National Geographic: The Noble Horse Page #2

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A flash of green tells

Khen Medekh

his granddaughter has placed.

But a riderless horse

sends him off in search of

his youngest grandson.

After an initial flurry,

racers trickle in for

another hour.

Herd instinct alone will keep

a horse going

even one that lacks the fitness

and conditioning required

for a long-distance run.

For some,

the strain is too much.

When a horse dies

on the racetrack,

the trainer is dishonored.

But the child who has lost

a beloved pet

reaps only heartbreak.

A fall near the starting point

dashed the hopes of

Khen Medekh's grandson.

His horse is safe,

his bruises minor.

But his six-year-old pride

will sting

until the races are over.

Naadam concludes in

the National Stadium,

with a parade of champions.

Khen Medekh is twice a winner.

His grandchildren take

two of his horses

through their victory laps.

A herald sings the praises of

the winning horses;

medals and mare's milk

do them honor.

But for each little rider,

the highlight is a kiss from

the President of Mongolia.

No other nation makes more

of the horse.

Fiery steed,

faithful servant,

he is all good things to

the Mongolian people.

In return,

they may succeed in saving the

last truly wild horse

on earth

Before the rise

of civilization,

his kind ranged throughout

Asia and Europe.

Alert and aggressive,

they were elusive prey

with their camouflage of

tawny coat,

their upright,

two-toned mane.

These horses were already rare

in 1878,

when Russian explorer

Nikolai Przewalski returned

from Mongolia.

He carried a skull and hide

that would prompt the

announcement of a new species.

In a race for specimens,

stallions were slaughtered

to subdue mares.

Mares were killed to

secure foals.

Dozens died en route to zoos

and animal collectors

in the West.

Przewalski's horses

were last sighted in the wild

in the 1960s.

A decade later,

fewer than 300 survived

in captivity only.

This endangered species was

declared extinct in the wild.

In 1992,

European reserves

touched down in Ulan Bator.

Their journey was

the crowning achievement

of Dutch conservationists

and Mongolian authorities.

Transports were blessed with

mare's milk

as the horses arrived at

a nature reserve

established in their honor.

The homecoming

delighted local people.

Their name for the horses

is takhi.

The word also means spirit.

Today,

some 80 free spirits roam

under watchful eyes.

Park rangers closely track

the animals' health

and behavior.

Breeding success is high:

two generations have been born

in the reserve.

To increase the gene pool,

horses are still brought in

from the west.

But prospects for

self-sustaining population

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