RARE BREEDS TRUST OF AUSTRALIA
powered by TidyHQHorses: Akhal Teke
Horses: Akhal Teke
Country of Origin
Turkmenistan
Australian Status
International Status
The Akhal Teke is considered Vulnerable globally by the Equine Survival Trust
Uses
Racing, endurance, dressage, jumping, cross-country, polo.
Breed traits
The Akhal Teke is tall, elegant, and with the spare conformation of a true stayer. An iridescent coat is a trait with many of this breed, caused by each hair being hollow hence reflecting light. The cream gene brings this out most strongly. One theory is that the colour helped camouflage them in desert conditions. Another that it resulted from the centuries old custom of keeping the stallions tethered near yurts with their bodies and necks covered with layers of felt before campaigns. Thus, constantly polished coats possibly gave rise to a change in hair structure. The sooty gene in some lends a counter shading effect which highlights the iridescence.
The Akhal Teke is an athletic breed, once prized for their abilities rather than aesthetics. It is known for great stamina and speed. The Akhal Teke characteristics are:
- A long, straight, sometimes convex nose.
- Good shoulders.
- Defined wither. 14.2 to 16hh.
- Solid colours and dilutions, roan is thought absent. Some have white markings.
Several congenital conditions must be watched for such as naked foal syndrome, cryptorchidism, wobbler; in some lines.
History
Romance follows the breed through history - the horse people of central Asia, particularly the nomadic Turkman people developed this elegant breed. Akhal Teke originated in the countries now ending in 'stan' - Turkmenistan is regarded as the first home of the Akhal Teke. Once, Turkmen raided at great speed into Persia on these horses - nothing could catch them.
It is thought the breed goes back several thousand years. Cave art in Uzbekistan such as at Aravan shows horses of the same elegant build. In China some are used today for polo. Most are in Russia. Genghis Khan is thought to have ridden an Akhal Teke. The past great Ameer of Afghanistan, Abdul Rahman, rode a Turkoman.
In 1881 when Russia gained Turkmenistan in conflict, the General Kuropatkin saw the horses and admired them greatly. He took some back to Russia to start a stud - naming the breed Akhal Teke after the Turkman Teke people who live about the Akhal oasis. The Russians started a comprehensive studbook. Thoroughbreds were introduced to the breed so now most Akhal Tekes trace to a Thoroughbred. Ironically the Thoroughbred itself has Akhal Teke ancestry. 
Numbers were reduced in former Soviet times when private ownership was banned and the horses put onto collective farms and many used for meat. Numbers are now recovering due to the efforts of many, starting with a group of brave Turkmen who rode their Akhal Tekes all the way to rulers in Moscow in 1935 to ask for the breed to be saved. The breed owes much to the extraordinary efforts of Geldy Kyarizov who alerted people to their plight and made long endurance rides in more recent times to show what they could do. In his travel to several countries of the region, from Turkmenistan, he collected some of the breed and helped others set up studs.
The breed was thought to number about 6,500 globally but with the work going into cleaning up the studbook, there is now thought to be around 4,500.
Turkmenistan, now an independent country, recognises the Akhal Teke as a National Treasure. Ironically, Geldy was imprisoned unjustly by the Turkmenistan government in 2002. See the account of his imprisonment at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geldy_Kyarizov.
History in Australia
It's worth noting Australia imported many horses from India in it’s colonial days - mostly Persians and Turkomans (an early name for Akhal Tekes). Some went into the Australian Stud Book (Thoroughbred) which thus gained more eastern blood than others. Some of these were Akhal Tekes. Turkoman genes have showed up in a Waler that was DNA tested. Articles such as "The Teki Turkoman" appeared in several Australian newspapers in 1876-77, describing the horses and praising them, and saying they were prized in India and England. The book Clouds in the East: Travels and Adventure in the Perso-Turkoman Frontier by Valentine Baker, published by Chatto and Windlass in 1876 provided extracts for these articles.
Some Akhal Tekes were in NSW during the past couple of decades but seem to have dropped out of sight; it's not known if they bred. Several partbreds have been bred in Queensland and WA in recent times.
Breed Organisation
None active in Australia. The private Facebook group Akhal Tekes Australia - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2201270283423392 -is a community for Akhal Teke breeders.
The international overseeing body is VNIIK (http://www.maakcenter.org/ENG/vniik.html) , based in Russia. Registration of Akhal Tele is available through https://akhal-teke.org/registration/
Australian Population
2022. Possibly 9 purebreds in total. 1 in WA, rest in QLD and 2 purebred foals expected, from imported semen, for 2020. No Akhal Teke stallions at stud in Australia. Grateful thanks to Denise of the registry for numbers). Several crossbreds. Another mare and stallion were due for arrival in late 2022.Purebreds at 2022:
- Mansur (stallion)
- Asha Ozal (mare, imported in foal to Russian stallion )
- Kenar (mare)
- Setara (mare)
- JBK Mukam (gelding)
2025: Mares 4; Stallions 2
Additional Notes
Khan Tekes is a stud with a Facebook page (no longer active) at https://www.facebook.com/KhanTekesAustralia/ .
D'Haran Tekes is a stud also with a Facebook page (no longer active) at https://www.facebook.com/DharanTekes/
Photos
Top; JBK Mukam, now gelded was the only Akhal Teke stallion in Australia, owned by Denise Kaye's Die Kinder Stud, in Queensland. Photo kindly supplied by Denise.
Bottom; Gelmay, purebred Akhal Teke mare. Photo kindly supplied by Denis Kaye.
