Mongolia
Animal gift: How is Steinmeier’s horse?
The then Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (l) received a horse called “Thundering Hoofs” as a gift during his trip to Mongolia in 2014 (archive photo). photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa
Ten years ago, Frank-Walter Steinmeier – then Foreign Minister – was given a horse during his visit to Mongolia. The animal now lives semi-wild.
Anyone who comes to the state as a guest If you travel to Mongolia, you might get a whole horse as a gift. This is what happened to Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a visit around ten years ago – at that time he was still Foreign Minister. The young horse was christened “Thundering Hooves” and remained in the East Asian country when his new owner left for Germany.
When Steinmeier came back to Mongolia as Federal President, he asked about his protégé: “I’m very excited to hear how ‘Thundering Hoofs’ is doing now and whether he still remembers me,” said Steinmeier. Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh instructed his staff to visit the horse with a photographer and document its life.
The result was presented to Steinmeier during his two-day state visit: “Thundering Hooves” lives as a semi-wild horse around 620 kilometers east of Ulan Bator and is probably quite happy. The stallion has had a difficult time. He lost his herd in a fight and wandered aimlessly alone for two and a half years. He recently founded his own herd – with four mares.
Meanwhile, Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender were given three more animals as gifts during their visit to Normaden on Thursday: a horse that was christened “Sturm”, a camel named “Winterfreund” and a one-year-old camel called Büdenbender ” “Snow Maiden”. They also stay in Mongolia.