When I was walking in Mongolia – the dogs! They terrified me outside the ‘ger’ and the tents

On horseback I never really had problems – Mongolian horses are not really bothered by dogs

I always felt comfortable in the saddle

The important thing was to get my own dog and I had thought I would get some big, bear-like mastiff to accompany me

But it did not turn out like that – when I arrived in Kazakhstan the winter was coming in

It would turn out to be the coldest winter in forty years – what they would call a ‘Zuud’ in Mongolian

It was -52 degrees – the earth became laid in this very thick ice

I met one Kazakh who started the winter with 300 horses and finished with one

Because the animals have to dig through the ice to reach the fodder – if they can’t they starve

They say that horses that do survive to spring in those conditions are often naked because they eat the hair off their own body

I was fortunate to be guided in Kazakhstan by a Kazakh guy

At the end of that time he said Tim you definitely need a friend to accompany you on that long journey to Hungary

Someone to keep you warm at night in the tent and most importantly to protect you from wolves

That is when he gave me this little bony pup who I thought would not survive more than a couple of weeks

He was leaping off the snow onto my shoulders to get his paws out of the cold

But sure enough Tigin turned out to be my companion for the next three years as far as Hungary

Questions

1.What terrified Bruce in Mongolia?

2.What did Tim feel was important for him to get?

3.How cold did it become in Kazakhstan?

4.Why do many animals starve?

5.What did a Kazakh man give Tim?