When in Ireland, we had to go to Kildare and the Irish stud. The area is featured in my novels, so I absolutely had to see it with my own eyes. We asked the ladies running our B and B if it was far. We were assured it was not, maybe a 5 or 10 minute walk, and on a beautiful, newly completed path. Happily starting on our way, we soon found or 5-10 minute walk to be considerably more! More like 2 miles. We’re usually pretty decent hikers, but it still took about 45 minutes, lol.
The Irish stud with it’s beautiful thoroughbred horses and magical gardens is a must-see. The stallions are housed in a stable with an open, centre courtyard. Anywhere the studs must walk, is covered with thick padding, as it appeared that most were now foundered. Out in the fields, mares and foals gamboled about. The gardens, well … they’re simply beautiful. The time flew by, and the place was closing to visitors. It was time to head back. We contemplated hitching a ride on one of the many buses, but decided to walk … again. Of course it began to rain. A nice, quiet rain but definitely rain. As those buses flew by, we had to laugh at our decision to walk. Oh well. The walk was still lovely. Stopping to rest, we leaned on a stone wall and gazed upon a big field below.
“Is the ground moving down there?” My daughter hesitantly asks.
We both stare, and sure enough, it was! There were literally hundreds of wild rabbits! Hundreds! The ground was moving, at least, that’s what it looked like! Lol
Most interesting. And wondering why so many horses were foundered? Isn’t that a by-product of diet? Also enjoyed the abundance of rabbits…although that many could be considered pests to the countryside or to farmers thereabouts. Wild pigs, here in the USA, have become a major pest and scourge to farmers and ranchers, especially in Texas. Now they are spreading to other states and that is sad. Due to their rapid breeding habits (as with the rabbits) they are becoming almost impossible to control and lead to many financial losses to farmers and ranchers.
Ireland has extremely lush grass and my educated guess was that they had too much of a rich diet along with that grass. They probably still had a huge diet similar to the one they were on when racing, but suddenly without the work to burn it off.
As for the pigs, they taste delicious. There should be open season on them year-round for all the troubled states and make large, affordable organized hunts for Canadians. Hard to find here and Canadian hunters go crazy for them! May not solve the problem, but put a good dent in them!