catching up and what interesting discussions taking place in our absence! We've left a comment on yesterday's post and well said to #1 on your comment today!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a lovely weekend
- Clive & Co
ps-your collection of wild flowers is beautiful - non-stop rain and hail today (yes, hail in June) has done horrible damage to our flower beds! We long for some heat ....
LP is in love with those Charolais calves. They look almost sacred don't they in their pure white innocently coated glory.Good to now those mares wouldn't allow themselves to be pushed around :)
ReplyDeleteAh,summer time... with its' wild flowers and clover and baby animals and sunshine.Sigh.
the critters in The Cottage
Really enjoyed the post Vidock. #1 takes great picturs, not only of you and the other residents of the area, but of the flowers. I really loved the 'picture show'. Wish I could even begin to try to match the showing. Not much area, and too, not much energy, to take pictures of/with, so I live vicariously through my friends work.
ReplyDeleteTake care, be well, and Y'all come see us when you can.
Who doesn't squee at baby anything pix?? So sweet!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading all your post in your blogs. I guess you are a great blogger beacuse you have a lot of comments in your blogs. Keep on posting. Please inspire more people through your post! Fighting!
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