Читать книгу The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History - Tamsin Pickeral - Страница 12

HEIGHT

14.2–16 h.h.

APPEARANCE

Long through the body, narrow, and slight; fine boned with a sloping croup. The neck is long and slender, and set and carried high. Distinctive head with a dry “desert” quality, slightly hooded eye, and a narrow face. The mane and tail hair is thin and sparse and the coat very fine and silky.

COLOR

Great range, from metallic dun to black, bay, cream, or gray.

APTITUDE

Riding, racing, endurance racing, showing, dressage, jumping

THE AKHAL TEKE IS ONE OF THE OLDEST, most important, and purest of all living horse breeds, and yet it remains little known to the larger public. The significance of this breed, not only to the development of other light horse breeds from the Arabian to the Thoroughbred but also in historic and cultural terms, is monumental.

The breed is a descendant of the now extinct ancient Turkmenian, which was in effect the superhorse of pre- and ancient history. These horses evolved in the huge region of Turkestan, which stretches across Central Asia from the Gobi Desert in the east to the Caspian Sea in the west, and from Siberia in the north to Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the south. This area is considered the fountainhead of horse breeds, and one of the earliest areas where horse domestication occurred. These agile horses were subjected to both selective and indiscriminate breeding by different tribes, but the overriding qualities of speed, size, and endurance were at their foundation, and these are the qualities that have remained. They were also quite different from, and superior to, the small, stocky horses of the steppes, as typified by the Mongolian horse.

These tall, quick Turkmenian horses bear a close physical similarity to the postulated Horse Type 3 from which they most probably evolved. The Turkmenians’ speed and toughness made them highly sought after in the ancient world, since they provided an enormous advantage to the warring nomads of this vast steppe landscape. Through the fluid nature of early nomadic cultures, these horses were distributed across a vast area, and word of their excellence soon spread. They are known to have formed an important part of the horse culture of the Scythians, ancient warring nomads who originated in Persia (Iran), and are recorded as being used for racing from around 1000 B.C.E. Five hundred years later the same horses defined by their body type and attributes were widely used by the Bactrian horsemen in King Darius of Persia’s cavalry. The Parthians from northeastern Iran, famous for their horsemanship and battling alike, rode Turkmenian horses as they waged wars across the steppe territory from the seventh century B.C.E., and in Greece Alexander the Great’s father, Philip II of Macedon (382–336 B.C.E.) had acquired large numbers of Turkmenian horses from Ferghana, an area in eastern Uzbekistan that was a famous horse-breeding center in the ancient world. Alexander used these horses in his army, and it is widely thought that his own famous horse, Bucephalus, who is often described as a Thessalonian, was in fact a Turkmenian. Alexander went on to obtain his own huge herd of horses from the Persians that when crossbred to native European stock produced larger, stronger, and quicker animals. These crossbred horses were later in widespread use by the Roman cavalry, which in turn spread the Turkmenian blood across Europe.

The horses from Ferghana were held with special reverence in the ancient world. They were reputed to be the fastest horses of the time and often had a golden, metallic sheen in their coat, such that they were frequently referred to as the “Heavenly Horses” or “Golden Horses.” In fact, the coat color so prized in the ancient world is still a predominant feature of the Akhal Teke. These Golden Horses further exhibited “blood sweating” (the appearance of sweating small droplets of blood), which added to their magical allure. Many theories have surrounded the blood-sweating condition, but the most plausible explanation has been put forward by Louise Firouz (who died in 2008), a leading Caspian and Akhal Teke expert, who suggested that it is caused by a parasite that lives in the Gorgan and Ferghana rivers. At a certain time in the life cycle of the parasite, it hatches out through the skin of the infected animal, causing small spots of bleeding.

Given the extent and distribution of the ancient Turkmenian it is not impossible for this breed to have greatly contributed to the development of the Arabian, particularly the Muniqi (or Munaghi) Arabian, a racing strain. In view of the very great antiquity of the Turkmenian it is likely that this horse was one of the earliest hot-blooded horses, along with the Caspian, that evolved within the same geography. With the spread of this horse through Turkestan and down into Saudi Arabia and across to Africa it is a small step to consider it influencing the development of the Arabian and also the North African Barb, which in turn was fundamental to the development of the Iberian breeds. The Turkmenian was also influential in the development of the English Thoroughbred through the Thoroughbred foundation sire, the Byerley Turk, who is thought to have been a “Turk,” and through the large number of Turkmenian horses imported to England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the Thoroughbred was evolving. The Turk, or Turkoman, breed is one of the modern descendants of the ancient Turkmenian horse, which also gave rise to the Akhal Teke and Iomud. Confusingly, the terms Turkoman and Turkmenian are often interchanged, with horses bred in Turkmenistan referred to as Turkmenian and those bred in Iran referred to as Turkoman. There is, however, little difference between them.

The Akhal Teke, directly descended from the ancient Turkmenian, and in a sense the modern reincarnation of this breed, has with little exception been bred pure. In the twentieth century there was the introduction of some Thoroughbred blood to the Akhal Teke, to try to increase the size of the breed, but this was a largely unsuccessful experiment. The Akhal Teke (meaning literally “pure” or “oasis” from the Teke tribe) has been bred by the Turkmene people systematically and stringently, living in the difficult desert climate in the oases of Turkmenistan. Ashkhabad, the capital of Turkmenistan, has been a center of breeding for the Akhal Teke and its ancestors since 1000 B.C.E. and is still a major breeding center, although the horses are also bred in Kazakhstan, Dagestan, Russia, and in the northern Caucasus, as well as in small pockets of the United States, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe. Traditionally, only the fastest progeny were bred so that the qualities of speed and endurance are ultimately fixed within the breed. The horses are quite unique in appearance, particularly when compared with the European warmblood. The Akhal Teke should be a “meatless” animal: there should be no excess fat, and the horse’s muscle mass should be long and unpronounced. To condition the horses, the nomadic tribesmen would wrap them in thick felt blankets to sweat them out during the day, and work them in the mornings and evenings. The young stock would be started at just under two years old even though the breed does not mature until around five.

The Akhal Teke’s endurance is legendary; no breeds can match it in terms of speed and stamina. Like its relative the Iomud, the Akhal Teke is also able to exist on minimal water and food. Although most famous as an endurance breed, the Akhal Teke is extremely athletic and has a natural aptitude for jumping. The horses have also excelled in dressage, as demonstrated by Akhal Teke stallion Absent’s gold medal win in 1960 in Rome—they are one of the most talented and least recognized of breeds.

The Akhal Teke has tragically suffered a huge reduction in numbers, but efforts to stabilize and increase the breed since 1980 have been relatively successful, although it can still be considered rare.

Rarer still is the Iomud, a breed that is a close relative of the Akhal Teke but little known outside Turkmenistan, its country of origin. The Iomud has much in common with the Akhal Teke: it is a desert-bred horse with tremendous endurance and stamina, though it lacks the Akhal Teke’s quality and is not as fine or elegant. The Iomud has a heavier frame with a thicker, shorter neck and an attractive head. Its coat is fine and most often gray or chestnut, and the mane and tail hairs are sparse. Though not as fast as the Akhal Teke, the Iomud is famed for its quick recovery rate after endurance racing.

The Iomud’s extreme qualities are a product of both early breeding and the arid desert and semi-desert regions in which the horses are raised. As a result of these harsh conditions, Iomuds are extremely tough and able to exist on minimal rations of water. Early in the breed’s development, there would have been crossbreeding with other hardy breeds from the Central Asian steppes, such as the Mongolian and Kazakh, and it is likely that this influence continued throughout its history. There has also been some Arabian influence, and since the 1920s some Akhal Teke blood has been introduced to help preserve and improve the breed. Today, however, numbers are extremely low.