8. Our First Horse Trek

I was feeling a little nervous about the horse trek because of Yara’s injury and my slight fear of horses. After some positive thinking and knowing it was just for the day, I felt more prepared to take the challenge. Maxzat, and another Kyrgyz man were our guides. Our horses were small and had felted pads under the saddle and a sheep skin on top. Yara rode upfront with Alex, and I followed behind with one guide leading and the other at the back.

We slowly walked out of town and ascended into the hills. After about an hour, we reached a flat area, with a grander drop. Crystal clear views in all directions! An amazing feast was spread out for us consisting of fish, cheese, bread, pistachios, earl grey tea and the most plump juiciest raisins I’ve ever had! On our descent we passed a group of horses with a large black stallion, who was aggravated by our presence. Our guides quickly redirected our horses around them to avoid any charging! There are no wild horses left in Kyrgyzstan, you can see markings on all the horses and most don’t stray too far from their herders. Yara really enjoyed riding the horses and even held the reins, and often said “cho” for go, and “grrrr” for stop.