spotted stories

News & Updates

Dispatches from Chaar Ranch, stories from visitors and volunteers, and updates on the breeding programme and the people behind it.

Field Notes Association Chaar Appaloosa Field Notes Association Chaar Appaloosa

Horse riding in Kyrgyzstan: riding the Celestial Mountains with Chaar horses

The Chaar, an ancient spotted Central Asian horse, embodies nomadic life. Renowned for endurance, sure-footedness, and a leopard-like coat, it shaped migrations, herding, and rituals. Protecting the Chaar preserves breeders’ skills, traditional tack, and seasonal movements that sustain horse and herder. Each carefully bred foal is a fragile thread in a cultural tapestry worth safeguarding.

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Field Notes Association Chaar Appaloosa Field Notes Association Chaar Appaloosa

Tolubai Synchy: Kyrgyz legend of the blind horseman and the spotted horse

Tolubay is a legendary figure said to have lived in the 14th–15th centuries during a harsh era of khans. Renowned as both a thinker and a horse lover, he was more than an ordinary man: among nomads he was known as a "synchronous" evaluator — an expert who could accurately assess a horse’s quality, natural traits, and its bond with its owner. His reputation and skills were rooted in the nomadic way of life.

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Field Notes Munarbek Kuldanbaev Field Notes Munarbek Kuldanbaev

Munarbek: My Meeting with Chaar Suluu. Mystery or Coincidence?

Back in 2000, when I was at university, a student at the faculty of Finance and Loans with the aim to be a bank clerk, I had a dream. In the dream, my grandfather brought me two horses, a black one and a spotted one, and said: 'Munarbek, they are for you, one for work, and the other for entertainment and racing.' The dream ended then, and I did not give it much importance.

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Field Notes Munarbek Kuldanbaev Field Notes Munarbek Kuldanbaev

The Role of the Chaar Horse in Our Planet’s Ecosystem 

We rarely pay attention to how it rains, snows, to how the grass grows, summer turns into autumn, and winter into spring, to how the animal and plant worlds live. These are all natural processes of our planet’s life, where every plant, animal and even microorganisms are created to support mother earth, our nature.

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