Black Akhalteke stallions at Stud

The Akhal-Teke's most notable and defining characteristic is the natural metallic bloom of its coat. This is especially seen in the palominos and buckskins, as well as the lighter bays, although some horses "shimmer" more than others, and is thought to have been used as camouflage in the desert, where the heat causes the desert to shimmer. The Akhal-Teke is known for its form and grace as a show jumper. Also noteworthy are the breed's almond-shaped eyes. The breed is very tough and resilient, due to the harshness of the Turkmenistan lands, where it must live without much food or water. This has also made the horses good for sport. The breed has great endurance, as shown in 1935 when a group of Turkmen horsemen rode the 2500 miles from Ashgabat to Moscow in a mere 84 days, including a three-day crossing of 235 miles of desert without water.

The horses have a fine head with a straight or slightly convex profile, and long ears. The mane and tail is usually sparse. Their long back has little muscle, and is coupled to a flat croup and long, upright neck. The Akhal-Teke possesses a sloping shoulder and thin skin. These horses have strong, tough, but fine limbs, although the hind legs are sometimes sickle-hocked. They have a rather shallow body with a shallow ribcage (like an equine greyhound) but a deep chest, and this shallowness continues to the back of the frame. The conformation is not considered "good" by Western terms, but that is made up for by the breed's great beauty and athletic ability.

In 1935, fifteen Akhal teke horses were requierd to travel from Ashkhabad to moscow on a forced march of approximatley 2,600 miles 3 days with out water, including traveling across the Kar Kum desert of 255 miles. the entire trip lasted approximatley 84 days.

The Akhal teke named "Abset" won the Grande Prix de dressage at the rome Olyimpics in 1960.

The horses are known for speed, strength and flexibility. The Akhal-Teke makes an excellent race horse and is used in all competitive equine sports including endurance, dressage and jumping.

This unique breed is not less than three thousand years old. The Akhal-Teke is a direct descendant of the horses of the Massagetae, the Bactrians and the Alans which were famous in antiquity. In ancient Persia these horses were known as Nisaean and several centuries later - as Parthian, but they were always spoken of as the best in the world. In the second century B.C. the Roman historian Oppian wrote of them: "These horses, worthy of the most powerful rulers, are strikingly beautiful in appearance, they move lightly under the rider and lightly accept the bit; the head with its Roman nose is carried high and their golden manes flow majestically in the wind."

 The antiquity of the breed is beyond dispute, but no specialist, either now or in the past has been able to explain the appearance of such a horse on the territory of modern Central Asia. Its unusual appearance is unlike that of any of the ancient types of equines. Consequently the theory that this remarkable breed originated outside the area merits consideration and in the light of recent archeological findings in the Altai a number of specialists support this view.

There is clear evidence in modern literature on the subject that these horses were instrumental in the creation of such world famous breeds as the Arabian and the English Thoroughbred and in the improvement of breeds of horses in Russia, Europe and the Near and Middle East. In the words of Professor Witt, the Akhal-Teke horse "possesses the last drop of that valuable blood from which all the breeds of well-bred horses have been developed."

  In the Middle Ages the horses of the Central Asian civilisations of antiquity passed into the hands of the Turkmens who kept pure the blood of these priceless animals as their qualities surpassed those of all other breeds. After the annexation of Turkmenia to the Russian Empire in l88l the Turkmen horse became known as the Akhal-Teke combining the name of the Teke Turkmen tribe and the Akhal oasis in the foothills of the Kopet-Dag mountains. At that time the horses there were kept singly, as part of the household, surrounded by love and affection and fed light but highly nutritious food such as alfalfa, barley and pellets containing mutton fat. Because the owner depended on his horse for his wellbeing and his very life, no expense was spared in its care and maintenance. As an old Turkmen saying goes: "The owner who rears a good horse turns into a lean dog." But the horse repaid his owner with an exceptional devotion. Mistrustful of strangers, he gave his heart to his one and only friend.