Akhal-Teke

Unknown; “Save the earth; it is the only planet with horses!”

In times of WAR, humans come first, women and children in particular.
A rare word is spoken about other country inhabitants in war. As healthy people get precedence, the rest of the world forgets about those who do not have a voice. Sometimes it is not even covered in the media. The media that is supposed to be the voice of all the people speaks little about the most vulnerable. Those confined in institutions, prisons and the elderly.
The same goes for animals. What about the animals in our guardianship before the war? Do we forget about the welfare of our pets in dire situations? It is scary to know that thousands of our beloved pets are also suffering from the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Take the Akhal-Teke, an ancient horse breed originally from Turkmenistan. The word “Akhal” means pure, and Teke is the tribe’s name of the pioneers, the developers, those who bred these horses since ancient times.
This gorgeous horse breed is native to the bottom edge of the Kopet Mountains and the Kara Kum desert, former USSR. Even as early as 1000 B.C., the Akhal-Teke, with his great physic, was famous, mainly because of the horse trade. The Akhal-Teke was a renowned racehorse sold to many countries. In 1935, with their endurance, the Teke covered a total distance of 1800 miles, including 370 miles of desert to Moscow. A group of riders repeated this trip in 1988, and it took the group of riders three days.

The horses were undoubtedly part of many ancient regional conflicts. Thus, Philip the Great of France owned tens of thousands of these light-breeds for his troops.
The Akhal-Teke stand nice and tall; their bodies are lean with silky coats and barely any manes. A great asset when it comes to aerodynamics. Another unique aspect is the thin sheen of these hot-blood horses.

To this day, scientists differ in opinion about what causes the ‘sweatbloods’ in these hot-bloods.
These horses add sophisticated looks to the regular stocky European workhorses when crossed. It is believed that the English thoroughbred shares ancient DNA with the Turkmenian Teke.

Today, little is known about its population status, but the Akhal-Teke was exported to many countries in Asia and Europe. Though rare, they are found in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Germany, Belgium and other European countries like Ukraine. The only country to have domesticated horses in ancient times.

Since the USSR reigned over Turkmenistan, Teke horse-breeding halted, thus limiting their amount. Worldwide, The Akhal Teke, with average fertility, is dying out. In most of the 20th century, the larger European horse-breeds were favoured over these light breeds. Though much admired and praised for their strength, competitiveness and aesthetics, the Akhal-Teke, with its restrictive gene pool, is bound to exist in war-torn Ukraine. Due to the current situation in the country, exporting the Akhal Teke is prohibited.

What is now left of the Akhal-Teke in Ukraine might dye off thanks to Putin’s war.

Mainstream media is not very interested in these precious horses. Fortunately, there are fans of the Turkmenistan Teke; https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-ukraine-akhaltekes