The morning after the night before
saw me pottering on one of the horses.
My FIRST ride
on the famous Mongolian pony.
Like nothing I could have imagined.
A few more self indulgent moments before the Real Thing.
Like the prelude to the Real Performance.
Self Indulgence, I know 😂
and one more for the moment …..
my first crossing of the ice – cautious – both of us.
No need for the helmet – rather for a head warmer.
AND THEN THE AWE INSPIRING PRIVILEGE
of riding with the EAGLE HUNTER HIMSELF
Khairatkhan and his beautiful ‘girl’
We rode with him to the top of the mountain,
watching and waiting for a fox –
Interestingly, eagles cannot fly uphill,
they climb up hills.
But oh can they soar downhill.
Oh do they have amazing eye sight.
Oh does the combination make them powerful hunters.
There is patience needed.
There are good eyes needed.
There is speed needed.
There is also teamwork needed.
Khairatkhan and his eagle.
Support down below.
A reliable solid horse
The aim is to get an undamaged fox skin,
which means getting to the capture before the eagle begins damaging this fox.
There is so much patience required.
Wanting to hunt isn’t the same as hunting.
There has to be something to hunt.
And not today.
So Khairatkhan showed us how he trains her.
Fascinating in itself.
The eagle gets fed daily, but never much.
This is to keep her alert and ready to hunt.
There is cantering to ensure balance between rider, eagle and horse is solid.
And then I was lucky enough to have some fun time.
One on one and such a privilege.
And a self indulgent slide show ….. of you know who 😉
And so an amazing experience ends….
Little did I know what was still to come ;
No not steak knives 🤣.
A farewell to our lovely hosts;
a drive back to Ulaankhus
a delicious meal and beds.
Little did I know there was
SO MUCH MORE TO COME.
Brave New World of Blogging 