Rambling about horses

No one has probably compiled statistics on the current number of horses in Vietnam, but in almost any rural area, you'll encounter horses roaming freely on hillsides, carrying goods, or transporting people along steep mountain roads or paved and concrete roads.

Illustration from the internet

Perhaps nowhere else are there as many horses as in Hong Linh town and Ha Tinh city. These are domesticated horses, mainly used to pull carts. My family used to live next to National Highway 1A. In the mornings, late sleep would often be interrupted by the clatter of horse hooves echoing from the street. Horse-drawn carts would rumble along, gathering at the intersection. It seemed there was an unspoken agreement about dividing up business space; the carts would park haphazardly, waiting for customers, right in front of the Thuan Loc Brick Factory, the market, or the building materials dealers.

Don't underestimate the money-making methods of horse owners. Many families have become well-off thanks to horses. I have a cousin in Hong Linh town who, after only about five years of owning a horse-drawn cart, escaped poverty, supported six family members, and even had enough money left over to build a house. Horse-drawn carts with rubber tires have a distinct advantage in the competition with other means of transport, being well-suited to the road conditions in urban areas, suburbs, and rural areas.

Just recently, to help with house construction in Thach Linh ward (Ha Tinh city), my contact list had to be filled with several phone numbers of horse-drawn cart drivers. If you're short a few hundred kilograms or a ton of cement, a few dozen steel bars, some boxes of paving bricks, or a few cubic meters of sand, calling a horse-drawn cart is the most convenient option. It's fast and reasonably priced. This is truly a type of service labor that, if not called professional, can certainly be seen as a way for farmers to utilize their free time during the agricultural off-season.

Nowadays, a complete set of good horse-drawn carriages can be bought for just a few tens of millions of dong. The initial investment for such a business is not large. The main thing is still the care given to the horses. A few kilograms of rice are needed each day for these four-legged machines. For horses, rice is a delicacy, only eaten on days when the owner earns money. On ordinary days, when it's rainy, cold, or business is slow, the horses are fed simple things like chopped bananas mixed with bran, straw, grass, water spinach, papaya leaves, bamboo... The treatment is that simple, but horses, being inherently patient and loyal, prove to be very hardworking to support their owners.

Horses are commonly ridden and used for pulling carts, but some people have even come up with the idea of ​​exploiting their strength by making them plow. It sounds like a joke, but I've heard that some horses plow quite well, no less capable than oxen. No wonder people generally call them "oxen and horses." Since they earn money for their owners, the fate of these horses, whether happy or miserable, depends on how their owners treat them. My uncle loved his horse very much. When the load was heavy, he couldn't bear to sit on the cart, so he would leisurely walk alongside the horse, clinging to the side. On long, tiring journeys, even the most obedient horse would become unruly and refuse to go. To encourage it, my uncle would stop at a roadside shop and buy it a couple of small drinks. After finishing their meal, man and horse would trudge along under the scorching sun.

Horses aren't particularly intelligent, but they're quite clever, knowing how to choose the right path and avoid obstacles like potholes. When pulling heavy loads and encountering slopes or muddy puddles, they instinctively gain momentum and increase their speed. When going downhill, horses demonstrate their amazing foot-braking skills. The slope near my house is difficult for bicycles and motorbikes to descend, yet one day, with a heavy load on the cart, my uncle, for some reason, ordered Hong (the name my uncle gave the horse) to go straight ahead. Hong hesitated for a moment, but then obeyed her master's command, straining her muscles, neighing loudly, and using all four legs to push the cart down the slope smoothly. Seeing my terrified expression, my uncle chuckled: "Horses' legs are strong and resilient, rarely lame or sprained. The only problem is they often get stomach aches and foot rot. For stomach aches, just boil a strong decoction of *Horse's Foot* leaves and give it to them to drink. For foot rot, find some carbide, burn it, wrap it in a piece of cloth, and tie it around the horse's leg overnight – it'll be fine."

That night, as my uncle and I were chatting about horses, we heard Hong making a rattling sound from behind the stable. My uncle said, "The horse is hungry," and ran to fetch some rice to bring into the stable. I crept after him, curious, and asked, "Why isn't she neighing? Why is she making those rattling sounds?" My uncle explained, "If she neighed, it would be bad because that's a sign she's craving love." Pointing to Hong, he said, "Horses, like people, have their characteristics. Horses with eyes on their feet, especially four eyes, are even better; they're very good at night riding. If you pick up the leg joints from the ankle down, they'll run fast. If their coat is short and smooth, they'll withstand the weather well and be easy to fatten up..."

According to HT Newspaper