From Ba Van hill area to the largest horse research center in the North
Ba Van Horse Farm was established in April 1960, its predecessor was Ba Van Horse Breeding Farm, now the Center for Research and Development of Mountainous Livestock, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
From the beginning, the selection of the semi-mountainous hilly area of Ba Van showed a strategic vision with a mild climate, rich natural grass, suitable for raising and developing a large-scale herd of horses.
In 1964, 8 Kabadin horses - a precious horse breed of the Soviet Union - were brought to Ba Van, opening a new stage of development for gene conservation and breeding. From here, many hybrid horse lines were born, including the "three-blood hybrid horse" breed, combining the advantages of foreign and domestic horses, both having good physical strength and adapting to Vietnamese conditions.
Engineer Le Ba Tru, former Head of Ba Van Horse Experimental Farm, recalled the early days with unforgettable memories. Livestock science at that time was not just a formula, but creativity in hardship.
The war of destruction in the North caused Ba Van Horse Farm to be evacuated many times. Cages and warehouses were dismantled and temporarily erected in the deep forest; cadres and workers and horses moved continuously to avoid bombs and bullets.
During the years of war and destruction, the farm had to dismantle horse stables and warehouses, and evacuate to deep forests for dozens of kilometers. The herd of horses and cadres had to move to many places to protect forces and research facilities," he recounted.
Amidst the smoke and fire of war, the herd of horses is not only a subject of research, but also a "strategic asset" that needs to be protected. The hooves of horses crossing forests, climbing slopes with people, carrying the aspiration to maintain the scientific flow in times of chaos. Ba Van horse farm, silently marks many memories and the youth of generations of livestock engineers, people who live and diligently contribute to Vietnam's agriculture.
The special feature that makes the difference of Ba Van Horse Farm is not only in raising or preserving, but in making the horse a part of medicine and human health care.
In the summary document, the center's scientists affirmed: "In fact, the horse has contributed many very precious products for human health that other livestock cannot have. It can be said that the horse is a living medicinal herb for human health.
This assessment is not metaphorical, but is evidenced by scientific practice that has lasted for many years. One of the most outstanding contributions is the production of pregnant horse serum and biological products from horse blood.
From the mid-1980s, Ba Van Horse Farm began to cooperate with medical and biological research facilities, including Military Hospital 103. Pregnant horse blood was used as a raw material for hormone research, immunology and many other medical applications - in the context that Vietnam still lacks a source of biological products.
In the period 1985 - 1998, the center produced millions of doses of pregnant horse serum and many biological products from horse blood, serving research and production, making an important contribution to veterinary and medical work" - the center's document clearly states.
This is a period marking that Ba Van Horse Farm not only serves animal husbandry, but also directly participates in the community health care value chain.
The contribution of Ba Van Horse Farm to medicine does not stop at the laboratory. Some biological products from horse blood have been practically applied, bringing clear effects to the community.
Recounting memories of a time attached to Ba Van Horse Farm, Colonel, Doctor Phan Ngoc Minh - Former Director of K06 - Military Medical Academy 103 wrote emotional lines: "When it was still difficult, the purpose of building the horse farm was mainly to serve pulling and riding - which is a means of transportation for mountainous areas, until transportation was improved, the horse was in danger of disbanding. Knowing this situation, we went to the Ministry of Agriculture and Director of the Institute of Animal Husbandry Tran The Thong - to ask to keep the horse to develop the animal husbandry industry, serving medicine and especially military medicine.
I remember the day I met the Minister of Agriculture - at that time the Minister just knew that there was Ba Van Horse Farm and there was no decision to keep the horse. We continued to meet the Minister of Health - Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tran Dang. With the approval of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, the horse was kept and continued to develop. Biological products are researched and produced to provide timely products for medicine and agriculture.
Research projects from Ba Van Horse Farm have produced biological products from horses that are widely applied; Amino acids for humans, for livestock; PMSG for the livestock industry, aquaculture industry; Gammaglobulin for humans, for livestock...
The Center also actively participates in community health care, and together with doctors, has provided nutritional products such as Polyamine tablets, nutritional candy (produced from horse blood) to help malnourished children in Phu Son commune (the poorest commune of the old Thai Nguyen province) and children from kindergarten, primary and secondary school of Vu Yen commune, Thanh Ba district - Phu Tho (old) for many years.
After a period of using hydrolyzed protein from horse blood, Phu Son commune children have overcome the threshold of malnutrition, developed and absorbed normally" - the center's document recorded.
Continuing the journey of Ba Van horse hooves
To create those contributions is the dedication of many generations of officials, engineers, and workers. Working with horses requires patience and high accuracy: monitoring the reproductive cycle, caring for pregnant horses, extracting serum at the right time, ensuring absolute safety for the animal. Many officials have been attached to the herd of horses for their whole lives, remembering each characteristic and habit of each individual. For them, horses are not only a subject of research, but also "special colleagues".
Looking back at the past journey, Mr. Nguyen Van Dai - Director of the Center for Research and Development of Mountainous Livestock, could not help but be moved: "Generations of the Center's staff have cared for, preserved, and conserved horse gene sources, propagated and bred them to properly and accurately serve the needs of life, from production, national defense to medicine and human health care.
Today, in the context of modern medicine with gene technology, AI and molecular biology, the story of Ba Van Horse Farm reminds us that scientific value is not only in modern laboratories, but also originates from lasting models, associated with nature and humans.
The potential of the horse's contribution to medicine is very large, but currently the research, exploitation and application are still not commensurate. We hope that there will be more experts in the field of medicine, research institutions will soon deploy research topics, and come up with many products to serve human health" - Deputy Director of the Center, Mr. Ta Van Can shared with Lao Dong Newspaper reporters.
More than 60 years have passed, horse hooves still beat every day on Ba Van grass hill. And in that seemingly calm hoove rhythm is a history of contributions to science, to health, to community health - a special mark that not every livestock facility has.
