There's a new book, "Eques Mongolica" written by Bat-Ochir Bold, which is full of fascinating information relating to all aspects of horses and horsemanship in Mongolia. In fact, because the life of the Mongolian people has always been so closely involved with their horses, much of this wonderful book is a study of the history and culture of the Mongols. Travelling across Mongolia, foreigners are often intrigued by the apparently random movements of nomadic families with their homes and large numbers of livestock. Of course, their is nothing random about the choice of location and frequency of movement. Prior to the Socialist era, nomads moved according to the seasons, the type of animals they own (horses, cows or yaks, sheep, goats and camels), type of pasture, salinity of the soil and water availability. People gathered near sources of drinking water, i.e. large rivers, permanent fresh water lakes or abundant springs. During the period 1959 - 1991...