Frequently asked questions

The Chaar is a native spotted horse from the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. "Chaar" is the Kyrgyz word for spotted. Nomads have ridden these horses for generations, and the breed is compact, hardy and sure-footed on ground that would trouble most horses.
Read about the Chaar horse

Nobody knows yet, and we'd rather say so. That question is what sent a film crew to Kyrgyzstan in the first place, and it's still open. The 2022 genetic study did not test it: the Appaloosa wasn't among the breeds compared, and the study looked at population structure rather than coat colour, so the spotting itself was never examined. Testing the two against each other is the study we'd most like to fund next.
What the study did find

Hair samples from 30 Chaar horses, collected in November 2012, were analysed by the Animal Genetics Laboratory at Texas A&M University, which compared them against 65 other breeds worldwide and reported in October 2022. The Chaar came back as a genetically distinct indigenous horse of Central Asia, pairing directly with the Mongolian horse and sitting alongside the Yakut horse and the Exmoor pony in a group of ancient, little-modified populations. Its genetic diversity is, in the lab's words, well higher than average for domestic horse breeds, with no sign of inbreeding in the horses sampled.
Read the full findings

The Chaar was crossed with imported breeds for over a century, first for the Russian cavalry and then on Soviet collective farms. It isn't officially registered anywhere in Kyrgyzstan today, and pure Chaar horses turn up only occasionally in mixed herds. The association runs a dedicated breeding programme for the breed at Chaar Ranch.

Chaar horses stand 140 to 160 cm at the withers, ideally 145 to 158, which is 13.3 to 15.3 hands. They come in the full range of spotted coat patterns, from leopard spots to blankets, and they're compact and muscular. Many have a smooth natural ambling gait the Kyrgyz call the jorgo.
See the breed standard

Sure-footed on steep, rocky paths and calm with riders. These horses cope with hard winters and high altitude and can live on mountain grazing alone. The jorgo gait, where a horse has it, makes a long day in the saddle considerably kinder.
Ride one on the Expedition

The International Chaar Appaloosa Horse Association, a non-profit registered in France, n° W353023160. It was set up in 2023 to support the revival that Munarbek Kuldanbaev began in 2012. Chaar Ranch and the breeding programme are run in Kyrgyzstan by our partner, the Chaar Appaloosa Foundation (public association ОО «Чаар Аппалуза», Bishkek), headed by Munarbek.
Meet the association

In 2008 Munarbek sold a spotted horse to the presenter Conor Woodman for a television series about trading. An Appaloosa breeder in New Zealand, Scott Engstrom, saw that horse on screen and wrote to Woodman, which led to the documentary "True Appaloosa" and the first DNA tests. The breeding programme began with the stallion Chaar Suluu and five mares, and every horse in the herd descends from that beginning.
Watch the film

In the Ketmen-Tobo Valley near Toktogul, in the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The herd spends June to September on high summer pastures, up to around 3,800 metres, and comes down to the ranch for the winter.
See the ranch

More than 80 at Chaar Ranch, including breeding stallions, mares and young stock, with new foals every spring. The herd was bred up from one stallion and five mares, so every one of those horses exists because of the programme.
See the herd

Not officially, not yet. Formal recognition is one of the association's long-term aims, and the Texas A&M study is the first serious piece of evidence towards it. A documented, genetically tested, deliberately bred herd is what any recognition process needs to see.
The genetic evidence

Yes, through one of three programmes: the Chaar Expedition, a riding trek; the Spirit of Kyrgyzstan, a cultural journey with no riding; and the Volunteer programme. Private visits are occasionally possible but we can't promise them, so the three programmes are the reliable way in.
Compare the three ways to visit

An 11-day horseback trek through the Kyrgyz mountains on Chaar horses, from Bishkek through the Suusamyr Valley and over high passes to the herd's summer pastures. The 2027 Expedition runs 4 to 14 July for a group of 9 to 12 riders, at €1,950 per person.
See the Expedition

Yes. The route covers remote mountain terrain at altitudes up to around 3,800 metres, so you need to be confident at walk, trot and canter and comfortable with long days in the saddle. Every rider fills in a safety questionnaire and signs a riding-risk form. Helmets are strongly recommended and we can lend you one; if the team asks you to wear one, that decision is final.
Read the Expedition FAQ

Yes. The Spirit of Kyrgyzstan is a 10-day cultural journey, 4 to 13 April 2027, for 10 to 12 people, ending at Chaar Ranch. No riding required. It costs €1,650 per person.
See the Spirit of Kyrgyzstan

Yes. Volunteers stay 10 days and 9 nights, one or two people at a time, working alongside the horsemen and paired with one horse for the whole stay. The programme runs November to May and asks for a €500 donation per person.
See the Volunteer programme

Yes, for every programme. Your policy needs to cover horse riding, and volunteer work if you're volunteering, along with high-altitude trekking and medical evacuation, because serious medical care in Kyrgyzstan is limited. We'll ask to see proof before confirming your place.
Read more about visiting

Yes, and several people have. Artists, illustrators, photographers, film-makers and writers have all made work about this horse, some at the ranch and some from the other side of the world using photographs and stories we sent them.
Artist partnerships

Give once or every month, join Own a Foal, buy something from the shop, or come out on one of the trips. It all pays for the same things: feed, vet care, and the people looking after the herd.
See all the ways to help

About one euro a day through the winter, from the first snow in November to the grass coming back in May. That's roughly €210 to carry a single horse from one end of the cold to the other, which makes €30 a month one whole horse, every winter.
Monthly support

A four-year commitment of €50 a month, €2,400 in total, that funds the breeding programme. At the end of it, a Chaar filly is born because of your support. She can stay with the herd at the ranch, with updates and visits, or you can arrange her transport at your own cost.
Learn about Own a Foal

For French taxpayers, yes. Donations made through HelloAsso qualify for a 66% income tax reduction and the reçu fiscal is emailed to you automatically, so a €100 gift costs you €34. Outside France it depends on your country's rules, and we can't advise on those, so check with your own tax office.
Donate

Winter feed and hay, veterinary care, the horsemen's wages, equipment, and building paddocks and shelter at the ranch. There are no paid fundraising staff, and the only deductions are payment and platform fees. The annual financial report, which every member and supporter can read, sets out the split for the year.
See where your gift goes

Yes. The shop sells clothing, mugs and prints carrying Chaar horse artwork by Alice Shirley, Enikő Katalin Eged and others. Items are printed on demand by Printful and the profits go to the herd.
Visit the shop

"True Appaloosa", also released as "The Secret Horse", follows Conor Woodman, Munarbek Kuldanbaev and Scott Engstrom across Kyrgyzstan in search of an answer to the spotted horse question. It premiered at the Sun Valley Film Festival and later aired on BBC Four.
About the film

Free. Leave your email on the film page and we'll open the film for you straight away, and send the link so you can come back to it whenever you like.
Get the film free

Join the newsletter for news from the ranch, and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. Everything gets written up on the site too.
Read the news

Email contact@chaar-appaloosa.org or use the form on the contact page. We read every message, though replies can take a few days when the team is out with the herd.
Contact us