- Akhal-Teke -

The Akhal-Teke is a very old breed, related to the ancient Turkoman horse that Eastern warriors preferred for their mounts some 2,500 years ago. Horses very similar to the Akhal-Teke, probably the breed's ancestors, were bred in Ashkhabad a long ago as 1000 B.C. Bred then primarily for racehorses, this trait carried over into the modern day Akhal-Teke, which excels in racing.

It is widely believed that Bucephalus, the famous favored mount of Alexander the Great, was of Turkmenian blood and therefore closely related to the Akhal-Teke. The Akhal-Teke is a unique breed bearing many of the characteristics associated with the postulated Horse Type 3, which again points to its very early development. Found mainly in the Turkmenistan area of Central Asia, the Akhal-Teke was developed by Turkoman tribes as a horse capable of great endurance and stamina, and able to deal with extreme heat and cold associated with that region. They were unrivalled in their powers of endurance, having famously traveled from Ashkhabad to Moscow in 1935, a distance of 2,500 miles, crossing 235 miles of desert in three days with no water. 

he Akhal-Teke is believed to be related to the Arabian horse and bears a distinct resemblance to the Munaghi Arabian, which was also bred for racing. The similarities between these ancient breeds have raised the question as to which influenced the other and which one was developed first. The Akhal-Teke does not have good Western pleasure riding form, but is possessed with an extraordinary elegance and beauty. These horses typically have a long and slender frame, giving them the appearance of an equine greyhound. They have a finely modeled head and unusually long neck, which is well muscled and set very upright on the shoulders. Their shoulders are gently sloped to allow for a particularly soft gait, developed through the years from working on the sandy terrain of their homeland.

The Akhal-Teke has a very deep chest, but are very narrow, and this narrowness continues back through the rest of the frame, with high withers and a long back with a shallow rib cage. The croup is often slightly sloping, and muscular and powerful. They are long in the legs and have very fine bone. The hind legs are particularly long and thin in the thigh, and are occasionally sickle-hocked. The legs are very tough and hard with well-defined tendons and well-formed feet. Their colors may vary from a golden dun to palomino, chestnut, bay, and gray, and sport an unusual metallic sheen. The mane and tail are often sparse. The Akhal-Teke was and still is used for racing and is also a useful riding horse, able to compete in both dressage and jumping competitions.

Akhal-Tekes, interestingly, tend to move above the bit, which mean that their mouth is above the level of the rider's hands. This is mainly due to their very upright conformation in their head and neck. When they are used for dressage they have to be trained to carry their head and necks lower to ensure that they are not above the bit and moving in a technically incorrect manner. The Akhal-Teke is used for crossbreeding quite often and recently Thoroughbred blood was introduced to increase their racing speeds. Although the cross produces an attractive and workable horse, much of the original breed's natural endurance is lost through the cross breed. There are efforts being made to preserve the Akhal-Teke's pureness in Kazakhstan, and several other places in the Middle East. They are relatively small horses, standing between 14.2 hh and 15.2 hh. They are characteristically lively, alert, courageous, and occasionally rebellious.