The (Questionably) Honorable Kazakh Tradition of Livestock Theft

With 2,500 head of livestock, it can be hard to notice when a few go missing. Especially for Dauletgali Zhaitapov, whose business Kaz Horse Mugalzhar LTD operates on 75,000 acres of unfenced rangeland in northern Kazakhstan.

During fall roundup, Zhaitapov realized his horse herd was 100 animals short. These weren’t just any horses; they were Mugalzhars, a Kazakh breed raised for meat and milk.

The wind is a rustler’s cloak. It gives noisy cover, and plays to the Kazakh horse’s instinct to run nose-into-the-wind. And since it typically blows north-to-south, Zhaitapov knew which direction to look.  Which wasn’t good news, because the rustlers might’ve made a run for “The Labyrinth,” a rocky badlands just beyond his ranch’s northern boundary.

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