VietNamNet Bridge – It is estimated that there are only 500 white horses in Vietnam, living mostly in the northern mountainous provinces like Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan and Son La. The small number of white horses has been decreasing rapidly.

White horse trading - profitable business
Duong Quang Bach, a horse breeder in Duong Thanh Commune or Phu Binh district in Thai Nguyen Province, said that in 2009, he purchased two young white horses at 40 million dong. After eight months of feeding up, he sold the horses at 70 million dong.

Having realized that breeding white horses is a profitable business, a lot of households in the commune decided to borrow money from banks to breed white horses. At first, there was only one household breeding horses in the commune, while the number has soared to 60 with 130 horses are being bred.

Especially, a white horse breeding cooperative was established in March 2011 which aims to preserve the white horse gene, increase the quantity and quality of horse merchandise and provide the products made of white horses.

However, a merchant in Duong Thanh said that the number of white horses there changes daily: people would sell white horses immediately if the prices are good, and white horses all go to the workshops to be made horse bone glue.

Bac Giang province is not as famous as Huu Kien commune in Lang Son province for breeding horses, but the locality is the biggest stud supplier. In Hanoi, the Van An white horse farm in Thanh Tri district has been well known among people. The herd of white horse, which included 60 horses last year, now has approximately 100. The horses have been fed up here and then will be sold to individuals and other clients who make horse bone glue, a very valuable nutrition food which ranks the second in terms of value, just to tiger bone glue.

The kingdom of white horses

In Huu Kien commune of Chi Lang district in Lang Son province, there are over 140 purebred white horses, or ½ of the total number of white houses nationwide. Huu Kien has been called the “kingdom of white horses”.

According to Dr Hoang Van Tieu, Head of the Vietnam Animal Husbandry Institute, Vietnam has very few purebred white horses left. The horses are now mostly living in Huu Kien commune of Chi Lang district in Lang Son province. Fifteen white horses have been genetically preserved at the Ba Van horse center in Thai Nguyen province.

Meanwhile, there are about 400-500 3/4 or ½ cross-bred white horses.

There, in Huu Kien commune, are more than places reserved for grazing horses. Several years ago, when the white horse prices were low, local residents keep horses in the woods and they only take the horses home when they plan to sell them. However, since 2000, when the white horse price began increasing, people have been rushing to breed white horses, and many of them have become millionaires thanks to the horses.

Male horses have been most hunted, while each of horse can be sold at 60-70 million dong. Merchants say lungs and genitals are always very expensive, and they always have to queue up for the organs.

Scientists call for preserving precious horse gene

At first, only 15 households bred horses under a project initiated by the Vietnam Animal Husbandry Institute. Then the number of households has increased to 45 and then to 200. Huu Kien commune alone now has 140 individual horses. If counting on other kinds of horses, Huu Kien has up to 1000 horses, which is considerable the invaluable fortune of the local residents in the remote area.

Tieu said that there are many white horse farms in Vietnam, but on the 15 individuals at Ba Van farm and the horses in Huu Kien commune are purebred. He believes that it is necessary to take immediate actions to preserve the precious gene of white horse in Vietnam.

Source: SGTT