International Tengri Research Foundation. Tatar horse "Bakhmat" In the fields where horses graze in winter, the harvest is higher

In May 2011, I sent a letter to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, R. Minikhanov, that I wanted to give him my stallion of the Tatar breed. With the condition that he ride a circle on it at the Sabantuy holiday and that these horses, as a Tatar brand, will be presented at the World Universiade in 2013. My proposal was reported in the newspapers “Star of the Volga Region” and others. Based on this letter, they came to me from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan. At their request, Moscow confirmed that these were indeed horses of the Tatar breed.

In August 2011, a TV program in the republic announced that the program “Development of horse breeding and equestrian sports in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2012-2015 and for the period until 2020” was being created. 2.5 billion rubles will be allocated for this program. I was worried that the money would again go only to Arabian and English horses. My fears were indirectly confirmed. Therefore, I was forced to send a letter to the government of Tatarstan (the State Council and the President) with a proposal to include horses of the Tatar breed in the program “Development of horse breeding and equestrian sports in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2012-2015 and for the period until 2020”. The public of Tatarstan supported my initiative. This topic was discussed on many sites in support of the revival of Tatar horses. We received a response from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan that a draft program is being developed, in which one of the tasks is the restoration of the Tatar breed of horses through the selection and selection of meat and dairy products. For a whole year, I corresponded with the government of Tatarstan and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, about the fact that Tatar horses are unprofitable from the point of view of meat and milk, they are small in size. Suitable for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan to revive Tatar horses for the development of equestrian and tourist destinations, as an important ethnocultural heritage. The Government of Tatarstan (State Council and President), as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, refused my and the public’s request to develop the Tatar horse breed and did not include them in the program for the development of horse breeding and equestrian sports in Tatarstan. P The program “Development of horse breeding and equestrian sports in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2012-2015 and for the period until 2020” does not meet the interests of the Tatar people, since it does not provide for the development of Tatar horses.

Archaeological expeditions carried out in Inner Mongolia claim that more than 2 thousand years BC. e. This territory was inhabited by nomadic tribes that differed sharply from the culture of China. Chinese sources called all the nomads who lived in the north on the border of China Hien-nu, ta-ta, ta-da, datans, which is Tatars in our language. The residence of these ancient Tatars is precisely defined in the Jinshu. The Tatar land in the south was connected with the destinies of Yan and Zhao (modern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi), in the north they reached Shamo, in the east they adjoined the northern ones, that is, the boundaries of the distribution of the ancient Tatars coincided with the modern borders of Inner Mongolia (PRC). An important achievement of the Tatars was the development of the steppe expanses of modern Mongolia. The territory of Southern Manchuria, modern Inner Mongolia (PRC), the territory of modern Mongolia and Southern Siberia was Tatar territory. The Russian scientist V.P. Vasiliev, who worked in China for a long time, believed that the first Tatars appeared in Southern Manchuria, and then settlement began in the Ordos region - the Yingshan Mountains (Inner Mongolia of the People's Republic of China) in the direction of the Tatar steppe and Northwestern Mongolia. From there further to the Dzungarian Gate, Northern Kazakhstan, Altai, Southern Siberia, Southern Urals and the Lower and Middle Volga and further west to the Black Sea steppes, Western Asia and Scandinavia. Mahmud Kashgari, the vast region between Northern China and Eastern Turkestan, called the “Tatar steppe”. Over the course of many millennia, the Tatars (Turks) - nomads from a small ethnic group turned into a super-ethnic group and settled throughout the Great Steppe.

The main occupation of the ancient Tatars was nomadic cattle breeding. Along with cattle breeding, hunting played an important role. Roundup hunting required special training for beaters and hunters. This was very useful because hunting fostered military valor and taught tactics and battle strategy. The Tatars, nomads, used horses for transportation. It was said about them like this: “They were born into the light of day in the saddle of a horse and died and perished while sitting in the saddle. Their homeland was the back of the horse.” The use of the horse served to enable nomads to break away from their familiar soil, they were given freedom of movement, the opportunity to create new, superior military equipment, and contributed to the emergence of people who were able to train a horse and subordinate it to their will, to show personal courage to a warrior rider, to evaluate beauty and intelligence of the animal. And these qualities were appreciated by the West and the East. Tatar word ir-at– translated literally into Russian as man - horse. Apparently it was unthinkable to imagine Tatar men in the old days without a horse. A similar image exists only in Greek mythology - the centaur. Constantly on horseback in severe frost and sultry heat, rain and wind, such an ordinary everyday way of life turned a nomad into a hardy warrior in war. Accustomed to harsh living conditions, the nomads were able to endure all sorts of inconveniences and hardships, and courageously endured all the hardships of camping and military life.

2-3 thousand years ago, when there were bloody wars between the Tatars and the Chinese, Chinese scientists described the Tatar horses in detail. For 2-3 thousand years they have hardly changed and spread throughout Eurasia. Just as people are different all over the world, so are horses. How do Tatar horses differ from other horses? Firstly, by his appearance. Tatar horses differed noticeably from other breeds of that time, primarily in their unusual color. The mares had a light damask (golden) color, a white mane and a white tail. The stallions have a dark dun color, more precisely light bay with golden tints on the body. These horses, first of all, are distinguished by high fertility. Their chests are wide, their necks are thick, their heads are large, and their bodies are massive. Despite this, their legs are short and thin. They are similar to mountain sheep. Their height is 135-145 cm. According to European standards, horses should be 160-175 cm tall. Therefore, Tatar horses are usually called short. They can easily tolerate both cold and heat (40-45 degrees), they do not need warm horse farms. Tatar horses by nature yurgalar(pacers), fast and capable of being in continuous motion for 7-8 hours, so over long distances they have no equal rivals. They can run up to 150-200 km per day, and so on for 10 days. And another very important distinguishing feature is that they are already born pacers.

In winter, stallions, like moose, rake the grass out from under the snow. When the sheep and mares standing aside see that the stallion has dug up the food, they come running and start eating. The stallion, having eaten with them, moves to another place and begins to dig the snow again, looking for food. Stallions protect the herd from wolves. They are fearless, and there are times when they even fight with a bear. Tatar horses are so unpretentious in food that you can ride them across the entire Universe without fear.

In those distant times, cavalry decided the outcome of any battle, so any army needed horses prepared for war. They were distinguished by their fighting qualities, helping the rider, biting and trampling the enemy. It was not in vain that Genghis Khan used these horses in his campaigns. As a rule, hundreds of thousands of such horses were required. Since ancient times, herds of Tatar horses have grazed on the banks of the Yenisei, the foothills of the Mongolian Altai, in the forest-steppe zone of Manchuria, in the region of the Khingan Mountains, in Ordos - the modern territory of Inner Mongolia (PRC) in Northern China along the Chinese Wall.

The Tatar army was formed from cavalry detachments. The main weapons of the lightly armed Tatar horseman were a bow, a spear, a saber and a shield. The main features of the Tatars’ military strategy were the sudden penetration of cavalry squadrons into the enemy’s deep rear, sowing panic and chaos, devastating enemy territory, destroying all communication links and hitting the border defenders in the rear, and then, if necessary, leaving as much as possible without losses. The main tactics of the Tatars were to wear down the enemy and launch unexpected raids. The Tatars tried to attack the enemy with cavalry lava, when he had already wavered, broken the formation and began to retreat. At this moment, it was possible to speed up victory with a decisive attack and inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy. If the Tatars won, they cut down the enemy together, but if the enemy defeated them, then they did not consider it a shame to retreat and disperse. One of the main advantages of the Tatar warrior is accuracy when shooting from a bow. The best skill of a horse archer was considered to be not only to shoot forward at a gallop, but also to release the reins and turn back to shoot accurately at the enemy. This was a common, traditional part of Tatar tactics to lure the enemy into ambush. The enemy, assuming that the Tatars were running away, tried to finish them off and were ambushed. When retreating (as if fleeing), the Tatars turned around on the saddle and managed to accurately hit the enemy with arrows, causing them damage even before the ambush. The warrior had to be able not only to shoot accurately, but also to skillfully avoid arrows, either standing up in the stirrups or pretending to fall backward. Moreover, the horse also had to dodge arrows, making jumps and so on. The war horse was trained to crash into enemy lines and trample foot soldiers. If there had not been such horses under the saddles of the nomads Attila and Genghis Khan, it is unlikely that we would have known anything about the “shakers of the Universe.”

White Tatars Onguts(the Chinese called the Tatars black and white, but not by skin color, but by their enlightenment, who accepted Chinese culture), owned countless herds and endless pastures in the territory of modern Northern China. The Onguts lived on the borders of the Chinese Jin Empire. And according to Rashid ad-din, they “were a special people who guarded the Jin borders along the Great Wall of China.” They were always loyal to the Tungus-Manchu dynasty, or rather to the Jurchen sovereigns. And before the campaign, Genghis Khan decided to make friends with the leader of the White Tatars Ala-Kush in order to get these horses. Ala-Kush did not reject the offer to marry one of the Chingizids. As a result, he became Gurkhan (son-in-law of Genghis Khan) and entered his inner circle. In the lists included in the inner circle, he was listed as Alahush-Digitkhuri gurgan. Ala-Kush, becoming the son-in-law of Genghis Khan, gave him hundreds of thousands of Tatar horses. Batu Khan in 1236, riding Tatar (Ongut) horses, led the Western campaign. Returning from Europe, Batu Khan began to settle his army throughout the ulus, mobilized specifically for the campaign. Two Tyumen (20 thousand warriors with their families) Jurchens (Manchus) and most of the Ongut Tatars settled in Bulgaria, the Kama region, and the Urals. Another part of the Ongut Tatars was resettled to the modern Orenburg and North Kazakhstan steppes. Subsequently, the Onguts and Mangyts made up the bulk of the Nogai Horde. The Ongut and Jurchen Tatars brought their native Tatar pentatonic music to the banks of the Volga from the distant Great Wall of China. The Ongut Tatars were allies of the Jurchens (Manchus). It was they who made up the majority of the Tatar-Mongol army in the western steppes. They adopted their symbols from their Manchu allies. And the Manchu dragon on the banners of the Tatars ended up in the steppes of Europe, and then became the coat of arms of Kazan. Together with the Ongut Tatars, Tatar horses also settled in large numbers in the Volga region and Western modern Kazakhstan.

The greatness and power of the Tatars was that they were archers on horseback. The technical weapon that gave them a great advantage over sedentary humans was the incredibly agile cavalry of skilled archers. The Chinese and Persians also did not neglect these weapons. From the third century BC. e. The Chinese adapted their clothing for riding and used cavalry in war. And Persia, since the time of the Parthians, knew the value of a rain of arrows delivered by a whirlwind of retreating horsemen. However, the Chinese, Persians, Russians, Poles or Hungarians could never match the Tatars and Mongols in this area. Trained from childhood to ride a horse at a gallop across the vast expanse of the steppe, accustomed to patiently tracking down prey and to all the tricks of the hunt, on which his food, that is, his life, depended, he was invincible. The nomads tried, if possible, not to engage in direct clashes even when suddenly attacked. They could disappear, reappear, pursue the enemy without fear of being captured themselves, chase the enemy, tire him and, finally, knock him down exhausted, like a staged game. The tricks of this agile and sudden cavalry developed the collective intelligence, conditioning and technological superiority of the nomads. The situation, which had lasted for centuries, suddenly changed in the 17th century AD. e. Artillery appeared. In 1696, Emperor Shen-chu personally led a Chinese army equipped with Western-style artillery, and in a decisive battle near the city of Urga (Ulaanbaatar) he defeated the Mongol army. For the first time and forever, military technology changed the camps. Within a few hours, the traditional superiority of the nomad was a thing of the past.

The Tatars were driven out of the saddle after the capture of Kazan by the Moscow troops of Ivan the Terrible in 1552. And since that period, the Tatars have lived in the wagon train of history. Before the revolution, Tatar horses were also called Nogai. One source says the following: “Horses are brought to Russia from Nogai Tatary. They are of average height and very comfortable for work. Little oats are accepted... The Nogais annually send up to 40,000 horses for sale to Moscow...” Thus, it can be considered established that for hundreds of years the horse breeding of the Tatars, Nogais and other nomads played a major role in the horse population of Russia. (Book about the horse, volume III. State Publishing House of Agricultural Literature. Moscow. 1959). Usually Russian boyars rode to the battlefield on high Russian horses. The horses were not hardy; they could only gallop for a few kilometers. But on a high horse, the boyar showed his supremacy. The nobles rode on short, nimble Tatar horses.

Russian peasants preferred to buy Tatar horses, since they consumed little feed. 1-2 kg of oats and several kg of hay per day; their wool is hard and therefore they rarely get sick. Tatar horses can be ridden on horseback or harnessed to a cart. In a small peasant farm, there is no need to carry large loads. Tall horses consume 5-6 kg of oats per day and, accordingly, a lot of hay. Beginning with Peter I, tall European horses began to be imported to Russia. Stud farms were built on a national scale. European horses were used mainly in mines, plants and factories, to pull heavy loads. But peasants rarely purchased them, preferring to have Tatar horses. Before the revolution, it was common to call these horses Tatar horses.

In the 30s of the 20th century, during the period of collectivization, under the pretext of the need for strong horses for collective farms, Tatar horses were put under the knife. During the Soviet period, various heavy trucks, tall horses, including hybrid ones, began to be imported from Russian regions, from the Baltic states, and Europe to all Turkic republics, including Tatarstan. So they represented collective farm horses at that time, which have survived to this day.

During the Great Patriotic War, a lot of horses were taken from Tatarstan to the war. And after the war, citing the fact that horses are not needed in modern times, collective farms began to receive tractors and cars, and they stopped breeding horses. And what’s interesting is that Tatars were banned from riding saddles in Tatarstan. By the age of 60, Tatar horses completely disappeared in Tatarstan, and at the same time the name “Tatar horses” disappeared. The destruction of the Tatar horses was apparently determined not only by economic calculations, but also by political ones. The history of the Tatars is inextricably linked with Tatar horses, and if they are not there, then the history of the Tatars will be flawed. But, despite all the tricks, these horses have survived only slightly in Bashkiria, Altai, Khakassia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tuva, which became part of the Soviet Union in 1944. In the 60s, local horses began to be given codes. So in Bashkiria, Tatar horses became Bashkir, in Altai - Altai, in Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyz, etc. So the name “Tatar horses” disappeared.

In 2010-2011, many articles were written about Tatar horses, which were published in the newspapers Zvezda Povolzhya, Vatanym Tatarstan, etc. on the websites “Tatar Uyan”, the Kazakh website “Altyn Orda”, etc. The authors of many articles there was a journalist who worked for many years on Kyrgyz television as a commentator on equestrian sports, Narkas Mullajanov and others. Based on these articles, Bashkortostan adopted a program for the revival of Bashkir horses, and in Kazakhstan a program for the revival of the Adai (Nogai) horse breed.

In August 2011, the media reported on the Program for the Development of Horse Breeding and Equestrian Sports for 2013-2015 being developed in Tatarstan, for which 2.5 billion rubles should be spent. To our great surprise, this program pays attention to English, Arabian, French, American, Russian, etc. breeds of horses, but not to Tatar ones. That’s when the decision arose to create the “Tatar Argamaklar” Association. The purpose of the association was to promote Tatar horses. To revive Tatar horses in Tatarstan, it is necessary to purchase them in Tuva, Altai, Kazakhstan, etc. Here they will return their historical name - “Tatar horses”. How to conduct horse racing in the Altai Republic, Tuva, Tatarstan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan - Baiga for 20, 40, 100 km. Tatar horses should participate in the Sabantuy holiday and be a Tatar brand. A monument to the Tatar horse must be erected. And it would be nice if they participated in the opening of the Universiade in 2013.

Unfortunately, in our republic the ruling elite holds Arab and English horses in high esteem. They also find food for them. They are cherished, cared for, admired, bred and promoted. Although they are not the national pride of the republic. There were no horses in the Arabian Peninsula until the 7th century. The Arabs used camels for their needs. After the Islamic campaigns, the Arabs received various horses as trophies. Then the Arabs decided to have their own horses. They began to crossbreed horses to get ones that could exist in the hot Arab lands. Over the course of hundreds of years, they managed to develop a breed called “Arabian”. There are enzymes in the blood of the Arabian horse that, at temperatures above 30-35 degrees Celsius, thin the blood and the horses begin to gallop at high speed, but they run no more than 1-7 km. In Tatarstan the temperature is sharply continental and there is no such heat. Therefore, in Tatarstan, Arabian horses do not show good results in agility. Arabian horses are very expensive to keep. They need warm horse farms, they eat dates, fruits, bananas, etc. The same can be said about English horses. In 1750, by crossing a Scandinavian horse with an Arabian, an English horse was obtained. And maintaining this horse is also very expensive. Today, English and Arabian horses are bred in large numbers on horse farms in England, America, Spain, many Arab countries, etc. Horses are very expensive, from 300 thousand and above. Now there is an overproduction of these horses in the world. The difficulty is in selling them. The disadvantage of these horses is that breeders do not know what to do with them after 3 years of racing. The buyer is not in the village, since they cannot be involved in the work. The meat is expensive. For tourism, this pleasure is also very expensive, and only professionals can ride them.

The fact is that many of us Tatars today consider us an agricultural nation. The Tatars became a settled people five hundred years ago, but the Tatars’ horses were always in full combat readiness for another half a millennium, which means that the spirit of the nomadic world was still alive in the Tatars. Even in the time of Pugachev, up to 20 horses were kept in each Tatar courtyard. In one of the Tatar villages, Mekhelson’s detachment confiscated 4,000 horses from 200 families. Even at the beginning of the 20th century, Tatar families in villages kept an average of two horses. Unfortunately, of all the Turkic peoples, only the Tatars today have turned away from their horses. Although Tatar horses made history for the Tatars. It got to the point that the Tatars forgot how to make saddles. And Tatarstan buys saddles abroad from Finland, France, etc. I myself had to go to Bashkiria and buy a saddle there. I would like to believe that soon Tatar horses will also be tested for endurance at our hippodromes.

The Tatar breed of horses is bred in the Leninogorsk, Alkeevsky, Tyulyachinsky and Sabinsky municipal districts of the Republic of Tatarstan.

(Kazan, December 20, Tatar-inform). The Tatar horse breed is officially registered as a separate breed. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Nazip Khazipov spoke about this at a press conference dedicated to the development of livestock farming in the republic.

“We started breeding the Tatar horse breed in 2005. On December 4, 2018, we received official permission to engage in this type of activity,” the deputy minister said.

“The Tatar breed of horses is bred to participate in sporting events and to produce kumiss,” Khazipov noted. According to him, horses of this breed are very hardy, in winter they can find food even under the snow, and cover a distance of up to 100-120 km per day.

Today, horses of the Tatar breed are bred in the Leninogorsk, Alkeevsky, Tyulyachinsky, Sabinsky municipal districts. “There are only about 300 horses of this breed in Tatarstan,” explained the deputy minister.

In mid-November (from the 13th to the 16th), an expert commission on selection achievements in the field of horse breeding for the Tatar horse breed visited the republic. The commission of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation included the head of the department of horse breeding of the Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K. A. Timiryazev Vladimir Demin, the chief livestock specialist of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Gossortkomissiya" Viktor Tyurikov, the head of the department of large livestock breeding and mechanization of the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K. I. . Scriabin Sergey Kozlov.

The commission conducted an examination of the compliance with the economic usefulness of horses of the Tatar breed in the farm of individual entrepreneur Farid Nabiullin from the Leninogorsk district and in the peasant farm of Fanis Bakirov from the Alkeevsky district. The act drawn up then contained a recommendation “to allow Tatar horses to be used as a selection achievement.”

On December 4, after considering materials on the methods of creating and distinctive features of the Tatar breed of horses, the expert commission for testing and protection of breeding achievements of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation approved an act of assessing the economic usefulness of horses of the Tatar breed. She recommended that the Federal State Budgetary Institution “State Varietal Commission” include the Tatar horse breed in the State Register of Breeding Achievements approved for use. As noted on the website of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, “the presence of a breed in the State Register gives the right to propagate, import, certify and sell breeding material of the breed on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

The Tatar horse breed is almost never bred today and is considered endangered. The homeland of the animals is Tatarstan, which is where they got their name. Previously, these horses were called “heavenly gift”, because they have incredible speed and fearlessness.

History of the breed

There is a hypothesis according to which Tatar horses were brought to Tatarstan from Europe about 2 thousand years ago. The Tatars used animals for heavy physical labor and defense.

When the Tatars and the Chinese came into conflict, horses began to be used for military purposes. The battles were extremely brutal. The Chinese soldiers were amazed by the strength, loyalty and endurance of their enemy's horses.

There is also information that horses even helped fighters, trampling enemies with their hooves and causing injuries with their teeth. According to historical essays, representatives of the Tatar horse breed had no fear of either bears or wolves. If the need arose, they could repel wild predators, protecting not only themselves, but also the rider.

After the start of the Second World War, Tatar horses began to increasingly participate in military battles. In the post-war period, the animal lost its former demand due to the development of mechanization in the country. In addition, a legislative norm appeared in Tatarstan at that time prohibiting the use of horses as a means of transportation and moving goods.

By the 60s. last century, this horse breed has already become so small in number that it has acquired the status of endangered. However, in a number of farms its breeding continued. Thanks to this, it was possible to preserve this subspecies.

Appearance and character

Tatar horses have a nondescript appearance. Animals have a dry body structure and short stature. Looking at the appearance of horses of the Tatar breed, you might think that they have low performance, but this opinion is wrong.

Characteristics of this horse:

weight - from 330 to 460 kg;
height (at the withers) - from 130 to 136 cm;
body structure - dry;
legs are of medium length, sinewy;
profile - straight;
head - large;
ears - erect;
color - dark golden, golden, brownish, with a whitish mane and tail.

Both stallions and mares of the Tatar breed have good endurance and physical strength. Animals have developed muscles, so they can cover extremely long distances without stopping. In 24 hours, a Tatar horse can cover a distance of up to 300 km. She can move without stopping for 7-9 hours.

Representatives of the Tatar breed are obedient and intelligent, and have a calm disposition. They listen to the commands of their rider, so there are no problems controlling the animal.

Aggression is not inherent in these horses. Horses quickly get used to a person and listen to him with pleasure. In addition, these animals get along well with children.

Horses of this breed are suitable for both horseback riding and physical labor.

Pros and cons of the breed

The advantages of a Tatar breed horse include the following qualities:

humility;
courage;
extraordinary endurance - animals do not require insulated stables, they can easily tolerate heat, cold and sudden temperature changes;
the ability to independently obtain food - Tatar horses consume pasture and can get food even from under snow rubble;
Tatar stallions can be used as herd guards, because they are not afraid of wild animals and can even consider a wild bear as an enemy;
low feed consumption - for 1 horse you need about 1 kg of hay per day.

Despite many advantages, this breed also has disadvantages. Among them the following stand out:

horses of this feat sometimes develop an inflammatory process in the tissues of the hooves;
horses often suffer from dermatological diseases;
Representatives of this breed may have problems with the heart muscle and fainting attacks;
As these animals grow older, the likelihood of developing joint diseases increases.

Given the risk of health problems, Tatar horses require especially careful care. At the end of the day, owners of such horses should pour cooled water over their hooves to relieve tension. In addition, animals need to regularly brush their skin and wash their tail and mane every week, as well as regularly inspect their hooves for inflammation. If your horse's health worsens, you should contact your veterinarian.

Tatar horse today

Today there are almost no Tatar horses left. According to various information sources, there are about 10 representatives of this breed left, so it is on the verge of extinction.

The Tatarstan Ministry of Food and Agriculture plans to revive this horse breed.

WE COULD NOT FIND A PERSON WHO CAN HARNESS HORSE

Murat Sirazin : - Today we will talk mainly about horse breeding. And unusual. Even under the first president of the Republic of Tatarstan, a horse breeding federation was created in the republic, hippodromes were built in almost every regional center, even our Shelanga has its own small hippodrome. And you, Farid, breed real Tatar horses, the kind that helped our ancestors reach the Adriatic Sea. These horses do not need to prepare food; they can find food for themselves both in summer and winter. Moreover, you, like any cunning Tatar, do not put your eggs in one basket, so you also have a small herd of cows and a herd of rams, as well as a donkey. Farid has a beautiful wife and four beautiful daughters. Donkey milk has long been considered very useful for female beauty; Queen Cleopatra drank it.

Farid Nabiullin : - Regarding the donkey... Yes, my children are beautiful. For every parent, his children are the most beautiful. But not at the expense of donkey milk, but at the expense of what nature gave them. And due to the fact that they live in the fresh air, they undoubtedly do physical labor and study well...

- Farid, you read in BUSINESSOnline» previous dialogue two farmers, called me, came - and I realized that the conversation with you would certainly be interesting for readers. How did you become a farmer?

Why did I come to farming myself? My ancestors were from the village and kept horses all their lives at all times. I myself learned to ride my grandfather’s horse.

You traveled all over Europe and Asia before becoming a farmer and studied foreign experience. Do you agree with the opinion of a young farmer from the Laishevsky district, Ilnar Girfanov, with whom I talked last time and who talked about farmers in Finland?

Regarding your dialogue with Ilnar, I found it interesting to read. I myself visited Finland, I was also in Germany, Holland, Poland, I saw how farmers live there. Their way of life, its regularity, their approach to life in general and to rural life in particular interested me. The Europeans were able to build a system that works, and people from the villages do not run away. They established themselves there, have children in the village, and then pass on their farm to their grandchildren. They have their own land, and they stand on their feet confidently because they live on their own land.

You say your grandfather, your ancestors were horse breeders. But today I don’t feel this in Tatarstan. Moreover, when a hippodrome opened in our village, we could not find a person there who knew how to harness horses. I myself am not local, I lived in Siberia among the Tatar Cossacks, I was in Orenburg among the Tatar Cossacks, my ancestors are from Penza... There it is almost impossible to separate a Tatar from a horse. Maybe we have other Tatars living here? Maybe not Tatars at all, but all Bulgars here? As far as I know, you are local, from Tatarstan, and, when composing your genealogy, you went back to the times of Genghis Khan, with whom your great-great-grandfather drank kumiss. It was so?

According to legend, this is true; they drank kumiss together. Our ancestors lived here at all times, in all centuries. As for horse breeding, I’ll say this: the Tatar people have always been on horses. During the War of 1812, our ancestors reached Paris on their horses. They went to war with their horse and came back from the war with their horse. And during the time of Pugachev, the Tatars were the main force supporting him... We can talk a lot about history, but today we are more interested in why horses disappeared from the Tatars, in particular in Tatarstan? My grandfather was an individual farmer, he worked for himself, he had cows, he had horses, and he had his own land...

- How many horses did he have?

Three horses. And only because he sold one of his horses and gave the second to his eldest son when he married him, his grandfather was not considered a kulak and was not sent to Siberia or somewhere else. And he remained here on this earth, and his passion was passed on to us through the blood. The passion for horses has always been in our family and was preserved due to the fact that our ancestors survived and remained here. But what's interesting? Previously, before 1917, every hardworking person in the village had one or two horses. And then the Soviet government came, there was surplus appropriation, and more than once. And the peasants were told: you only have one horse left, and that’s enough (that’s what they called it: one-horse people), we will create a collective farm, a collective farm. Then my grandfather gathered his family and said: my children, this power has come for a long time. Everyone in the village knew and respected my grandfather, authority there doesn’t just disappear, and my grandfather became the chairman of the collective farm, and was the chairman both before the war and during the war. That's how his life changed dramatically. Then horses were no longer needed; they were replaced by tractors. Although we used to have our own Tatar horses, races were held every year, and not only at Sabantui. And then they said: we don’t need your horses like that, we’ll take draft horses and heavy trucks from Europe. But heavy trucks have a slightly different psychology, and they need to eat more. Then horses were completely replaced by cars. And you know, one, the second generation - and that’s it, and the tradition of breeding horses will disappear.

3 STALLIONS WERE CONSIDERED THE NORMAL, MANY HAD BOTH 100 AND 200 HORSES

You are talking about your grandfather. In general, were there any horseless Tatars? In my opinion, even in a Russian village it was bad to be horseless... I also wonder how large herds of horses did the Tatars have before? In your village, let’s say, you know about this, have you heard about it?

I know a lot about living history because my grandmother was a good storyteller. She lived all her life in the village, and remembered well what she was told as a child, what happened before her. And she recounted all this to me. The Tatars have such a saying, translated something like this: a smart person always praises his horse, a stupid person praises himself. You can also add that a fool praises his wife.

- So they were horseless?

Of course there were. But according to my grandmother’s stories, these were lazy people. They didn’t want to work, just like now there are parasites who don’t want to work. So who are farm laborers? Those who do not know either how to handle the land or how to handle livestock. And he is forced, when the winter is hard, to sell first his horse, then his land. And when you are left without land, horseless, what can you do? He's already going to get hired.

But in our Tatar village, interestingly, there was a community even before the revolution. The land was communal. The relationship was special. One brother could support his family well, work well on the land, but the other could not do it. But the elder was responsible for the younger ones, and still attracted them to work. Therefore, the Tatars never had serfdom, and there was never a sharp stratification.

- And how large were the herds of horses?

My other great-grandfather had three stallions, and at that time there were 25 - 30 mares per stallion. There was a herd of more than a hundred. I have just now caught up with my great-grandfather in terms of herd size. And in a neighboring village in 1914, before the First World War, before the revolution, one owner had 2 thousand horses.

- Is this the norm?

Three stallions were considered the norm; many had 100 or 200 horses.

OUR GRANDFATHERS HAD ALMOST NO PROBLEM ABOUT FEEDING THE HORSES

But keeping a horse is not easy. She needs oats, she needs to make hay for her. How could one peasant store so much hay? There were no combines or tractors then... Or is there some kind of trick here?

There is a trick, of course. This is what the Tatar horse was good for, and it was in vain that this breed was reduced to almost nothing. This horse finds food for itself even in winter. And she doesn’t eat like a heavy truck, which needs 6-7 kilograms of oats a day; a kilogram is enough for her. So I give my mares, who also give birth well in the spring, a kilogram of oats a day. And so we kick them out in the morning, and even in winter they graze all day long, digging up last year’s grass from under the snow with their hooves. That's why they come home full. Of course, we provide straw, but not so much is needed anymore. Therefore, our grandfathers had few problems with how to feed their horses. Over the three years that I have been keeping horses, I have made the following interesting observation: the horses graze, pass by, and after them the cows and sheep come and pick up what is left.

Well, of course, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, there are mountains there, no one plants anything there. But we have only fields around us. Some people plant oats, some barley, some wheat. You have herds of horses walking around! I know that they still can’t find Genghis Khan’s grave. Why? Because when he was buried, they led a herd of horses - and there were no traces left there.

Herds of thousands, right?

Yes, the warriors passed, and today no one knows where Genghis Khan’s grave is. Do neighboring farmers have complaints against you because of your horses? Because horses walk through other people's fields in winter, through winter crops?

In the summer, of course, you have to look after the horses, because our region, and our republic in general, is an agricultural one; they try to sow all the fields. Although I would say that even in our Tatarstan we need to approach agriculture in a multifaceted way. Here we have the southeast of Tatarstan, mountainous terrain. In some places the layer of black soil is only five centimeters, in others there is no black soil at all, just stones. What's the point of plowing on such land if you get 10 - 12 centners per hectare? And to plow, it will take you twice as much money as you will receive later in income. What is the point? We are in a risky farming zone. Plus, we have oil workers who dig trenches for gas pipelines and drill wells. There are Nurlatsky, Alkeevsky, Buinsky districts, where there is 60 centimeters of black soil, and there are yields of 45 - 60 centners per hectare, no questions asked! And in 10 years, I once took 28 centners per hectare from us. That is, no matter what you do, you will never block the Kuban!

IN FIELDS WHERE HORSES GRAZE IN WINTER, THE HARVEST IS HIGHER

We also have a Kyrgyz farmer in our region, his horses run across his fields within a radius of 50 kilometers, and he is fined for this... Do your horses run through your fields? Aren't you offended that your horses destroy winter crops in winter?

As I already said, in the summer our guys look after the horses. In winter, on the contrary, it is good when a horse cuts a green stem. Cereals have dormant buds, and therefore in the spring not one spikelet emerges, but three, four, or six. Therefore, the fact that horses graze in these fields has a good effect on the yield.

- Do farmers also pay extra for this? Since their productivity is increasing thanks to your horses?

Nice line! ( laughs) Nobody pays anything extra.

- But they don’t scold you either?

They don't scold me much. Because a horse does not walk within a radius of more than 20 kilometers; it is a very smart animal. Our horses already know the place of grazing, they begin to graze there in the fall, they plan in advance where they will graze in the winter, where the food supply is good.

- Do they remember?

They remember. And so that they return home on their own, we fill them with oats at about five or six in the evening at the rate of a kilogram per head, and they come for these oats.

Farid, you have such a hat, in my opinion, that of an equestrian. But you are not a rider, not even an opponent of this, as far as I know. Can you lasso a horse? Or don’t you even need to catch them - you called them, whistled, and they came running?

A horse, it is a horse - as you teach it.

-Are Tatar horses smarter than American ones?

Maybe the Tatars are smarter than the cowboys... Our guys, when the time comes, whistle, and the horses turn around and go home. As for the hat, I was given a cowboy hat, but I don't use it. It's easier for me...

- ...wear a skullcap?

In the summer in a skullcap, in the winter in a hat. You can’t ride in a jockey’s room, you need a normal hat, put it on, and be warm.

IN OUR TATARSTAN, THE TATAR HORSE SHOULD BECOME A BRAND

Today there is some kind of fashion: rich Tatars, in addition to Jeeps, airplanes, helicopters, buy elite horses for themselves. And for some reason you took up Tatar horses. Maybe it would be more profitable to breed Arabian horses, the Budenovsky breed, and make money from it?

This must also be approached from a philosophical point of view. We are Turkic people. And the Turks were always with horses, even distant cold Yakutia, and even then, in my opinion, in second place in the Russian Federation in terms of the number of horses. That is, even the northern Turkic peoples have horses. And we need not to tear ourselves away from our horse - the one that is adapted to our local conditions. We have had such horses from time immemorial, ours, ours, here. This needs to be renewed. The times will come when the Turkic states will compete in their interesting sports. These are the same long-distance races on their own horses... In Tatarstan, the Tatar horse should become a brand.

If the Arabian horses, which are bred today at our hippodromes, get into your herd, will they survive in these conditions without stables, looking for food in the snow in winter?

Of course not, they won’t survive. I only have one half-breed. Even now, when the temperature is plus five, she is standing in the wind, trembling. This is genes! A person also does not immediately adapt to new conditions, it takes generations... And Arabian horses have thinner skin, and their legs are, say, more frozen... It is impossible for these horses to live without a stable, but our horses do without a stable. And what about the fashion for elite horses among the new Tatars or new Russians... In order to maintain elite horses, you may need a little money, 20 - 30 thousand a month, but you also need a rider. In general, it turns out to be quite a large amount. But they cannot give better results than the English, who are trained all year round, and where the climate is better. It’s like Arabian horses or Alkhetians in Turkmenistan - there, too, the climate is more suitable for those particular horses. They are brought here, trained, and good results can only be obtained through intensive training, which is what our horse breeders do. But on a large scale, this is my opinion, we don’t need to do this. In everyone’s blood, in their soul, there is simply a craving for a horse, for the most ordinary one, which is more adapted to its own, to local conditions. Tatar horses are shorter, they love children, because all their past generations spent their lives with the nomad’s family, with his children. And then children were taught from an early age to ride a horse and care for it. My daughter was only a year old, she didn’t really know how to walk, but she already rode a horse.

That was the way we were raised back then. Usually children were raised by their mothers, because their fathers either fought or tended cattle. And the mother had to raise both boys and girls equally until the age of five. Because a boy must become a warrior, and a girl must raise a warrior. And she also had to be able to ride a horse. So then a woman could harness horses and stop a galloping horse... Today a woman is given maternity leave for three years, and she takes care of the child for all these three years. And then it was simpler: they put the child on a horse, and the horse raised him. This is how the boy became a real man, and the girl a real woman.

WHAT IS EASIER AND MORE PROFITABLE: KEEPING A HERD OF COWS OR A HERD OF HORSES?

Here's a question: you don't only have horses. There are sheep, this is understandable for a Tatar, there is a donkey, we already understand why... But why is there also a herd of beef cows? This material in BUSINESS Online“will probably also be read by the heads of agricultural holdings, who for some unknown reason got involved in beef production. And they are probably now thinking: why do we need these barns, why do we need to store feed, hay, straw... Maybe it would be easier to go to Farid, learn from experience and breed Tatar horses? Tell me honestly, what is more profitable in monetary terms and who is easier to maintain: horses or cows? I know that in our area the horse breeder doesn’t even have shepherds; in the herd, the main mare gives orders, when necessary, she brings the horses home... Moreover, now there are GPS, you can send a command through the horse’s satellite: come on, come home, I’ll give you some oats... So what’s easier and more profitable: keeping a herd of cows or a herd of horses?

It’s true about horses: they don’t scatter, they walk together. In our summer, a stallion tends a herd, in winter, until a certain time, a stallion, then an older mare. She is a leader and she really leads the herd where it needs to go and makes sure that the horses don’t wander off.

As for agricultural holdings... It’s probably not in vain that we take the experience of European countries. The electric shepherd is now widespread in Europe. He can graze either horses or cows. If we talk about meat production, a horse, of course, uses much less feed; horse meat is cheaper at cost than beef.

- Which meat tastes better?

Need to try! Moreover, no disease can be transmitted to humans from raw smoked horse meat, because horses have a different blood type.

- The same cannot be said about a cow; many diseases can be transmitted to humans from it...

Everyone has a couple of common diseases. But in general, as a whole, horses have almost nothing in common with humans, but cows, and especially pigs, have common diseases with humans. As they say, they are a dime a dozen! And leukemia, and plague, and brucellosis... On the other hand, our body has to spend less energy processing horse meat. Horse fat melts at a temperature of 38 degrees, it can even melt in your hand. And to melt, say, sheep fat, you need a temperature of 95 degrees. Just imagine how the human body has to work to digest the first and digest the second.

- You just have to eat the lamb hot! But don't eat it cold. And if you go somewhere, you need to take it with you on the road...

And always reheat lamb. Of course, there used to be problems with this: you need to stop, light a fire... That’s probably why the Tatars ate horse meat.

Even now, when I go somewhere, I take horse meat with me. I put it in the car, it’s tasty and healthy even at 25 degrees, I ate a little, and I immediately feel a surge of energy. And you don’t freeze, it warms you up. Horse meat has many beneficial properties. I think there is a lot of work here for research institutes to study and compare horse meat, lamb, beef, chicken... Lots of work, a dime a dozen! The state would create such funds and issue grants for research. Our youth would be happy to do this, get carried away, conduct such research... Maybe then they wouldn’t go abroad, they would stay here.

WHY DO WE GIVE UP FROM THIS ENERGY, THIS POWER NOW?

Farid, you travel a lot in European countries. I know from myself that when you come to a restaurant, look at the menu, and see “Tatar-style meat,” you probably want to feel like you’re in your homeland. You order. And they bring something raw, covered in blood. You ask in horror: what is this?! And then they start explaining to you: this is Tatar-style meat, Tatars, they are so narrow-eyed, bow-legged, they rode horses, put this meat under the saddle... And you, as far as I understand, also advocate eating raw meat...

Yes, our ancestors ate such meat in their time... Well, they lived like that and rejoiced, and they had strength and energy. Why should we give up this energy, this power now?

- So you want to say that boiled meat loses many beneficial properties?

It may very well be. This is why we need creative young people who today cannot conduct such research. Because there is no money for them, the guys are invited to other countries, and they leave. And discoveries are made there.

- You once told me about another advantage of horse meat. If turkey takes 30 minutes to cook, and horse meat... three or four hours, right? But is this an advantage? It’s clear that a person has eaten kazylyk and walks around full all day. But all the energy goes into digesting food. And if he, say, is a deputy or some kind of official, instead of working all day and bringing benefits, he will spend energy on digesting food. Maybe that's why we don't have good laws? Maybe the deputies eat horse meat, kazylyk? ( laughs)

The question is interestingly posed ( smiles too). Let me clarify: it takes three hours for horse meat to be digested. This is scientifically substantiated, and scientists not from our country, although perhaps ours too, have already conducted such research. It takes 24 hours for beef to be digested, and even longer for lamb. Therefore, I would recommend that my deputies eat more horse meat!

EACH YEAR 40 THOUSAND. MOSCOW PURCHASED TATAR HORSES

Your advice is probably not for everyone. Although our republic is sometimes called Muslim, and it is called Tatarstan, we have dozens of different peoples living here. I am very interested in history, this is my hobby, and I know that the Russian Orthodox Church forbade eating horse meat. Although now, as far as I know, it is allowed. Where do such prohibitions come from? Many Russians still have a prejudice against horse meat...

This prejudice apparently remains from ancient times. In general, the Russian Orthodox Church officially lifted the ban on horse meat in 1867. And she introduced it, which I was also interested to know, in 1538. What was this connected with? Digging into history, I came across such interesting information. It turns out that in Rus' at that time there were not enough horses, and people, both Russians and Tatars, ate horse meat. They just ate and everyone was happy.

- Did they eat all the horses and therefore could not resist the Horde conquerors? (smiling)

Draw your own conclusions... Even under Ivan the Terrible, under the Nogai horde, Moscow purchased 40 thousand Tatar horses every year.

- And they were all eaten?!

Like this.

“We need to tell Academician Rafael Khakimov to talk about this in a history textbook.”

If only our scientists wrote this textbook... We must approach history calmly, simply as human beings. Everything in life is much simpler.

- Everything is clear: the Golden Horde collapsed, the Russian state appeared, the Russians stopped eating horse meat, and the Tatars, apparently, began to eat each other ( both laugh). That’s why the Golden Horde collapsed... Okay, we won’t touch on history, there’s Khakimov for that, we’ll probably never surpass him in these matters.

The ending follows

Recorded the dialogue
Elena Chernobrovkina

Tatar horses

The Ongut Tatars were allies of the Jurchens (Manchus).

It was they who made up the majority of the Tatar-Mongol army in the western steppes. They adopted their symbols from their Manchu allies. And the Manchu dragon on the banners of the Tatars ended up in the steppes of Europe, and then became the coat of arms of Kazan. Together with the Ongut Tatars, Tatar horses also settled in large numbers in the Volga region and Western modern Kazakhstan.