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In Haute-Loire, a young man swaps his car for his mare Eole. He plans to do it more and more.
The young Frenchman thinks his approach will prove profitable. (illustrative image)
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Louis Geneix, a young resident of Lapte, in Haute-Loire, has found an original way to fight against rising gas prices: his Renault Clio stays in the garage and he goes to work on horseback…
A waiter in a restaurant, the 21-year-old usually takes about ten minutes to get to his place of work. On horseback, it’s a bit longer. The meadow of his mare Eole, 7 years old, is 15 kilometers from the restaurant. “It took me less than an hour to come. I take the normal route and part of the greenway. My horse is well desensitized, he is used to cars. If it’s foggy, I put on a yellow vest and a phosphorescent mark on the horse’s tail,” he explains to France 3.
Four times a day this summer
Louis Geneix says he was clearly motivated by the rise in fuel prices. For practical reasons, however, he currently only goes to work on horseback once a week. He works for the midday and evening services, i.e. four trips a day. This summer, he plans to use his mare more and wants to ride every lunchtime. “For the evening, I will have no choice, I will have to take my car because I cannot go back at night on horseback”, he specifies.
His approach is friendly and original. But is it profitable? The French think so. “I haven’t quantified the savings I’m going to make but I think it’s going to be pretty good. In December, I made about the month with 80 euros of diesel and there I doubled, even more. Coming on horseback will change things, ”he says.
Louis Geneix notes again with a smile that in very cold weather, a horse has another advantage over a car: “I didn’t have to thaw the windshield”…