Ponies on the marais

This is an area near us which regularly floods during the winter - in the UK it would probably be designated as water meadows. Once it dries out a bit in early summer, a handful of ponies are put out to enjoy the grassland and there they stay until the land gets too boggy again.

We cycle past quite regularly and they're usually way off in the distance, grazing up near the estuary. But today all nine of them were clustered around the small pond, occasionally having a drink or nuzzling each other affectionately. They're a very peaceful bunch.

Once in a while, they have a mad moment and all start galloping together - and that's usually when I don't have my camera to hand!