This Yao saddle cover has blue appliqué embroidery and a red wool centre piece bordered by indigo cotton.For the Yaos, horses were especially useful for carrying of goods in the mountains. But they are no longer used for this purpose in Thailand or Laos. Although a bride would ride to her new home on a beautifully decorated horse.The Mien or Yao as they are often called, probably lived in southern China about 2,000 years ago and are related to the Hmong. They write in Chinese and speak a language derived from the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The Yao migrated during the mid 19th century from Laos to Thailand.
