The Akhal-Teke is a horse from Turkmen, in the southern region of the modern country of Turkmenistan. These horses have been renowned as cavalry mounts and racehorses for some 3,000 years. The Akhal-Teke has superb natural gaits, and is the outstanding sporting horse from this area. The Akhal-Teke is native to an arid, barren environment. During its history, it has established a reputation of great stamina and courage. A key to the Akhal-Teke’s stamina is its diet which is low in bulk but high in protein, and frequently includes butter and eggs mixed with barley. Today the Akhal-Teke is used in show jumping and dressage in addition to daily use under saddle.
The Akhal-Teke is native to an arid, barren environment. during its history, it has established a reputation of great stamina and courage.
The Akhal Teke horse has amazing stamina and this was proved in an endurance ride in 1935 where Anglo-Teke, Yomud and Akhal Teke horses were ridden 2,600 miles from Ashkhabad to Moscow over 84 days. The ride included 3 days traveling 215 miles across the Kara Kum desert without water with the purebred Akhal Teke horses arrived in Moscow in significantly better condition than the other horses.
Akhal-Teke History:
The ancestors of the breed may date back to animals living 3,000 years ago, known by a number of names, but most often as the Nisean horse. The first official breeding farms of the Akhal Tekes were started in Russia, which turkmenistan became part of in the late 1880s. Thoroughbreds were introduced into the bloodlines with the intention of improving the breed, but the effort was unsuccessful. The precise ancestry is difficult to trace, however, because before about 1600 AD, horse breeds in the modern sense did not exist; rather, horses were identified by local strain or type. The Akhal Teke is considered to be one of the oldest of modern domesticated equine breeds in existence. The breed as it is known today first appeared in turkmenistan, Central Asia, in Kara Kum, a rocky, flat desert surrounded by mountains which played a significant role in preserving the Akhal Teke’s purity.
While the ancient and original turkmenistan breed has long been extinct, remnants can still be found today in the Akhal-Teke, which developed in the former Soviet Union; more specifically, in the Kara-Kum Desert as well because the foothills of the Kopet Mountains.
Height Of The Akhal Teke Horse:
The Akhal Teke horse stands 14.2 to 16 hh.
Colour Of The Akhal Teke Horse:
The Akhal Teke horse can be found in bay, black, chestnut, grey, palomino, cremello or dun with black points and often has white markings on the face and legs. The coat has a distinctive metallic sheen to it due to a unique structure of the hair.
Akhal-Teke Characteristics:
This horse breed is medium sized, with a level top-line and a strong, long back. The Akhal-Teke typically stands between 14.2 and 16 hands. There ears are long and slim. they have a long back, a flat croup, and a long, high set on a neck that can seem inverted compared with most other breeds.
The Akhal-Teke has sloping shoulders and they are fine limbed and flat muscled. The mane and tail are usually sparse. The long back is lightly muscled, and is coupled to a flat croup and long, upright neck. The Akhal-Teke possess sloping shoulders and thin skin. thanks to the wide hip angle, this horse appears strong. Also, you will notice a narrow chest, a deep heart girth, and a sparse tail and mane.
This horse can feature a good vary of colours. In fact, all equine colours area unit acceptable, as area unit all mixtures of white markings. Common colours embody bay, gray, chestnut, black, dun, buckskin, perlino, palomino, and cremello. The golden brightness is clear on all colours except black, and it seems as silvery brightness on grey horses.
How to tack care Akhal-Teke?
The Akhal-Teke’s coat has a metallic sheen, although some shimmer more than others. Caring for your horse breed is rather easy. They can survive in the steamy temperatures the desert has to offer with little or no guidance at all. Good feeders, they also have nice, silky coats to care for as well. They can even survive in a drought, making this breed one of the easiest to own.
Grooming & Feeding:
The Akhal-Teke an easy keeper and requires excellent feed. If the Teke isn’t kept on good pasture, he requires supplementation and the best quality hay. They have been known to go with little water. To keep the Akhal-Teke’s beautiful iridescent coat looking spectacular, you will need to regularly bathe and groom your horse. Every grooming session will also provide these animals with the attention they require, and it will serve to strengthen your bond with your horse.
Temperament and attitude towards humans:
The Akhal-Teke horses are vigorous, excitable, and restless. Thousands of years of selective breeding have left their mark not only on their physical appearance and efficiency, but also on their behavior. These horses are not only sensible but also very sensitive; they are even able to respond to mental suggestions of humans. Their intelligence is not comparable to any other breed.
They are essentially one-master horses. Some Tekes may be difficult when ridden by strangers. With them you cannot achieve obedience by shouting or punishment. A glance, a small gesture, or a soft-spoken word are sufficient. A punishment not understood by the horse can cause them to be in a defensive mood for weeks. They are horses with character, outspoken individuals.
Says Sue Waldock, President of the Akhal-Teke Association of GB: “They respond best to daily love and attention, a bit like a dog. If you ignore a dog it will misbehave too. Bonding with a human owner is in their blood.”
They are not suited to nervous or irritable humans. They not only need a sensitive rider, but a human being who can share their feelings when they gallop over vast areas just for the joy of movement. They are not suited to the limitations of modern stables, which kill their spirit. They are horses belonging to wide open spaces.
Outstanding Achievements of the Breed:
Akhal-Teke blood has influenced several breeds. The Byerly Turk, one of the three founding stallions of the English Thoroughbred, is thought to be an Akhal-Teke. In support of the Akhal-Teke's influence on the Arabian breed, specialists cite especially the Syrian Arab. In the beginning of the nineteenth century the famous stallion Turkmen-Atti was used to infuse new blood into the Trakehner warmblood. Akhal-Teke blood also figured prominently in the formation of the Don and Budyonny breed. Akhal-Tekes are perhaps best known for their extraordinary aptitude for endurance riding. In 1935, their suitability for the cavalry was tested in a famous endurance ride from Ashkhabad, to Moscow, a distance of 4330 kilometers (2,600 miles). Twenty-eight riders, riding Akhal-Tekes, the related Yomud breed and Anglo-Teke crosses, covered a broad range of terrain, including a severe, three-day, 360 kilometer (215 miles) test under the scorching sun of the Kara Kum desert. From the desert, which though stressful, was familiar terrain, they then rode through mosquito infested swamps, over rugged, stony footing, through heavy rain and huge forests. Eighty-four days later they arrived in Moscow. The purebred Akhal-Tekes, notably Arab and Alsakar, arrived in significantly better condition than the Anglo-Teke crosses, impressive evidence for the superiority of the purebred Akhal-Teke for hardiness and endurance. Arab subsequently proved his exceptional talent in eventing and jumping, as well as prepotency as a breeding stallion. His son Absent, at the tender (for dressage horses) age of eight, won the gold medal in individual dressage under Sergei Filatov at the 1960 Rome Olympics with an astounding score of 82.4%. Absent went on to a bronze individual medal (again with Filatov) in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and in 1968, under Ivan Kalita, was a member of the gold-medal Soviet team in Mexico. Akhal-Tekes have often been given as state gifts. In 1956, for example, Nikita Khrushchev presented Queen Elizabeth the bright golden-dun stallion Melekush. So the story goes, grooms tried to clean off what they thought was an unnatural polish, but Melekush glowed even more awash. More recently, the president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurad Niyazov, has made gifts of an Akhal-Teke to heads of Russia, England and France. Senetir, the first Akhal-Teke stallion to stand stud in America, was purchased at auction in Russia in 1978 and imported to Virginia by Phil and Margot Chase, Akhal-Teke enthusiasts who have long promoted the breed in this country. Senetir's passing in 1999 was noted by an obituary in the prestigious horse sport journal, The Chronicle of the Horse.
Here some beautiful pictures of Akhal-Teke:
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