Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Ancient Akhal Teke - The Horse With The Metallic Sheen - Full Article

By : Crystal A.
Submitted 2010-01-21

The Akhal Teke is a hot blooded horse from the southern region of Turkmenistan, in northern Iran. Its name identifies the Teke tribe from the Akhal oasis located in the arid plains on the Northern slopes of the Kopet Dag Mountains.

It has been assumed that the Akhal Teke is descended from the ancient Tarpan Horses and Przewalski Horses of southern Asia or from the ancient Turkmene Horse that was developed in Russia from Asiatic stock that was originally thought to be an ancient Scythian type and one of the four original horse types that crossed the Bering Strait from North America during prehistoric times.

The Scythians were nomadic people and among the earliest people to master the art of riding in 8th and 7th centuries B.C. As early as 700 BC they had huge cavalries and the Akhal Teke horses were originally bred as war and raiding horses and renowned as cavalry mounts and racehorses for nearly 3,000 years.

From the Scythians, the nomadic Teke people descended and regularly traveled to summer or winter ranges. This meant that they often came in conflict with other nomadic tribes doing similar travels. This led to the Tekes invading these tribes to take what was necessary and then ride off on their swift horses. So they bred animals of incredible stamina and fiery temperament to withstand these long distance raiding journeys.


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