Ba Van Horse Farm in Thai Nguyen province (Photo: thainguyentourism.vn)

The Center covers a vast field beside the beautiful Cong River, where herds of horses graze or gallop freely. The scene makes visitors feel they’re standing on a broad Mongolian steppe. The farm is divided into separate zones for different purebred and crossbred horses. The most valuable are the racing horses and the white horses.

“The Center raises Cabalin horses, also called Russian horses. A mature male Cabalin can weigh up to 450 kilograms. These crossbred racing horses are used for sports and tourism. We also have white horses, native Vietnamese horses, and miniature horses,” said a center staff.

Most of the horses here are supplied to the military and to people in Vietnam’s northern mountain provinces who use them for personal transportation, cargo hauling, and racing in ethnic community festivals in Ha Giang, Cao Bang, and Lao Cai province.

The most impressive sight at Ba Van Horse Farm is vivid from 10 a.m to 3 p.m daily when the horses run freely on the vast pastures and the thunderous sound of hundreds of hooves pounding the ground echoes across the fields.

Tourists can ride horses with the help of the Center's staff. (Photo: thainguyentourism.vn)

In recent years experiential tours have been offered to visitors who want to ride the horses. Nguyen Thi Lan of the Research and Development Center for Animal Breeding, said: “You need to receive proper training to get used to the horses and learn to ride them. Many people have applied for a riding course. After about two months one can ride skillfully. Our horses are well-trained, so most guests can start riding within 15 minutes.”

Ba Van Horse Farm also receives a lot of researchers and students who want to learn about the horses. The Center’s Deputy Director Ta Van Can said: “In 2019, the Center was asked to create an educational model for Vietnamese and foreign students. This is the largest horse farm in Southeast Asia. We have vast pastures where visitors feel as if they’re crossing a Mongolian steppe.”

Nguyen Thanh Luan, Director of the Thai Nguyen Center for Tourism Information and Promotion, said: “We’re developing new tour routes and destinations, connecting special places to make Thai Nguyen tourism more attractive.”