The Akhal-Teke…The Rarest Horse In Existance!
While researching our popular article “The Twenty-Five Most Beautiful Horse Breeds,” I discovered The Akhal-Teke. I was unfamiliar with this breed (it is amazing how many different breeds of horses there are!) I was impressed by their elegance, slim build, flowing stride, and golden-glowing coats. The breed has an average height of 15.2 h, weighing 900-1,000lbs. They come in a variety of colors.
What is an Akhal-Teke Horse?
The Akhal-Teke is an ancient breed with a history that descends from the raiding horses of Turkmenistan, first described over 3,000 years ago. It is said that they greatly influenced the development of horse breeds in Europe, primarily the English Thoroughbred.
The name “Akhal” means pure and is also the name of a remote oasis associated with the “Teke” tribe, adding the second part of its name. The Tekes were nomads, which made it necessary for them to have horses of great endurance that could travel long distances. After Turkmenistan became a part of the Russian Empire in 1881, the first official breeding farms of Akhal-Tekes were established. The breed struggled during the turmoil that marked the early days of Soviet Russia, and its numbers dwindled.
In 1935, the Turkemenes staged an amazing promotional effort to bring attention to the breed. The event took a mounted group of Akhal-Teke stallions over 2,500 miles from the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashkabahad, to Moscow in 84 days. One segment of the trip was a 225-mile crossing of the KaraKum desert. The horses successfully covered the distance across the desert with little water in just THREE days! This amazing endurance ride was repeated in 1988.
The Akhal-Teke Today
The Akhal-Teke is a globally rare breed, with an estimated population of less than 7,000. There are fewer than 300 registered purebreds in North America.
Phil and Margot Case, of Shenandoah Farms in Virginia, were the first Americans to import Akhal-Tekes to the U.S. in 1979. Two of these horses were a Peren Line stallion named SENETIR (Sektor x Altin), and an Arab Line mare, OLIVA. Both were purchased at a Moscow auction in September 1978. The mare OLIVA was a descendant of the famous Akhal-Teke dressage stallion, Absent. (Absent won the gold medal in Prix de Dressage at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and Individual bronze medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, as well as Soviet Team Gold at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City). With SENETIR and OLIVA, Phil and Margo started their breeding program, and in 1982 they founded the Akhal-Teke Association of America.
While Akhal-Teke horses excel at endurance riding, they are tremendous all-around athletes. In addition to Thoroughbred-style flat racing, Akhal-Tekes have had great success in other disciplines, including Dressage, Jumping, and naturally, Eventing.
