In the remote regions of the Tien Chan mountains in Kyrgyzstan, French horse devotee Jacqueline Ripart hopes to find the last remaining specimens of the small, tough horses with which Genghis Khan once conquered Central Asia and which are now threatened by extinction.
Under Soviet rule, the Kyrgyz horse was bred with Russian breeds to produce meat for slaughter. Traditional horse races and riding games were abolished, just like the traveling minstrels and their traditional music. This left deep wounds in the cultural identity of the Kyrgyz. Since the fall of communism, they have been trying to find their way back to the old nomadic traditions….