Spring 2025 at Chaar Ranch: 17 foals, two losses and our first expedition
Spring has been a big season for the Chaar herd.
New foals, and two losses
Seventeen foals have been born so far this year, and we expect three more. Each one takes the Chaar, an ancient spotted breed that very nearly disappeared, another step back from the edge.
We have had losses too. A snow leopard took one foal, and an adult mare died in a fall from a cliff. Both come with raising horses in high mountain country, where the herds share the land with predators and the ground is steep. It’s why our herdsmen watch the horses so closely, and why winter feed and protection matter so much.
Our first expedition
Several herds are now up on the summer pastures, moving between summer and winter grounds as Kyrgyz herders always have. This summer the same trails welcome riders from the UK, France, Canada and the Netherlands on the first Chaar Expedition. They’ll ride with the herds and see how the horsemen work with them.
Welcome, Victor
Victor, our intern from France, joins us for the summer. He’ll film stories and short documentary pieces in English and French, so people who can’t come to Kyrgyzstan can follow the herd’s life in the mountains.
The project is about keeping a rare breed and its culture alive, and about bringing people from around the world to meet the horses where they belong.
