Horse milk has a rich history. Three to four thousand years ago in China, horse milk was known as a ‘cure-all’.
For the Greek, Romans and Egyptians horse milk was considered to provide long life, good health and lasting beauty. In fact, Alexander the Great commanded his cavalry to drink horse milk so they could be invincible.
Kumis, fermented mare’s milk, has been a staple among the people of the Central Asian Steppes drink among the people of the central Asian Steppes.
Kumis is made by fermenting raw unpasteurized mare ‘s milk over the course of hours or days, often while stirring or churning. (The physical agitation has similarities to making butter ). During the fermentation, Lactobacilli bacteria acidify the milk, and yeasts turn it into a carbonated and mildly alcoholic drink .
There are many people who believe that drinking horse milk has medical benefits.
According to the Draft Horse Journal:
The first reason for drinking horse milk is, of course, not cosmetic but medical, especially for metabolical, gastrointestinal and liver problems, but also for recovering after surgery and severe illness, cholesterol problems, allergy to cows’ milk, stress, skin problems, stiff joints or just to keep fit and well.
Horse milk strengthens the body, boosts the immune system and increases a person’s energy and vitality. In the case of metabolic disorders, it stimulates internal cleansing.
But, does it taste good with oreos?
I’ve had this stuff. Not my cup of tea, and no way i’d let it near my oreos! LOL
I have never heard of using Mares Milk before really interesting article. Will certainly share this on my facebook as it is really interesting. Always something new to learn. Thank you for the post.
I would just like to having never heard of it I just told my Husband about it and he said yes Kumis he knows nothing about horses, but he is Turkish and says that it is drank in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and is also known in Turkey.
Not sure why, but the idea of this has never occurred to me. And I find it kind of repulsive. Although I’m not much into any other kind of milk either….lol
I understand that Kazakh mares produce milk in similar quantities to some dairy cows. Here is an interesting site from one of my favorite researchers on the subject of horse domestication.
http://www.carnegiemnh.org/anthro/olsen-botai2.html
I drink mare’s milk. Nothing wrong with it. I like it better than cow’s milk.