Shrimping on Horseback?

I'd never heard of it either.

But Belgium is famous for more than ale. Evidently the country boasts a remnant horseback shrimping culture.

"Men in bright yellow overalls and sou'-westers ride their plodding workhorses across the sands into the North Sea at low tide to trawl for shrimps in just the way that their forefathers have done for more than 500 years.

"There are now fewer than a dozen left of the hundreds who once plied the same trade all around the North Sea -- in France, the Netherlands and Britain."

How can you tell these are serious fishermen? One of them admits:

"There is such a love story between the horse and the fisherman. Once he
has a horse that works, he is married to the horse. Sometimes we say we like our
horses more than our wife."

Reid's post below on the dog and horse exhibition makes me wonder if any form of this unique working animal bond will survive? If tourism is a draw (and it seems to be), maybe they can print advertisements to the trawling gear?

An ad for any of the good products of Belgian Trappist monks would seem fitting!