Up the Mountain

We walked up the mountain today. Well we call it the mountain but it is really only a hill infront of the house. We picked wild strawberries and the girls paddled across the wee river. On the far side one of the girls lost her croc in the mud. My neighbour saved the day by taking off her socks and shoes, wading over and finding it from under the mud with her feet! She also chased away a herd of wild horses who were getting too close.
There have always been a few horses up there but since the recession many more have been dropped off to fend for themselves. Some families would have bought houses in the country with a bit of land for a few horses and can no longer afford the upkeep. I think that there are over a hundred now, there was recently a fundraiser for them as they can die over the winter. They also have their groups already formed and when new horses come in they can be left on their own or fight. Anyway the ones that came over to us were very friendly so somebody must be feeding them.
They were also beautiful, I reckon if anybody wanted a free horse they could just head up The Slieve Aughties with a lasso.