Exterior and character features of the Akhal-Teke horse
The Akhal-Teke horse deserves attention already because it is practically the only one for the entire period of its existence that has retained the purity of the breed. And the Akhal-Teke breed of horses has existed for about 5000 years. Accordingly, it is also one of the most ancient.
Akhal-Teke horse
It is not a wild but a cultured breed that has been used for horse riding. In fairness, it should be noted that the Akhal-Teke breed has been used more than once to improve other varieties. Let's consider what the representatives of the Akhal-Teke breed look like, what character they have and why it is worth getting horses of this breed.
Appearance
Let's start with the breed standard.
Akhal-Teke horses are tall horses. Their height at the withers averages 155 cm. But it is not the height of the Akhal-Teke horse that is more impressive, but the volume of its chest. It averages 180 cm. Sometimes there are individuals with a chest volume of almost 200 cm. The body length slightly differs from the height at the withers and varies from 150 to 160 cm. Accordingly, the horse has a square body format. But such proportions do not make the appearance of the Akhal-Teke citizen angular. It is worth looking at a representative of the Akhal-Teke breed once in order to recognize these horses among other breeds.
Let's figure out what makes the horses of the Akhal-Teke breed so recognizable.
- Akhal-Teke people have a very graceful head with expressive eyes. The profile of the horse is straight. The head ends with wide nostrils that do not spoil the aristocratic profile at all. Ears of small size are set high on the head. They fit harmoniously into the image. It should be noted that the ears of the Akhal-Teke horses are unusually mobile. The long neck is graceful and thin enough to match the head.
- The muscles are well developed on straight legs. At the same time, long legs look, like the head, graceful. The leg ends with a miniature but hard hoof. Despite its graceful appearance, the horse is capable of walking more than 200 km per day.
- The muscles are well developed on the long back, the hind part of the body is slightly sloping, the tail is set rather low. The Akhal-Teke horse cannot boast of a lush tail. But it is worth noting that the hair of this breed is thin and soft.
- The chest of the Akhal-Teke breed of horses is not wide, the stomach is tucked up, the ribs are straight.
This is a general description of the breed. But within the breed, there is a division into 3 types. The first type includes tall Akhal-Teke people, which are characterized by long and graceful lines. This type occurs most often in nature. The second type includes the Akhal-Teke people of medium height. Their lines are less graceful as well as less long. The last type is short and stocky horses. Accordingly, they are the least popular.
Color
Akhal-Teke horses have the most varied color. There are even representatives of the isabella suit here.
The Akhal-Teke mare's hair, soft and pleasant to the touch, can be dyed gold with a tinge of red. There are also golden salt and golden bay horses. The brown and black color is no less common, gray color is found.
But the Akhal-Teke horse of the Isabella suit is a rather rare occurrence. The coat has a cream color, which is why sometimes they say not isabella, but cream Akhal-Teke horse. In the photo, she looks like a mythical animal that came from a fairy-tale world. The Akhal-Teke horse of the Isabella color has a pink skin, which is illuminated through a light coat that shimmers in the sun. Purebred representatives of this suit have green or blue eyes.
Isabella can be worth millions of dollars. But even for those who can afford to spend such an amount, it is not so easy to buy them due to their small number.
Character
This Turkmen horse is extremely hardy. Maybe such endurance is inherent in the genotype, or maybe it was formed in the process of life. The Akhal-Teke horse has long participated in races. At the same time, he overcame both short and long distances equally well. Today the Akhal-Teke horse breed is used mainly for riding.
The Akhal-Teke horse takes a change of rider very hard. Having studied the history of the origin of this breed, you can easily explain this fact. The Turkmen tribes are known to have lived at the edge of the desert. Accordingly, it was difficult to get food for animals. In this regard, one family bred no more than 2 stallions. But for the sake of fairness, it should be noted that almost all families had only one foal. Accordingly, from early childhood he was spoiled by the love and attention of the owners, he was considered practically a member of the family. Of course, no one gave their horse into the wrong hands. From time immemorial, an animal has become accustomed to belonging to only one person.
On the neck of the Turkmen Akhal-Teke horse, one could often find adornments in the manufacture of which semi-precious stones were used. The tradition of decorating a horse's neck with such accessories has survived to this day. They do this so that outsiders do not jinx the horse.
It is also worth taking into account that the character of the Akhal-Teke horse is quite capricious. But these whims are due to the origin story. Akhal-Teke requires attention to himself. If the owner does not spend enough time with the horse, communicate with him, then it will be almost impossible to achieve mutual understanding. And in the absence of mutual understanding, you should not rely on the fact that the animal will be obedient. This is the reason why, before purchasing a pet (and the price of the Akhal-Teke horse is quite high), you need to think about whether it is possible to take care of the animal in this way. The fact that the horse does not tolerate long separation from the owner should also be taken into account.
But if you manage to make friends with the Akhal-Teke stallion, he will become a devoted friend for life. He will never harm the owner and his family members. But precisely a friend, not a ward. You cannot dominate this animal.
Features of the
In care, the Akhal-Teke horse is unpretentious. Due to the presence of body fat, it does not need to be fed too often. In addition, the animal does not need large portions. But it is desirable to give the Akhal-Teke horse high-calorie feed. It was them that the Turkmens gave to their pets.
During training, it should be borne in mind that the Akhal-Teke is a purebred breed. Accordingly, when communicating with a horse, you do not need to show aggression. You must become his friend and companion, convince the horse that you are doing a common cause. For such labors, he will reward with excellent results in sports.
Akhal-Teke is resistant to stress, because the ancestors of purebred horses were forced to live in not the best climatic conditions.They were forced to endure both high and low temperatures. Today Akhal-Teke is able to withstand both 30-degree heat and severe frost (down to -50 ° C). Not every horse can survive at this temperature.
Outwardly, the Akhal-Teke, especially of the Isabella suit, looks elegant. When looking at a horse, it is difficult to believe that it is a hardy and strong animal. The graceful movements of the horse are also confusing. But such grace most likely arose due to the fact that the horses were forced to walk on quicksand.
Why should it cost to start Akhal-Teke residents
Any animal has a specific purpose. Some horses are bred to work in the field, some horses are excellent cabbies, and some horses can be considered athletes. Akhal-Teke has great potential as an athlete. The horse is capable of successfully performing at the races, while showing amazing results. Endurance allows horses of this breed to compete for prizes over long distances. At the same time, the horses quickly recover after the competition. There are several hippodromes in Russia where you can admire the sports achievements of Akhal-Teke people.
Horse racing is not the only type of competition where representatives of the oldest breed can show themselves. Due to the fact that they lend themselves well to training, Akhal-Teke athletes take part in dressage and triathlon. These disciplines require the horse to be able to make beautiful gaits, pirouettes, passages, etc. But training representatives of this breed is not an easy task. A mentor must have a lot of patience and really love horses. Akhal-Teke does not like monotony and will not obey unconditionally, therefore the training process must be thought out correctly. But if a common language with the horse is found, then he will be ready for anything to get the desired reward.
How to choose a stallion
The price of horses of the Akhal-Teke breed depends on several factors. First of all, it is the purity of the breed. Not only are mongrel horses flawed in appearance, they are also less resilient. Also, the purity of the breed affects the manner of walking - if you need a horse to participate in competitions, it is better not to save money when buying.
Also, the color of the foal affects the cost of the foal. A horse, for example, of a dun color will cost less than a horse of an isabella color. Stallion gender and parentage are two other factors that affect pricing. Do not exaggerate the importance of pedigree. The descendants of famous horses do not always win awards. It is worth paying attention to the presence of inherited diseases in horses. You also need to look at the appearance, the length of the lines and the height of the horses that participated in the crossing. The appearance of a foal largely depends on the genotype of the parents.
A thoroughbred stallion with good genetics can cost more than $ 10,000. You will have to pay 4 times less for a half-breed. You can save money if you buy a stallion online by reading message boards. But such a purchase is very risky. It will be impossible to check the pedigree, assess the health of the animal. The only opportunity is to look at the photo of the Akhal-Teke horse.
It is best to go shopping at the nursery. They make sure that only healthy individuals who do not have a predisposition to genetic diseases are allowed to cross. For example, if parents have problems with joints, this will certainly manifest itself in some generation. Such a horse will not achieve high results in sports.
Prevalence
In Russia, Akhal-Teke horses are quite common. On the territory of Russia there is a nursery where they breed horses of this breed. However, they are engaged in breeding Akhal-Teke horses not only in Russia.
Scientists note that this breed became almost the progenitor of all riding horse breeds.And this statement is not false.
How many horses of this breed are there in the world today? If we talk about statistical data, then the Akhal-Teke population consists of 3000 heads. As for the suit, the most common are bay horses. Of the total, they make up as much as 40%. The horses of the dun suit account for 20%. The next most popular is the black suit (12%). 11 and 8% each fall on red and gray. Representatives with a nighting color are found 5%, and only 2.5% are horses of isabella color.
In Turkmenistan, where this breed is highly revered, a beauty contest is held among Akhal-Teke horses. At the same time, competitions began to be held, where not only the best horses were determined, but also the best artists, sculptors and photographers depicting horses of the most ancient breed.