The Akhal-Teke ( or ; from Turkmen Ahalteke, ) is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, thin manes and a distinctive metallic sheen which led to their nickname, "Golden Horses".Metallic Sheen as Observed in Individuals of the Akhal-Teke Breed; By Danielle Westfall, Zoology major, Ohio Wesleyan University These horses are adapted to survive in severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest existing horse breeds.Cieslak, Michael, et al. "Origin and history of mitochondrial DNA lineages in domestic horses." PLoS One 5.12 (2010): e15311. "Eleven out of these 39 haplotypes were lineages that were confined to a single primitive breed (B/Arabian; D2d/Cheju; G1/Akhal Teke; H/Garrano; H1/Marismeno; H1a/Lusitano; K2b1/Sicilian Oriental Purebred; K3b/ Yakut; X1/Pottoka; X2a/Debao; X3c/Lusitano; X5/Fulani). " There are currently about 6,600 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan, although they are also found throughout Europe and North America. 01.10.2012, 1st Report from WATO President Christoph Vogel , The breed of Akhal-Teke is facing a crisis: "In her world census for 2012, Jessica Eile-Keith estimated a world population of about 6'600 Akhal-Teke: Turkmenistan ± 3'000, Russia ± 1'600, Central Asia ± 300, USA ± 450, Western Europe ±1'300. With a total of 6'600 Akhal-Teke, one or two specialisation would be justifiable." The first part of their name, "Akhal," is the name of the line of oases along the north slope of the Köpetdag mountains in Turkmenistan, inhabited by the Teke tribe of Turkmens.
There are several theories regarding the original ancestry of the Akhal-Teke, some dating back thousands of years. The Akhal-Teke is probably a descendant of an older breed known as the Turkoman horse, which some claim is the same breed. The tribes of Turkmenistan selectively bred these horses, recording their pedigrees orally. The breed was used in raiding, and in the losing fight against the Russian Empire where it was subsumed into the Empire along with its country. The Turkoman has influenced many other breeds, including modern warmbloods, and recent research confirms that Turkoman stallions made significant contributions to the development of the Thoroughbred. However, there also exists the possibility that all Akhal-Tekes today have a Thoroughbred sire line.Auf den Spuren des Achal-Tekkiners The studbook was closed in 1932.International Association of Akhal-Teke Breeding (MAAK); OPEN LETTER TO MAAK MEMBERS. Subject: Akhal-Teke studbook The Soviet Union printed the first breed registry in 1941, including over 700 horses.
History
The ancestors of the breed may date back to animals living 3,000 years ago, who were known by a number of names. The precise ancestry is difficult to trace, however, because prior to about 1600 AD, horse breeds in the modern sense did not exist; rather, horses were identified by local strain or type.
The breed is very similar to—and possibly the direct descendant of—the Turkoman horse, a breed believed to be extinct, though a related strain may be bred today in Iran. Other breeds or strains with Turkoman roots also include the Yomud, the Goklan, and the Nokhorli.A Look at the Turkoman Horse in Iran Some historians believe that these are different strains of the same breed. Other ancient strains that may have contributed to the breed, including those named the Massaget and Parthian.International Museum of the Horse- Retrieved 2018-02-23 There are also claims that Akhal-Teke horse is the descendant of the original Fergana horse which was breed in Fergana valley in 104 BC.
It remains a disputed question whether the Arabian was the ancestor of the Turkoman or was developed out of that breed, but current DNA evidence points to a possible common ancestor for both. A substantial number of Arabian mares were reportedly used to improve the breed in the 14th and 19th century. It is also possible that the so-called "hot blooded" breeds such as the Arabian, Turkoman, Akhal-Teke, and the Barb all developed from a single "oriental horse" predecessor.
Tribal people in what today is Turkmenistan first used the Akhal-Teke for raiding. The horses were their most treasured possession since they were crucial for income and survival. They selectively bred their horses, keeping records of the pedigrees via an oral tradition. Horses were managed and trained in very specific ways. Stallions were tethered next to the tent while mares and foals were free to seek forage. The stallions were covered from head to tail with up to seven layers of felt, which kept their coat short and shiny. Before raids they were put on a sparse diet to prepare them for the long ride through the desert with no water and hardly any feed.À travers l'Asie Centrale: la Steppe kirghize, le Turkestan russe, Boukhara, Khiva, le pays des Turcomans et la Perse, impressions de voyage; Author: Henri Moser; Publisher: Plon, 1885; pp. 321-322 in Original from Princeton University; Digitized June 2, 2009; Length 463 pages The horses were called Argamaks (divine or Sacred Horses) by the Russians and heavenly horses by ancient China, and were cherished by those who valued their speed and stamina in the desert and loyalty to their owner.Khiva and Turkestan, translated from Russian by Captain Henry Spalding FRGS, London, Chapman and Hall, 1874, p. 216 Han emperors from China waged two expeditions to secure the "heavenly horses". & The Wars for Blood-Sweat Horses: Access to these horse breeds fueled the success in China's future campaign against their nomadic neighbors.
In 1881, Turkmenistan became part of the Russian Empire. The tribes fought with the tsar, eventually losing. In the process, however, the Russian general Kuropatkin developed a fondness for the horses he had seen while fighting the tribesmen. He founded a breeding farm after the war and renamed the horses, "Akhal-Tekes", after the Teke Turkmen tribe that lived around the Akhal oasis (near Geok Tepe). The Russians closed the studbook in 1932 which included 287 stallions and 468 mares. Stallions are not gelded in Central Asia. The studbook was printed in 1941.
The ancestral Akhal-Teke has had influence on many breeds, possibly including the Thoroughbred; the Byerly Turk, which may have been an Arabian, or a Turkoman Horse, was one of the three major foundation stallions of the breed. Three other stallions thought to be of Turkoman origin, known as the "Lister Turk", the "White Turk", and the "Yellow Turk" were among a number of minor stallions from the orient who contributed to the foundation bloodstock of the Thoroughbred breed.Summerhayes, RS, Horses and Ponies, Warne & Co, London & New York, 1948 The Trakehner has also been influenced by the Akhal-Teke, most notably by the stallion, Turkmen-Atti, as have the Russian breeds Don, Budyonny, Karabair, and Karabakh.
The breed suffered greatly when the Soviet Union required horses to be slaughtered for meat, even though local Turkmen refused to eat them. At one point only 1,250 horses remained and export from the Soviet Union was banned. The government of Turkmenistan now uses the horses as diplomatic presents as well as auctioning a few to raise money for improved horse breeding programs.Turkmenistan: Arkadag Rides Again!
In the early 20th century, crossbreeding between the Thoroughbred and the Akhal-Teke took place, aiming to create a faster long-distance racehorse. The Anglo Akhal-Tekes were not so resilient however, as their Akhal-Teke ancestors, and many died due to the harsh conditions of Central Asia. After the endurance race from Ashkabad to Moscow in 1935, when the purebreds finished in much better condition than the part-breds, the studbook management decided to consider all crossbred horses born after 1936 as not purebred. Horses with English Thoroughbred ancestors born prior to that date were allowed to remain inside the studbook (e.g. 044 Tillyakush, grandson of Thoroughbred Burlak; 831 Makh, granddaughter of Thoroughbred Blondelli of the St. Simon line and great-great-granddaughter of Thoroughbred Junak; and line founder 9 Ak Belek, a direct descendant in the male line of the Thoroughbred stallion Fortingbrass, by Fogabal of the Sir Hercules line). Due to this fact, there does not exist any Akhal-Teke today whose ancestry does not contain a Thoroughbred.The Akhalteke Studbook Online Since 1973, all foals must be blood typed to be accepted in the stud book in order to protect the integrity of the breed. From 2014 on, a DNA test based on hair follicles is sufficient if the DNA of the parents is on file. A stallion not producing the right type of horse may be removed. Nowadays, artificial insemination is allowed as well as embryo transfer. The surrogate mother, however, needs to be a pureblood Akhal-Teke mare for the foal to be registered in the General Studbook as a pureblood Akhal-Teke. Akhal-Teke horses are bred all over the world. In addition to Turkmenistan there are breeders in Russia and Central Asia, Europe, the US, Uruguay, and Australia.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has a separate agency, Turkmen Atlary, responsible for the breeding, training and maintenance of Akhal-Teke horses.official website of Turkmen Atlary, the State Department for horses in Turkmenistan However, the agency's work has been the focus of criticism from the President of the country, who holds the agency responsible for decreasing numbers of horses and inadequate facilities for their breeding, training and management.Turkmenistan's President Rages at Poor Horse Industry At present, Akhal-Teke horses in Turkmenistan are not registered with any other studbook. The main reason for this are allegations of a heavy infusion of Thoroughbred blood into the breed to create faster horses for racing in Turkmenistan.Purity – fact or fiction? Archived from the original Aug 11, 2010. Retrieved on Feb 21, 2014 There are estimates that as many as 30% of the horses in the Ashgabat hippodrome were not purebred.The History of the Akhal-Teke Horses, Yesterday And Today, Retrieved on Feb 21, 2014
When the first horse minister of newly independent Turkmenistan, Geldi Kärizow, a lifelong advocate for the Akhal-Teke and former chair of the International Association of Akhal-Teke Breeders, began utilizing DNA to establish an Akhal-Teke studbook, he uncovered the pattern of adding in Thoroughbred blood. His decision to go public with this information was viewed as a threat to the profits of the horse-breeding establishment and he fell out of favor with the Turkmenistan government, and in particular, then-President Saparmyrat Nyýazow. He was charged with abuse of office and negligence in 2002, convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. He was ultimately pardoned in October 2007, when Nyýazow died and his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, took control of the country. By 2012, Kärizow's health, which had been poor since his arrest and subsequent imprisonment, had deteriorated to the point he needed to go abroad for medical care, but was initially prevented from leaving the country. By 2015, he was allowed to travel to Moscow for medical care, but family members, including his 14-year-old daughter, were forced to remain behind to "guarantee" his return. In September 2015, the entire family was allowed to leave.