The ancients said, "A brilliant man suited in armour lives in a woman's heart; a saddled fiery horse lives in a man's heart".
Horses are ‘the wings of the Kyrgyz', according to the nomadic ancient proverb. For 2,500 years this valuable beast has been at the hearts of nomadic people - a friend, worker and a source of food. It gave them supremacy over settled cultures, bestowing freedom, carrying yurts and people over the mountains, supplying meat, leather and milk for the national drink - kymyz. Kymyz is a mare's milk which stores in leather vessel (Saba) and allowed to ferment. It's a little sour.
Kyrgyz horses were small, hardy animals; they were able to travel over bare rocks and up steep slopes. They are ideal for travelling over the mountains countryside and enduring the extreme climatic conditions. Kyrgyz horses tend to be light brown in color with black manes - but there are also grey, black and red horses. They were often named according to their names.
A herd consists of between 15 to 30 horses, one dominant stallion with about 15 mares and a number of young animals. When foals were born their ears or in the case of especially valuable horse - their nostrils were marked. It indicated the tribe, which the certain horse belonged to. They were also marked with a metal brand - the design was called "tamga".
Welcome to Kyrgyzstan!