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This is a continuation of: Turkmenistan Day 4, Part 1: The Circus
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-4-part-1-circus.html
FINALLY... the real Turkmenistan.
After a morning at the circus... we were ready for anything. Amrita and I had to check out of our room at the fancy French hotel and take our luggage to the Turkmen Atlary (Turkmenistan Horse Ministry) where we would be staying for our last night in Ashgabat. The process of obtaining a room at the Atlary is a story all to itself (think... no filing system, major language barrier, and more foreign guests than they had rooms for), but miraculously we were able to somewhat sort it out. Our names were added to several archaic-looking hand-written lists, and our bags were safely locked into a small storage room. Soon we were boarding the vans that would take us far into the countryside. STUD FARMS were on the agenda for the day!
We travelled for about two hours into the desert flatlands surrounding the city of Ashgabat, with the Kopet Dag mountains looming just to the west of us the entire way. On the other side of the mountains was the country of Iran.
This bus ride might have been the most fascinating part of the entire trip.... from filmy windows we watched modernity melt into mud-bricks. Finally we were seeing the land beyond the President's white marble facade.
But I started to notice something strange. We had all come to Turkmenistan because of one thing: horses. But unlike every other place I've been in this world... the countryside seemed spotted with everything but horses. We saw camels, cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, and massive Turkmen dogs that looked cute but had a reputation for being ferocious and could probably eat my head for breakfast.
The farther we drove... the bumpier the roads became. I was sitting in the very back of the van... on a seat that had no cushion. In fact, it didn't quite even have a seat. It seemed there once was a cushion, but it had been removed and what was left was a hole covered in Turkmen-carpet-print fabric. By the time the driver had battled his way to the first stud farm, my poor tush had gone completely numb. My brain, on the other hand, was trying to grapple with the stimulus of what was truly an entirely different world. As we stumbled out of tightly-packed vehicles and stepped onto the dust of a thousand years of cremated horse poop... we might as well have been landing on the moon.
This stud farm was a tiny brick building situated in the middle of the desert. Aside from one small paddock... there were no turn-outs, no pastures, no arena. The horses lived in dark stalls, with no bedding, and no windows to the outside world. There was no hay in sight, no feed room, no bags of grain. We assumed they fed them something.... the horses were very thin, but not emaciated. Stranded in the middle of a desert... I suppose free-choice hay is totally out-of-the-question. But with hundreds of miles of open space surrounding them, why were they holing these horses up where not even the sun could see them?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Turkmenistan lays claim to the only culture in which one particular breed of horse is akin to God. Perhaps this has something to do with it... in some kind of backwards-and-round-about way. Most Akhal-Tekes in Turkmenistan are bred for racing... so these ones were probably destined for the track, too.
We didn't stay there for long... as soon as the last horse was shuffled back into his stall... we were boarding the buses and bumping our way back to the highway. But instead of heading back towards Ashgabat... the buses cut across the highway and headed towards the mountains. The landscape became a hazy blur of uniform brown... the sky reflecting the color of the desert, and the mountains and dunes rising up out of it were wearing the same tone. Soon even the dirt road seemed to dissipate until it appeared we were driving up a centuries-dry river bed. All along the edge of which we spotted the familiar site of horse manure.... scattered amidst rocks and tortured desert plants.
The buses heaved themselves higher and higher.... when suddenly a building came into site at the top of a ledge, over-looking the flatlands we had just been traveling in. Of all the places to raise horses.... this seemed the most unlikely of them all.
But sure enough.... there was quite a number of horses living high up on this mountain. Unlike the ones in the previous stud farm, most of these horses had the benefit of living outdoors. Their conditions, however... ranged from moderate to malnourished to emaciated.... depending on where they were positioned in the pecking order. They had to fight for their food... and what food their was, wasn't plentiful. The broodmares and foals were grouped in a large pen... the yearlings were in another.... and the stallions were kept in stalls. All but a few of the horses were roached (their manes & forelocks shaved)... including the yearlings, which is typical for this breed.
Amrita fell in love with this beautiful bay colt:
I was very interested to see what they fed the horses... other than wheat straw. There wasn't a blade of grass or other edible plant growing within a hundred square miles of this place... so what on earth did these creatures live off of?
It appeared to be some kind of bran... probably wheat, but possible barley or rice. It came in 50 lb bags. They gave it to the yearlings dry... as you see in the photo above. And for the mares, they mixed it with water in a big trough, and slopped it into the stone feed bins where they had been eating the straw.
There were two stallions by the main barn who were kept in stalls. One appeared to be old (or aged, as the case may be)... whereas the other was obviously their young prized stallion who got the best care in the entire place! From what I've heard, this is typical throughout Turkmenistan, Russia... and practically the entire world. The mares are left to fend for themselves... while the stallions are well-fed and doted over!
There were bags of animal skins hanging over the stallions' stalls:
They showed us the two stallions first.... then proceeded to bring out a selection of their broodmares. Here is their older stallion:
And the broodmares:
After the presentation was over... it was time for dinner!
Our hosts were incredibly gracious and opened their home to us with everything they had possible to offer. I gave them one of our Sweet Water Farm post cards, and I get a kick out of thinking about it being there... a little piece of our farm in a tiny stone house in the Middle East! It was an amazing experience to have so many worlds coming together in one totally unique place. And despite the obvious culture shock, it was an honor to be there--in the mountains of Turkmenistan--sharing a meal hand-made by true Turkmen, and experiencing the essence of their lives.
And our trip was almost over! The next day we would relax with a (un-programmed!) adventure to the Russian Bazaar where we got scolded for taking photographs! Stay tuned for the final report!
Read all about our Trip To Turkmenistan by visiting the following posts:
To Turkmenistan We Go
Jet Lag
Turkmenistan Day 1 - The International Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding Association
Turkmenistan Day 2 - The President Rides & An Akhal-Teke Beauty Contest
Turkmenistan Day 3, Part 1 - The Races
Turkmenistan Day 3, Part 2 - A Bigger-Than-God-Himself Hippodrome-In-The-Works
Turkmenistan Day 4, Part 1 - The Circus
Turkmenistan Day 4, Part 2 - The Stud Farms
Turkmenistan Day 5 - The Russian Bazaar
3 COMMENTS:
I am in love with that fleabit grey broodmare! If I had the means I would've hauled her and the baby back to the States haha! Perhaps the stud, too, along with my bleeding heart...... It's hard to appreciate how well people and their pets have it here until you see how they have it elsewhere. Very interesting series you have going!
Thank you!
Yes, I agree... that little black foal had one of the cutest faces I've even seen.... so dainty, and with those lovely long ears.
It was hard to see these hardships that the horses, and people, survive in.... some of the guests became very upset. But it was an amazing & beautiful place all the same... the stud farm on the mountain was just incredible. This breed is incredibly tough to have survived eons in these very conditions...
It is hard to believe how little the horses can survive on, although I hope the old stallion gets a second helping. Poor old man. His eye was kind.
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