Kaitlyn Linnemoller

Visual Story Teller, Adventurer, Cultural Enthusiast

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Tag: Reindeer

March 6, 2019 Kaitlyn Linnemoller

61 Days in Mongolia

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Happy Saturday! 🍑
(Tsaatan 12) I was curious as to how the reindeer felt about their situation. It is their milk that feeds the Tsaatan and it is their backs on which the Tsaatan ride. To be honest, the reindeer seemed perfectly content. Each morning, after they were released from the stump that they were tied to, they ran off into the valley to spend the day roaming and grazing. Throughout the day, they hung around the camp on their own free will and in the evening, they willingly came back to be tied up for the night.
"To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part." -Aldo Leopold . . . . . [The Tsaatan camp from above. You. You can see the reindeer congregating in the middle of camp]
It has been a year since I visited the Tsaatan (Reindeer People) of Northern Mongolia and I am still in disbelief of the experience sometimes. In the first picture, women milk the reindeer, a typical morning routine for most women of the tribe. The milk that the reindeer provide is used to make tea, cheese and yogurt which are major sources of nutrients for the Tsaatan. The milk sustains them through the harsh freezing winters when temperatures can average -30°C. It essentially fuels their way of life, therefore the reindeer are held in very high regard to the Tsaatan. It is a bond between human and animals unlike any that I have ever seen.
(Tsaatan 10) I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting to have any problem with the horse riding that was required on the last part of our journey to the Tsaatan. I had done a year or two of horse riding lessons as a kid and thought that I had it pretty much on lock down... like riding a bike, right? Wrong. I could barely stand from pain after only four hours of riding. There were several contributing factors to this outcome. Firstly, as I previously mentioned in an earlier post, these horses were not raised in a stable, so they still very much had a wild streak in their souls. Secondly, unlike the very cushy saddle that I rode as a child, the saddle that I used was as hard as wood, because it was wood. Thirdly, we were navigating through what I consider very technical terrain, which had me clenching to hold on, like I've never clenched before. For the two Mongolian horse guides, this was a walk in the park. They were each guiding two horses, one to ride and another pack horse. They were able to get the whole herd of seven horses that we needed for this trip to listen to them with a simple spoken word, "WHOOSH!". I later found out that our female horse guide was seventeen, although you would think she had a lifetime and a half of experience working with horses. #mongolia #roadtothetsaatan #wildmongolia #Khövsgöl . . . . . . . #klinnemotravels #backpackerphotography #passionpassport #earthcapture #stayandwander #travelstoke #simplyadventure #whereeveryougo #adventuremongolia #badassmongolia #exploretheplanet #roamtheplanet #earthfocus #justgoshoot #passionpassport #discoverearth #worldtravelbook #cangeo #cangeotravel @cangeoedu @cangeotravel @cangeo
(Tsaatan 9) Witnessing the existence of Mongolia horses stirred emotions within me. It was how they looked so free. There were no fences to gate them in, only vaste expanses for them to gallop. Some traveled in herds and some traveled alone. When they were in herds, they would get each other running and playing. It brought me joy to watch them gallop as a whole. For the ones that traveled alone, I felt lonely. Apparently many of these horses do belong to nomadic families, however they are set loose to roam their valleys and herded up when needed. Sometimes, a horse from the herd is chosen to get broken in.The horses that we used on the last leg of the journey to the Tsaatan were no exception, which was evident as soon as we set off on the day and a half horse ride to the valley in which the Tsaatan had currently called home. #mongolia #roadtothetsaatan #wildmongolia #Khövsgöl . . . . . . . #klinnemotravels #backpackerphotography #passionpassport #earthcapture #stayandwander #travelstoke #simplyadventure #whereeveryougo #adventuremongolia #badassmongolia #natgeoyourshot #exploretheplanet #roamtheplanet #earthfocus #@cangeo @cangeotravel @cangeo
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