Portrait : Nanouk the shepherdess on horseback

[Portrait] After a literary education in Belgium, Nanouk discovered working with sheep in France and decided to devote herself to it.

Since 2014, she has been looking after flocks, in the summer in the mountains and the rest of the year in the hills and meadows. Passionate about her job, whatever the weather, she wanders the Alpes de Haute Provence alongside the sheep.

Last winter, her mare Elina was broken in. This 6 year old quarter horse allows her to move around more easily and to carry her things. The mare goes everywhere and her small size is an asset when the terrain becomes difficult. She naturally chose a Gaston Mercier saddle for the comfort and practicality it provides, but also for the associated luggage. Moreover, the pockets of the riding saddle allow him to carry tired lambs!

To help her with the flock, Nanouk chose “working kelpies”, a breed of dog that is very respectful of the animals, while being dominant enough to give direction to the flock. The young shepherdess trained herself in “low stress handling” (by David Hart, Catrinus Homan), a technique that allows her to lead her animals by positioning her 5 dogs and herself on her mare, putting pressure and releasing her.