Transylvanian horsemantag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-3471862009-06-27T21:48:18+01:00Life with horses in a Transylvanian mountain villageTypePadRequiemtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cbe7353ef0115717325a2970b2009-06-27T21:48:18+01:002009-06-28T16:40:32+01:00Today I announce a requiem for Gelu, Tudor, Olga and Luciana - four good horses who tragically have secumbed to the carelessness and imorality of others. Readers will remember that I sold these four, plus Luciana's foal Luke, when I...TransylvanianhorsemanUpdate nr 1tag:typepad.com,2003:post-665569892009-05-08T22:26:38+01:002009-05-08T22:26:38+01:00I've just been out for a pleasant walk with my Transylvanian dog Mina, through the woods and along a pleasant grassy trail in the golden slanting evening light when shadows are long. I have also, again, had to delete comments...TransylvanianhorsemanThe new beginning.....a year ontag:typepad.com,2003:post-658247952009-04-21T22:42:42+01:002009-04-21T23:03:19+01:00One grey morning I woke up to a quiet farm. The cats and dogs had gone, so had all but two of the horses. Danielle and I packed our few remaining belongings into the back of our truck, hitched up...TransylvanianhorsemanSunday evening reflectionstag:typepad.com,2003:post-493927782008-05-04T16:31:00+01:002009-06-28T16:31:28+01:00The aftermath of our old life in Romania lingers like a bad smell. As a good friend, who runs a travel agency specialising in Eastern Europe, commented: if I told the following story about any European country other than Romania,...TransylvanianhorsemanThe end.....heralding a new beginningtag:typepad.com,2003:post-476962082008-03-29T18:30:19+00:002009-04-21T22:02:53+01:00This may be my last post from Transylvania. After nine years, I shall be leaving, hopefully crossing the border next Friday. It has been an often interesting and sometimes rewarding time, however I am glad to be moving on. The...TransylvanianhorsemanMarket visittag:typepad.com,2003:post-474558882008-03-24T16:08:19+00:002008-03-24T16:08:19+00:00On a rainy Monday morning, we visited the market in the next village, 10km (6 miles) away. In the street, horse carts were variously in motion and parked. It really was a grey day, with sharp rain showers passing through...TransylvanianhorsemanVillage excursiontag:typepad.com,2003:post-474187982008-03-23T14:47:19+00:002008-03-23T14:47:19+00:00Yesterday we made a trip around the village with two visitors from Ireland. I captured some pictures during the day. Gelu and Tudor wait patiently with the carriage. Neighbours pass with manure and new window frames. A traveller and his...TransylvanianhorsemanNatural Balance vs unnaturaltag:typepad.com,2003:post-474140022008-03-23T10:22:01+00:002008-03-23T10:22:01+00:00The first photo shows Doru with his new Natural Balance shoes. They make quite a contrast to the raised draught horse shoes used so commonly out here. I am very pleased to see him nicely shod. The second photo shows...TransylvanianhorsemanAtmospheric farrierytag:typepad.com,2003:post-474005582008-03-22T20:31:47+00:002008-03-22T20:31:47+00:00During the past few days, we have been operating a course offering an introduction to farriery. The instructor, Akos from Targu Mures, is one of the best farriers in the country. Students benefited from a good theoretical grounding by Akos...TransylvanianhorsemanWinter returnstag:typepad.com,2003:post-473794862008-03-22T13:20:56+00:002008-03-22T13:20:56+00:00On Thursday we were trapped in the village for the morning, thanks to the sight shown in the picture. There is only one "all-weather" road out of the village. This particular section has a gentle rise and, when slippery with...Transylvanianhorseman