Abstract:

In recent years, because of the developments in horse herding and horse farming, horse population in Kazakhstan has been rapidly growing. This report focuses on the narratives of the revival of horse breeding in the spirit of the “postcolonial and decolonial turns.” It analyzes the revival of horse breeding as a “decolonial option” that people had after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many informants associate horse breeding with a national tradition and consider themselves contributing to its continuity. Thus, in addition to the obvious rationale as business, horse breeding and participation in kokpar allows people to have additional cultural capital and authority as “custodians” of the tradition.