Day 9, The ponies of Skyros- Saving the Skyrian Horse

Skyrian horses are one of Europe’s oldest breeds. A miniature horse, the semi-wild Skyrian pony, has lived on the Greek island of Skyros for 2,000 years. Legend has it that Skyros ponies, have pulled Achilles' legendary chariot.  Only about 300 of them are left in the world today, of which about 160 inhabit the island of Skyros, many in the wild, on Kochila mountain in the south. Tiny Real-Life Horse of Greek Myth Headed for Extinction, the National geographic reports.

So on day 9, we set to meet them! We visit the farm at Mouries, a beautiful farm, supported mostly by volunteers and practical support, through the Skyros Island Horse Trust, a non-profit set to save the rare Skyrian Horse through welfare, conservation and education initiatives.

A wonderful group of young volunteers mostly from Europe greeted us at the farm; they each spend 6-8 weeks helping out in the farm, mostly with cleaning and organizing the stables, grooming the horses, cleaning water buckets, assisting with showing groups around, and other tasks.

If you might be interested in joining the group of over 70 volunteers since 2009, or If you would like to donate to the cause of the Skyrian horse, please contact the Trust at How You Can Help.

And when you visit, don’t miss the simple and inviting restaurant that the farm operates, famous for its ladopita, fava and katsiki lemonato, a true delight!

 Tomrrow is our last day