For generations the people of the Central Asian steppes have sworn by the supposed health benefits of horse milk.
It has long been considered a remedy for skin or digestive problems. The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy even wrote of using kumis, a fermented drink made from the product, to drown his troubles.
Now researchers at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, where horse milk is commonly drunk, have hypothesised that it can even reduce the risk of cancer. They found that the milk had a much higher quantity of albumin — a protein easily absorbed by humans — than cow’s milk.
When digested, these proteins can help to regulate blood pressure and have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects, they said. They suggested that mare’s milk could therefore be