The traditional knowledge of training racehorses
Title
The traditional knowledge of training racehorses
Alternative Title
Хурдан морь сойх, уралдуулах мэдлэг
Publication Type
Language
mon
eng
Location
Mongolia
Keywords
Horse
Race
Knowledge
Naadam
Livetsock
Relevance to ICH Safeguarding
ICH Genre
Description
The fastest and best of the horses are selected, the grass and water are adjusted for many days, and the horses are tested every day and raced according to their age. In the mid-month of the summer, on the day of a tiger or day of a dog (by the lunar calendar), at dawn, the horses will be gathered northwest of the harness, and the racehorses will be chosen and tethered. When tethering horses, they will be arranged from the east, in the direction of the rising sun, starting from the stallion, followed by the horses over five years old and the colt. They will be left there to rest until noon to get used to the tethering. Starting in the afternoon, they are made to walk around the tether. During the procession, the rider kids put on their racing clothes and sing racing songs. It is said that it is best to walk for about 30-40 minutes for each horse. No matter the age of the horse, all racehorses should be groomed and trained with the same exercises at regular intervals. Horses are usually groomed at noon on a warm and clear, sunny day but not groomed during cold rainy days. As soon as the rider brings the horse to the tethering post after the exercise, they would get off the horse, take off the saddle, and start to remove the horse’s sweat using a wooden scoop while walking, without stopping. Racing on short-distance exercises starts on the day after the horse is first tethered. On the day the horse is groomed, they would not be exercised at all. Long-distance training is divided into short (6-8 km) and long (10-15 km), at which horses are tested for speed. 6-7 days before the Naadam (national festival), horses are reached at the short distance and the long distance 2-3 days before the festival. Depending on the age of the horses, they are trained from 15 to 30 days. Race distances are also adjusted depending on the age of the horses. The heritage element “Traditional knowledge of training race horses” is registered in the “Traditional knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe” domain of the National Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mongolia.
Publisher
National Center for Cultural Heritage
Place of Publication
Mongolia
Date of Publication
2022
Academic Field
heritage management
Community/Ethnic Group
Mongolia
Active Contribution
Mongolia, FY 2024