The Golden Horse Quarterly
First Edition: Volume 4 / December 16th, 2009
               To anyone who has not seen Sergei Bodrov’s “Mongol” movie, it comes highly recommended. The 2007 rendition of the early life and rise to power of Ghengis Khan features breathtaking landscapes and historical events—even though there are some artistic liberties in filling in the gaps in history. However, if you want to see real Mongol horses, don’t look at the horses ridden by all the lead actors in that movie.

                  For some real Mongolian horses and riding, check out this video clip. It is a recreation of one of the historic battles of Ghengis Khan and was filmed just outside of Ulaanbaatar. Traditional methods with weaponry and battle tactics of surrounding the enemy can be seen, with real Mongolian horses that haven’t been replaced by tall European mounts.

                  A real Mongolian horse is technically a pony, but don’t try to convince a Mongol of that. The horse is essential to the Northeast and Northwest of China and Inner Mongolia, and is used for riding, carting, meat, milk, and help with herding goats, sheep and horses. Despite their small size (average height is between 13 and 14 hands), they possess remarkable abilities for stamina. Mares are most valuable for their milk production, and a favorite drink called airag is made of fermented mare’s milk.

                  The ancestry of the Mongolian horse dates back to the 6000 year old wild Prezwalski, known in Mongolia as takhi. Modern Mongolian horses have changed little, but now have varied colors and long, thick manes instead of the standard Prezwalski dun with the zebra-like mane. The biggest annual festival is called Nadaam and is held in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. People compete in races and other events, and often have special tack just for such events. These saddles and bridles are usually adorned with silver and fancy materials. For regular riding, the same saddle that Ghengis Khan’s warriors rode in is still in use today by herders, and is wooden with a high pommel and cantle for stability for archery.

                  Modern horseback archery was revived in 1921 after Mongolia’s independence from China. The sport has been adapted for international competition in Europe, based on the Kassai or ‘Hungarian’ system developed by Lajos Kassai. Three ways of riding include the Hungarian technique, the traditional Korean and Japanese schools of horseback archery, and the Mongolian Horseback Archery Association—recently founded to revive old traditions.

                  Check out www.horsebackarcheryusa.com for information on Kassai USA and Todd Delle, the U.S. teacher of the Hungarian method.


References: www.stepperiders.com, www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/horses/mongolian, www.horsebackarchery.com, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mounted_archery

Images: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/mongol_archer.jpg, images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-3715827244-image.jpg, http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-3715826532-image.jpg

Article by Karina Rapp