What do you think of the news "Why did Inner Mongolia riders sell their properties in Inner Mongolia and send horses thousands of miles away"?

The horse’s legs are too long to get in

On the 144th day after he got on horseback in Horgos, the northwest port of China, the herdsman Yuan and his two horses arrived. China's southeastern port city of Lianyungang.

No one in Hong Kong City has ever seen a real horse walking on the road. After stopping, questioning, and reporting, reinforcements arrived. Three police motorcycles, flashing red and blue taillights, escorted the horse and Yuan on horseback to Xinpu Park in the center of the city.

In the small zoo with about 10 species of animals in the park, an open-air cage also used to house artiodactyl animals was cleaned out. The camel next door and the two horses became neighbors. One horse is called "White Nose" and the other is called "Long Mane Red Horse". The name is very straightforward. People of the Hak tribe remember horses by their colors and characteristics. They have been with the Hak herdsmen all year round, so they are also used to naming horses like this.

We have reached our destination. He rode a "white nose bridge" and a "long-maned red horse" and ran more than 5,000 kilometers. He just wanted to send two banners to Lianyungang.

Photo taken in front of Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center. Photo provided by the interviewee

A trip triggered by a home visit

Before the Chinese New Year in 2022, the walls inside Yuan’s home were as white as the snow outside, and the sheep in the sheepfold kept coming. Drifting into the warm interior. Although it was renamed "community", Kaigan Community in Horgos City is actually a village.

Go to Lianyungang thousands of miles away to deliver the banner? The first time community member Liu Yanchun heard about this idea was at home far away. It was originally a routine home visit before the Chinese New Year. Liu Yanchun went to the villagers' home to encourage his eldest daughter Li Huimin, who was in her third year of high school, to continue studying. Rheumatoid is a local disease here. Li Huimin needed to recuperate at home at that time, so he lost a lot of time to go to school. "You are already in your third year of high school... Going to university may not completely change anything, but at least you will have many more choices in the future..."

Li Huimin is at Sugang Senior High School in Horgos City read. The investment in the construction of this middle school was 40% of the Xinjiang aid funds from Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, and 8 Xinjiang aid teachers from the port city taught the Lianyungang classes in the first and third grade of high school. In the college entrance examination a few months later, the Lianyungang class of senior high school students achieved a 100% online rate for the second book. However, Li Huimin was not in the Lianyungang class and had only listened to the substitute lessons from the teachers in Hong Kong City.

The topic of conversation led to Lianyungang and Suzhou’s assistance to Horgos. Liu Yanchun said, not only the school your daughter goes to, but also many livelihood projects in Horgos were built with their help. Liu Yanchun said a lot from his perspective. Yuan Zhen felt moved and wanted to do something.

More than a year ago, he went to the home of an old man named Huck, who lived in a house built above as a very poor household. Brother Yuan also talked about his daughter studying at Su Gang Middle School and will graduate in a year. It was at that time that Yuan, who was almost 40 years old, had the idea of ????going to Lianyungang to deliver the banner. He felt that it was like receiving a certificate when he was a child, and the person receiving it would be very happy.

When he revealed this idea to Liu Yanchun who was visiting her home, she did not think it was too incredible. This post-90s generation, who went to the mainland to attend university and then returned to work as a village official, has met several activists who are walking and cycling across the country in their circle of friends. In her understanding, this kind of thing is called "dream". Not everyone may have it, but if one or two appear occasionally, it is also a beautiful thing.

Liu Yanchun made a report to the superior department. After the superior department expressed no objection, Liu Yanchun thought for a while, wrote a certificate with an official seal, kept her name as a member of the community party branch, and gave it to Yuan.

On April 27, less than two months before my daughter’s college entrance examination, I took a photo in front of the Horgos Port and embarked on the journey. He felt that he, who was educated in the third grade of elementary school, could not help much in his studies. On the contrary, this kind of hands-on education could inspire his daughter. Herders are not afraid of hardship, trekking and distance.

The top priority: finding water and grass for the horses

The furthest thing I have ever been to in my life, I took a car to fetch potatoes and plant them. Horseback riding means a two-day walk in and around Horgos.

Yuan seemed very happy when he just started on the road. He often shared the scenery on the road in short distances: grassland, snow-capped mountains, Gobi, greenhouse vegetables... A small scenic spot with trees and Obo, in his opinion The scenery was very good, so I took a panoramic photo seriously. Passing the Guozigou Bridge in my hometown, I would say: "How powerful the motherland is... Look at it, how spectacular it is."

The scenery along the road taken from a distance. Photo provided by the interviewee

From time to time, he would meet people hiking or biking. There was a group, and there were also people going in the same direction. Of course, there are more cars. Some cars blow their horns twice in greeting, and some drivers deliberately keep silent, just to see if they won't be frightened.

What’s more troublesome than hiking or riding alone is having to take care of two horses at a distance. This became the most worrying thing during his journey.

For example, each horse needs to drink 15 liters of water every day. There is more than 400 kilometers of uninhabited land from Hami to Jiayuguan. There is no water and no grass. It is impossible to carry water for several days, so we can only ask Laotie I helped find a small truck and transported people and horses there. Because it is not a specialized carriage, the horse cannot be fixed, so the speed can only be reduced to reduce the bumping and swaying. The group set out at 10pm and arrived at noon the next day.

For another example, when passing, he can put on a reflective vest and a headlamp on himself, but he can't do anything to the horse. The echo is too loud, not to mention the cars that may roar by at any time. Even the sound of the horse's own hooves may be amplified many times and frighten the horse.

Far away can only allow the horse to use a small bump or a fast pace, and strive to pass in the shortest time. Fortunately, both horses were very competitive and nothing unusual happened.

These two horses were carefully selected from 12 horses at home. The Haq people remember horses by their colors and characteristics. The two horses that were picked out by Yuan, who lived with the Haq herdsmen, were called "white-nosed" and "long-maned red horse."

There is a white stripe about 1/3 of the length of the horse's face in the middle of the horse's face with a long white nose. When he was bought from afar 6 years ago, the seller told him that he was a "sweat-blooded horse" ". "I was the only one in the local area who spent such a large amount of money to buy a horse." But when asked how much he spent, "I won't talk about the money," he laughed. The white nose bridges bought from far away are mainly used as stallions. The foals born from the mares are the herdsmen's economy. In the early years, Yuan participated with a white nose, hired a professional rider with a light body, and won several honors and awards.

The long-maned red horse is red in the eyes of the herdsmen, but in the eyes of the reporter, it is just not that completely black. "Long mane" means that the hair on the back of its neck is longer than that of ordinary horses. In fact, the "bangs" on its forehead are also very long, often covering its eyes. The long-maned red horse is an Ili native horse, which is better known as the "Ili Tianma". Yuan raised it from a foal to a gelding for more than eight years, and rode it when going to herd cattle in the mountains. "Red Horse with Long Mane" is the name translated to reporters. People who live in Ili Haq Autonomous Prefecture usually call it in Haq language.

These two horses have "good endurance and can eat", which is suitable for this long distance. The journey of more than 50 kilometers per day is definitely not possible without endurance; but endurance alone is not enough. Some horses cannot eat after walking a long distance and cannot continue to move forward the next day.

Being able to eat is an advantage, but finding water and grass for the horse is Yuan's top priority every day.

Feeding the horse watermelon on the road. Photo provided by the interviewee

It’s easier to do in China. It’s not uncommon in grasslands or horse farms, or there are always many on the roadside. After finding a place suitable for the horse to drink water and graze, tie the horse's legs far away, set up a small tent, cook some milk tea and mix it with dry food, and it's a dinner. Sometimes when I encounter an open place, I simply let the white-nosed horse and the long-maned red horse go to graze. The next morning, he would look for the horse along the traces of horse dung, or whistle on the high ground to call the horse back.

It’s okay to go to the rural areas in the interior. It’s not a big problem to cut the weeds next to the farmland and bring a folding bucket to the farmer to get some water. What's a little more difficult is that when passing through the city, you can only find a land that has been expropriated and enclosed, but there is no land. There are often a lot of weeds growing in it, which actually benefits the two horses who have traveled thousands of miles.

This kind of place is far away and I can’t find it. Usually, the experts at Kuaishou see him coming and help him find a suitable place.

There are also old men who will bring a cart of cut grass over to save you the trouble of finding grass far away, or bring a box of mineral water to give to the horses that are short of water. Yuanxiao said that no horse has ever been treated so well.

"White Nose" and "Red Horse with Long Mane" were chosen

When we arrived at Mulei Hake Autonomous County, we were already more than half way out of Xinjiang. One morning, Yuan asked a passerby where he had seen grass. The passerby pointed ahead. After walking for a while, there was indeed a small patch of grass. After the horse ate for a while, Yuan continued on his way. After a while, he noticed something was wrong with the horse, shaking its head and drooling. He probably hit it.

He quickly found a restaurant on the side of the road and told the store that his horse had eaten grass and wanted to ask them to help find a local veterinarian. But the business people don’t know any veterinarians. Yuan had no choice but to inquire through his friends and local old men, but someone happened to be doing it that day, and the veterinarian went there.

Yuan took out the solution he had prepared along the way and put it on the horse first.

He stayed at the hotel that night. At around 2 o'clock in the morning, a few veterans bought veterinary medicine and rushed over from neighboring Qitai County to give it to Yuan.

When I woke up in the morning, the landlady saw a dozen empty bottles piled at the door of the room. The veterinarian finally arrived, and it turned out that it was not the case, but that the horse had eaten a local grass called "drunken horse grass." The veterinarian provided a special solution, but failed to get in several times, so Yuan Yuan finally had to do it himself. Specialized veterinary drugs were more effective. After a few bottles, the white nose bridge and the long-maned red horse gradually regained some energy.

However, the hotel is still in the Gobi area, and the water and grass conditions are not good. Yuan greeted the store owner and led the still weak horse forward slowly.

When Ma Dehong, director of water conservancy management in Dashitou Township, more than 10 kilometers away, led a team back from a warehouse inspection, he saw two horses grazing in the distance on the hillside next to the water pipe. Ma Dehong, who has been dealing with herdsmen all year round and raises meat horses himself, could tell at a glance that the two horses were sick. He stepped forward to check on the unfamiliar face and found out that the horse had eaten drunken horse grass. Ma Dehong said: "It's a good thing I didn't eat much, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get here, and I would have died on the road."

After receiving the certification documents issued by the community from Yuandi, Ma Dehong knew the reason for Yuan's horseback riding. He quickly opened the iron door of the water pipe, which had not been open to outsiders for a long time, and welcomed Yuan and the two horses in.

With iron gates and iron fences blocking the way, the grass in the water pipes has not been "swept" by the herdsmen's livestock, which is very good. The white-nosed and long-maned red horses ate here for three days without restraint. With the fine feed provided by the water pipes, they fully recovered.

Finally, Yuan nailed a new pair of horseshoes to the two horses, said goodbye to the water pipes and set off. Ma Dehong and his colleagues sent him to the boundary of Barkol Haake Autonomous County.

I have already used 7 pairs of horseshoes when I first arrived in Gansu

Horses walking on grasslands and mountains do not need horseshoes. Only when the road is too hard, the wear of horseshoes is used instead. Wear and tear on horse hooves.

The far luggage carried hammers, pliers and drills for loading and unloading horseshoes. This is not a professional tool. If a complete set of professional tools weighs five or six kilograms more, we can only keep it simple. When a person changes a horse's shoes, he must first tie the horse to a solid pillar. Although the horse can already hear distant words, it will inevitably have animal instincts.

A pair of horseshoes can travel about 500 kilometers. Sometimes when you find a suitable place to change the horseshoes, the U-shaped horseshoes have been worn out and disconnected.

In Tianshui, Gansu, the seventh pair of horseshoes of two horses came to an end.

A friend from far away asked him to help customize horseshoes and mail them to him. Based on several months of walking experience, he told him where to thicken and widen the U-shaped iron.

The next day, Yuanda asked his friend: Did the horseshoe grow? The friend replied vaguely.

A few days later, the new horseshoe arrived. Along with the new horse shoe, there was also a friend from far away - he took the horse shoe directly to Tianshui, a 30-hour train ride away.

I can’t even explain how I felt the moment I saw my friend appear. Those two pairs of horseshoes accompanied the white-nosed and long-maned red horses for more than a thousand kilometers, and my friend also rode with them all the way from Tianshui to Xi'an. This state of never knowing what will happen next is something you never imagined when you were far away from home.

Horses are rarely seen by people outside pastoral areas. Some children even thought they were camels when they saw the front and back of the saddle. Once, a farmer and his wife, one of them said it was a horse and the other said it was a mule, actually found it on the roadside. It was so noisy.

Passing the Lanzhou Iron Bridge, Yuan and his horse attracted many people to watch. Photo provided by the interviewee

Outside Lanzhou, a car suddenly stopped beside him. A curious family came down and took a photo with him. Someone gave him a small ice cream cake, and he suddenly remembered that today happened to be his 39th birthday.

The certification materials given to him by Liu Yanchun from the community also came in handy in Lanzhou. Normally he would walk around the edge of the city for long distances, but because of the long and narrow terrain of Lanzhou, he had to cross through the middle of the city. That afternoon, Liu Yanchun suddenly received more than 20 calls asking about her travels. It turned out that Yuan Yuan accidentally walked to the door, and because she was worried about being taken away for questioning by the crowd, the other party called her back to investigate, and the superiors called her back to question her. Yuan said that Lanzhou gave him a lesson, but also supported his journey and sent two police cars one after another to escort him out of the city.

In Shangqiu, Henan, Yuan Shundao visited several friends who were out of town, rode a short distance together, or played a game of "horseback wrestling" that he used to do when he was young. The good friend who left the pastoral area had deteriorated a lot in strength and skills. He was pulled far away from his horse in a short time and lost the game.

After seeing him, more old friends who had never met him waited early in their own territory for Yuan to arrive, treated him to a meal, hosted him for one night, and took him to visit the surrounding scenic spots. This was the case in Huashan. He originally thought that Huashan was very big and it would be easy to find a good place to put a horse, so he wanted to ride up. However, he was stopped as soon as he arrived at the ticket office. Later, an old rider saw the live broadcast and rushed over to help him. I placed the horse and took him up Mount Huashan. Climbing Mount Huashan turned out to be much more tiring than riding a horse.

When he went out, his daughter was still preparing for the college entrance examination. When he arrived in Lianyungang, his daughter had already registered at the university. He also learned the news on horseback that his daughter was admitted to college. He rarely sang, so he happily sang a song on the road.

Announcement’s wife also asked him: What about the tuition fees? Yuan Yuan was prepared in advance and reported a list of names and how much each person owed him. He had agreed long ago that his daughter would pay it back when she was admitted to college.

Before going out, he arranged everything he could think of. The fodder for the livestock for the winter was prepared a year in advance, and the remaining horses at home were also taken care of by herdsmen friends - but five foals still died, "which is equivalent to not earning a dime from horses this year."

Wishes and Youthful Dreams

On September 18, the second day after arriving in Lianyungang, he was far away from completing one of his goals on this journey.

At around 9 a.m., the car that picked him up took him to the front of the Lianyungang Administrative Center Building. The ceremony of presenting the banner was held in front of the building. Maybe it can’t even be called a ceremony. Someone outside the screen said “Let’s get started.” Yuan handed the two banners to the representatives of Lianyungang Municipal Party Committee and City respectively, said a few words of thanks, and the representatives also responded briefly. After taking the hand, one of the representatives skillfully turned his head in the opposite direction. Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then imitated the gesture and showed his face to the onlookers.

The two banners are in Donghai County, Lianyungang City, which is the previous county of Lianyungang. On one side, community member Liu Yanchun asked the former principal of Sugang Senior High School to help him draw up the content. He also sent it to the deputy director of the Propaganda Department of Horgos City, who helped to check it. The other side was thought up by his hair Xiaoma Yuetjun.

Ma Xuejun learned the news that he had arrived in Lianyungang during the live broadcast from far away. He was very happy that the wish he had made twenty-four years ago had really come true. In that spring when "Laowa Garlic" was in full bloom, he, who was about 18 years old, and his wife, who were about 15 years old, were sitting on the red soil mountain behind his home. On the left hand side, they could see the white mountain range of the Tianshan Mountains, and in front were the rolling meadows and mountains. Flat fields. He remembered Yuan's white shirt, red vest, the flute music he played, and Yuan's words: "When I grow up, I will ride on my own horse to see the great rivers and mountains of the motherland."

Many years later, Ma Xuejun finally understood why Yuan Yuan on Hongtu Mountain said that he would bring "mom and dad with him". Because at that age of fourteen or fifteen, Yuan's mother said: If I were a man, I would ride a horse to see Sheng.

Ma Xuejun said that Yuan’s mother was a highly respected person in the local area.

In my distant memory, my mother would often get on horseback and go to a place a day or two away for medical treatment. In the village, she delivered more than 200 newborns.

In 2011, Yuan’s mother died at work.

I still remember that he bought two large grass carps at noon that day and asked his mother to take them back to eat. The clinic did not have a refrigerator, and my mother was worried that the 400-meter trip to and from home to release fish would be too long, and there would be patients waiting at the clinic, so she asked Yuan to send her over in the afternoon. Unexpectedly, before the afternoon, my mother suddenly fell ill in the clinic. When I arrived at the hospital, my mother had already passed away.

"Think about it like it was yesterday." Yuan said. At seven o'clock in the morning, my mother took out the big grass carp and ate it with the villagers.

Later, Yuan took pictures of all the honors his mother had received, as well as the documents issued by all levels to learn from Yuan's mother. He wanted to go and fulfill his mother's last wish to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

This is his second goal on this journey.

After sending off the banners, the horses were also given away

In Lianyungang, far from explaining to the media why they did not leave early after sending off the banners, they stayed in Lianyungang for half a day. Many months. Except for a few days when he went to Kunshan and Shanghai to meet an old friend of more than 20 years, he went to the temporary residence of the two horses every morning to see them, but never fed them. The hearts of herdsmen are very rough but also very delicate: they have already put it in someone else's zoo, and they have to feed it themselves, which seems like they don't trust them. What should people think in their hearts?

After watching the horse, he stayed at the arranged hotel. Sometimes the old man from Hong Kong City would take him around for a while.

Lao Tie Cao discovered him on the short-term channel when he was about to arrive in Lianyungang, and she watched everything in the distance that day. In order to send the banner and realize the dream, she could really travel thousands of miles on horseback. She felt so touched. In Yuan's live broadcast, she made an appointment with another veteran "Fate" to meet Yuan. When I arrived the next day, Yuan Zheng was surrounded by reporters from the media. They took a long look and left.

A group photo of Lao Tie Yuanfen, Sister Cao and Yuan. Photo provided by the interviewee

After finishing one of his tasks, they finally had time to get together. Sister Cao and Yuan Yuan took Yuan to various places to play. Sometimes she was afraid of being alone far away and would be bored, so she would go to his house in the evening to invite him to dinner. Sister Cao remembered that he always only ordered the simplest bowl of ramen.

While climbing a mountain, Yuan suddenly said to them, "How about I donate the horse to Lianyungang?"

Sister Cao was a little surprised. She knew that the value of the two horses was definitely not low (far from it, it was probably the family's income for two years), and more importantly, the feelings that accompanied them along the way were immeasurable.

She asked Yuan: "Have you thought it through?"

Yuan sometimes thought that if Lianyungang had been at the level it is now after aiding Xinjiang, it would not be a small intestine. The obstruction required three repeated surgeries, which caused him to miss school. In the end, he only had a third-grade education. But now, the daughter who has been admitted to college has surpassed her uncle Yuan and has become the more educated person in their family.

He felt that just sending two pennants was not enough to express his gratitude, even though they were specially given to him after traveling thousands of miles. He decided to keep the horses too, so that the people in Hong Kong could see his two better and favorite horses. He remembered that such a man once came here on a horse, and that there were a group of teachers and teachers in Hong Kong. , assisting in border construction thousands of miles away.

The reason why I kept the horse was not because it was difficult to ride back. "If you take the train, a horse only costs 1,800 yuan."

Farewell and departure

October On the 2nd, the day before the handover ceremony, Yuan bought a bag of apples to see his two horses.

The zoo staff also gave him a bag of carrots. Previously, he discovered that the toes of the sheep, horses, and sika deer in the zoo had grown so long that they could no longer walk. He quickly borrowed a small saw from an employee and gave them "manicures."

Outside the cage, he whistled in the distance, and the red horse with its white nose and long mane raised its head and looked into the distance. As Yuan got closer, the two horses began to walk back and forth in the cage, snoring. Half a month later, the two horses, which were so thin that you could see the shape of their ribs when they first arrived in Lianyungang, have become fat and strong with bright-colored coats. Yuan felt that it was time to give it away.

He told the employees that I was leaving and would feed them at the end.

Far away in Lianyungang Xinpu Park Zoo, I fed a white-nosed and long-maned red horse for the last time. Photo provided by the interviewee

Yuan took out an apple and a carrot, took a bite himself, and then handed it to the horse to eat. Sister Cao’s joke that she helped him shoot: Are you afraid there is one in it? But this is just a habit far away. He would always try to see if it was sweet before feeding it to the horse.

After feeding the fruits and vegetables, Yuan picked up the peanut vine on the ground and combed the hair of the two horses from head to toe. While combing, she said something in a "dialect" that Sister Cao couldn't understand. Eight horseshoes were also removed because they would no longer be used.

He rode on the white nose without a saddle or stirrup, grabbed its mane, and walked around the cage, then bumped and turned around a few times in the cage.

After doing this, Yuan went to the zoo to provide him with a small room for his saddle and luggage, and asked Sister Cao to help him take a photo of "The Last Meal on Horseback."

He took out a piece of milk lump and remembered that it was a gift from Brother Huck, that the naan was brought all the way from Shihezi, and that the dried fruit was from a friend in Henan... Later, he recalled all the people who had helped him along the way. We took a group photo together, made it into a short one, and posted it on our clothes. Many of them have always stayed away from each other. Every day, people ask him: Where are they? Are you okay? From afar, they all are.

It took me half an hour to eat these things slowly. Sister Cao couldn't understand his mumbling, but she could also feel that he was very sad.

The sun was very bright on the day of the handover ceremony, so I wiped my forehead and corners of my eyes from time to time. He told others that he was wiping sweat. Everyone knows that even if the man on horseback sheds tears, he will not admit it.

Hanging on the tree trunk in the cage is a popular science nameplate with the word "Camel" printed on it. The reporter from the TV station asked Yuan to touch the horse. The real camel next door stretched its head across the border and curiously observed this group of busy humans.

The next day, I went to the train and bought a hard-seat ticket. It departed at 6:28 pm, the journey took 15.5 hours, and the ticket price was 135.5 yuan. He couldn't ride this time. He had to ride for at least a month and a half.

Reporter Zhang Yichuan

Editor Zhang Shujing Proofreading

The above is the content related to the horse's too long to enter, it is about sharing. After reading whether horses can be matched with people, I hope this helps everyone!