Akhal Teke Golden Horse - last few left in the world.

 Akhal Teke| Golden Horse| Turkmenistan| Only few thousand left in the world|Persian horse| Metallic shiny colour| Divine Horse 


Akhal Teke or commonly known as the Golden horse is one of the most ancient breeds of working horses that originate from the kingdom of Turkmenistan. It is a well-known breed of stallion used by the Turkmen as mounted cavalry and racing around 3000 years ago. According to estimates, today only 6600 individuals are present.

                                                      

Akhal Teke - golden horse from Turkmenistan 

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Out of more than 250 breeds of horse known today, Akhal Teke is the most famous one because of its elegant metallic golden coat and its tendency to be the most trainable and showjumper enriching the culture of nomadic tribes of the southern region of Turkmenistan. Even the national emblem of Turkmenistan features Akhal Teke.  

According to the tradition of the nomads, horses are considered to be sacred, and harming or causing them any sort of distress is a sin. Akhal Teke horse has been used in most of the ancient wars and the breed has been used by some very known emperors in ancient history like Alexander the Great, Darius, Genghis Khan, Marco –Polo, and other Roman emperors. 

These stunning horses are said to have exquisite characteristics which make them capable of tolerating scorching heat and enduring extreme conditions like no other breed can do so efficiently.

Its endurance and capability to perform in extreme climate are because of its origin from the Kara-Kum desert in Turkmenistan which is known to be a place for the toughest people and these people only survived that desert life because they produced an ideal horse suitable to perform in extreme temperatures.

The name “ Akhal Teke “ comes from the Turkmen tribe known as “Teke “ that lives in Akhal oasis in the desert region. Akhal Teke can be compared with another ancient breed of Persian Arab horses which has a similarly long and light head with bold eyes. 

Akhal Teke also has short and silky mane or in some cases no mane at all. The legs are long and slender revealing the tendons. It has relatively long ears and neck than the Arabian ones. This elegant breed has a narrow chest, flat ribs, and heights reaching up to 1.5 to 1.6 meters at the shoulder. It comes in a grey or pale golden coat which is the most significant feature of this breed.

                                                     

Akhal Teke Stallion 

Image Source-  Google | Image by - 
commons.wikimedia

Akhal Teke is a vigorous and restless horse. Years and years of selective breeding have not only changed their physical characteristics but their behavior also to some extent. These are a very sensible and sensitive breed and are generally one owner horses. 

These are the most trainable breed of horse which serve their purpose well and have high endurance limits. Their intelligence is one of the main reasons for their versatility. Akhal Teke nowadays is also used to show quality as well as racing stallions.

Purebred Akhal Teke is present in small numbers in the world today as their largest population is found in Russia and a few hundred in numbers across Turkmenistan, Europe, and the UK. Even their number is quite low in their native land. 

One of the main reasons for small numbers and popularity is because of the ban on animal exports during the Soviet Era and due to the financial crisis prevailing those days, the breed had not been cared for really well. But today many breeders through selective breeding are working in the direction of conserving well-known traits of Akhal Teke in modern-day breeds so that the essence of the breed remains protected.


 Akhal Teke| Golden Horse| Turkmenistan| Only few thousand left in the world|Persian horse| Metallic shiny colour| Divine Horse