No horsing around

After lunch, we visited a nomadic herdsman named Bimba  at the “summer spot” for his ger.  

Gers always face south or southeast to take advantage of the light.  This is also coolest in the summer, providing more ventilation.  Many gers now have solar panels to power their light and TV.  It takes only half an hour with four people to take down and pack up the ger.  Herders move seasonally from their summer spot to their winter spot and back, following the grass for their animals and finding shelter from the wind in the winter.   

As is the tradition, we were welcomed with milk products: salty milk tea, yogurt,

and dried yogurt called aaruul (made from leftover yogurt that is strained, pressed, and dried on the roof of the ger, with a texture close to a slice of Parmesan cheese ).  

This special cowhide sack is used to make a fermented mare's milk drink.

At their winter spot, it can get as cold as -40°F.  There is no stable in which to keep the animals.  He says the horses are smart enough to use their hooves to dig the grasses out of the snow.  Once they’ve done that, the cows find the food they’ve dug.  We learned that Bimba is the father of three children, and herds 50-60 horses and 40 cows.  

He has two older daughters and a two-year-old son who will begin to learn horse riding next year when he turns three.  His seven-year-old nephew has already been riding for four years.  

Another nephew demonstrated the horse-catching technique in which a rider carries a long wooden pole with a circle of rope tied at one end to basically lasso a horse.