Meeting the Chaar horses. By Nicolas, president of the association, and his family: Jessie, Esther and Zélie.
As soon as the Chaar Appaloosa association was set up, we were all eager to discover Kyrgyzstan and the Chaar horses!
It was a first for the girls in this country, and the third time for Nicolas, who had met Munarbek at the At Shabish festival in 2007.
August 10th 2024
Here we are in Bishkek! Four-star welcome from Munarbek, who surprised us by picking us up.
It's been a long journey from Paris, via Istanbul, so we start by resting before exploring the Munarbek’s district in the south of Bishkek.
First surprises for the girls as they discover the signs in Cyrillic and the overheated atmosphere of the capital!
August 11, 2024
Munarbek organized a meeting with the French ambassador. We hadn't planned to wear anything appropriate, so we opted for the colors of the French team, in this period of the Olympic Games. The embassy is very small, in a downtown apartment, but the official photo in front of the flags however impressive.
The ambassador is enthusiastic about the association's project and has already supporting Munarbek’s projects. The meeting was very pleasant. As he leaves his post at the end of August, we'll need to forge just as strong links with his successor, especially as a Franco-German institute is soon to be set up. This gives us ideas for events to organize around Chaar horses with the German members of the association!
August 19, 2024
After a few days at Songkul Lake, we're off to Toktogul to discover the Chaar horses, farm and pastures.
Munarbek explains how the herds are moved according to the seasons: in winter, around the farm, at low altitude, the horses scrape snow for food and receive supplementary forage.
When spring arrives, the herds are taken to pastures a little higher up, but with caution, as the cold and snow can still be fatal to foals until May.
It's only then that the horses reach the summer pastures at Ters.
This is where we join them: on the program are three nights in a yurt and during the day hikes to meet the herds.
We are welcomed by a family of shepherds and Talant - the horseman who looks after the horses.
The yurts are grouped together in a valley close to the river. They are surrounded by mares and their foals, and cows and their calves, who stay close to the houses for milking.
Family life revolves entirely around livestock rearing: milking, making koumis, butter and fresh cream, moving the animals to pasture or to town for resale. And the children take part in all the tasks!
After a hearty soup concocted by our hostess, we settle into the yurt for the night, and fall fast asleep - the next day's program is packed.
August 20th
A very cool night and sleep interrupted by the barking of the dogs. But the day's program looks so exciting!
Rice pudding for breakfast: we need to keep our strength up, as we'll be spending the day on horseback. On the agenda: a ride up one of the valleys to find the herd of Munarbek's star stallion Chaar Suluu and another herd of youngsters who wandering at the same valley.
Talant introduces us to our horses, four Chaar geldings: Talas for Esther, Bordu for Jessie, Djamgour for Zélie and Michurin for Nico. All have the typical characteristics of this breed: very muscular legs for climbing mountainsides, medium height and, of course, the pretty spots that come in black and white or brown and white. The girls discover the very comfortable Kyrgyz saddles!
We put the picnic in the saddlebags (CHAAR cheese from the Munarbek and Kalyinur’s dairy “la vua lactee”, delicious! tomatoes, cucumbers and beef sausage).
And off we go!
The climb is on a hillside, with a sometimes imposing void, but the horses are very comfortable and, above all, very sure-footed. They easily cross rivers and make their way over stones.
After a good climb, we reach a plateau. Nico and the girls are allowed to gallop. They come across a herd of Chaar Sulu, who attack them!
Munarbek and Talent intervene to move the horses so that we can watch them in peace.
There's a little foal on its long legs: it must have been born during the night.
Munarbek makes us sit in a circle and announced to the girls that they are each adopting a colt: a dark brown filly with a spotted back for Zélie and a light brown and white colt for Esther. But they'll have to meet three conditions: do well at school, keep their rooms tidy, and obey their parents. Adopting a foal through the association's breeding program means that it can be fed for four years.
The girls are a little impressed and very moved... but they accepted the pact! (Will it be respected once they're in France?).
In exchange, Talant will send photos every month!
We spend a long time observing the herd. The young colt doesn't dare cross the river, so Talant gives him a hand.
We set off again, starting to think about a name for the foals. The name has to include letters from Chaar Suluu and, above all, it has to be easy to pronounce in Kyrgyz - not easy task!
We climb up to Lake Burugurbus, which means “we've never seen wolves here”. A pretty lake with icy green waters!
We have a picnic before heading back up to the summit, where the view of the mountains and glaciers opposite is impressive.
It's already time to head back down, and the horses are taking every precaution!
We see vultures, marmots and even a fox. The herd of young horses can be seen in the distance, and we return with a short gallop at the end to round off the day.
In the evening, after a good meal shared in the yurt, we fall asleep thinking of the little foals sleeping in the mountains.
August 21st
After a good night's sleep, much less cold than the first, we take our horses to meet the Chaar herds in another valley.
The climb is gentle and we spot the first herd on the right of the river. We pass them, and will approach them on the way back.
At the bottom of the valley, we discover an impressive waterfall.
At a pass, we spot a herd below. Zélie and Nico go off on their own to fetch the Chaar horses, which are on a dangerous slope and need to be moved. They're doing Talant's hard physically demanding work, especially in bad weather. Zélie and Nico loved it, but would they do it all year round?
The climb becomes perilous, between rocks and scree. Jessie's horse is quite slow on the rocks (which suits her just fine!).
We have lunch on a plateau covered with large pink granite boulders, a bit like on the Brittany coast, with a splendid view over the valley as far as Toktogul.
On the way back, we come across the last herd below. We decide to not disturb them, as they're in a good spot.
Nico and Munarbek stop to see the morning's herd, while the others continue at a leisurely pace.
In the evening, we dine on a shepherd's soup (potatoes, tomatoes, onions, rice, a little cabbage and meat).
The host family's little boy plays in our yurt and protests loudly when it's time for him to go home!
Just before bedtime, we decide on the foals' names: Zélie's filly will be named Chaarlize and Esther's foal Caramel. Munarbek agrees!
August 22nd
Last day in the high pastures. We set off in the morning to see Chaar Sulu's herd one last time. We find them in their usual spot by the river. We approach on foot to avoid frightening the horses, but they run away from us.
Some shepherds who have come to collect their cattle bring the horses towards us, and we decide to sit down and watch them closely.
Esther walks slowly towards the stallion and manages to touch him.
At Munarbek's signal, we slowly approach and the horse lets us touch him and wrap our arms around him. It's an incredible moment!
We spend an hour among the horses, observing them, taking photos and videos. It's both very sweet and very powerful, an unforgettable memory.
Then it's time to go our separate ways. We hope to receive photos of the foals soon, as the girls have promised to respect the pact!
Before parting with our mounts, the girls and Nico embark on a beautiful gallop through the valley.
August 25th
After a break in Toktogul, we set off for the Alataï Natural Park. We cross a canyon before joining a track that runs alongside the river.
After three hours, we arrive at our camp: a shack, beehives, ducks and two horses stand next to our beautifully decorated yurt. A Chaar horse entrusted to the rangers by Munarbek's brother lives here.
Signs everywhere indicate that bears can be seen. But the rangers tell us they haven't seen any since May… We taste the Medovuha: a kind of honey beer. The alcohol goes straight to the head!
August 26th
We set off for a hike to Lake Kel, accompanied by our host couple. The girls don't feel like walking. After only 30 minutes, two of them get on a horse. It's more convenient to cross the rivers, as the only way on foot is over rickety wooden bridges.
We don't come across any bears, but we do find a fresh bear poo, which proves that they're out there!
The end of the climb is steep and hot. But the lake is magnificent, and our efforts are rewarded.
Nico, Esther and Zélie take a dip in relatively warm water. The lake is not very cold, as there is no river flowing out of it. The water is sucked up by a siphon at the bottom of the lake, so you have to be careful when bathing...
This Alataï park is a well-preserved marvel, and the rangers who live there are very friendly. We exchange numbers with the lady who bathed with us, Aizada, and buy a large quantity of honey that will make people happy in France on our return! We leave this little paradise with regret.
On our return...
Thanks to Munarbek and his family for making us so welcome. This trip to Kyrgyzstan was an extraordinary adventure, in a splendid setting, but our strongest memories are the encounters, with the Kyrgyz people and with the horses.
We can't wait to meet them again!
In the meantime, we'll be following the association on Instagram @chaarhorsekyrgyzstan. Munarbek often posts videos!
To support the project, you can make a donation or buy CHAAR products from the online store.
If, like Esther and Zélie, you want to adopt a foal, take part in our breeding program. click the button below.
Find interview of Nicolas to ChevalMag HERE
