HistoryPorn @lemmy.world PugJesus @lemmy.world 4 wk. ago

Shepards on stilts to help traverse marshy ground, Gascony, France, ~1895

Forum Libre @jlai.lu pseudo @jlai.lu 4 wk. ago

Shepards on stilts to help traverse marshy ground, Gascony, France, ~1895 - Vous connaissez ?

23 comments

The third sticks make it special...
- Kickstand for your stilts!
This is not accurate. The stilts helped the shepherds avoid cracks, which would break their mother's backs.
This doesn't make sense.
- I presume it's because getting up to your shins in mud makes it hard to draw your leg back out, whereas on stilts all your muscles and joints are above the stilt platform, allowing you to use them freely to draw the stilts out of troublesome terrain. That's just a guess though.
  
  Yes, and the thinness and smoothness of the stilts allows them to slide easily out of muck whereas legs with boots and clothes on them get stuck rather easily!
I thought it was gonna be German Shepards on stilts and I'm very disappointed.
Why don't the sheep and dogs have any issues?
- Four points of contact, less ground pressure,
  
  So why don't the humans just run around on all fours?
  
  Ah, good point. They're also a lot lighter. You're so smart!
- Presumably, the sheep don't need to get a quick move on, while dogs simply do not obey the laws of physics.
It is not really to cross marshy ground but more to spot it and avoid it.

It also helps to keep an eye on all the sheep despite all the tall grass around them.
- I haven't seen this mentioned enough. If you're job is to move and protect your flock then being high up and able to see further helps a lot.
Some of them seem awfully stuck-up. They need to remove the sticks from their butts.
- Don't you dare criticize their traditions. Now relax your sphincter...
French Tripods? Ulla-la.
- After all, the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one

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