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[RC] Breeder a political prisoner - Lynn White

This is kind of a long story, but a premier breeder
(Geldy
Kyarizov) of Akhal-Teke horses in Turkmenistan (TM)
has been a political  prisoner since January of 2002.
Only by a miracle has he managed to
survive his ordeal, but I guess he looks like a
survivor of a
concentration camp. His family is taking care of his
90 horses with
the help of donations. I think only a handful of
horses have died of
starvation. Most look relatively fabulous now. If you
want to read
more about Geldy's situation, please check out the
link below:

http://www.gsuttle.free-online.co.uk/geldy_and_the_at.htm

Anyway, with the death of the TM president things are
really
unstable over there. A couple weeks ago the government
started
bulldozing the stables and fences.  Though the
destruction has stopped, many of the stallions and
mares have no shelter. Southern TM is desert, so in
the winter the nights get really cold.  Traditionally
the Turkoman nomads would tether their horses to a
line and cover them with a thick felt blanket.  It
looks like this is going to have to be the case for
these horses for a while.  By law the family can?t
even sell their horses to outsiders.  I had originally
considered sending donated used blankets for these
horses, but the cost of shipping to TM is outrageous,
and the family can purchase felt blankets for $10
each.  So probably the best alternate would be to send
funding to the family.  This family has no income, and
when one is a political prisoner, they and their
family become persona non grata to everyone else. 
Food is not provided to prisoners in TM so families
have to send food and medicine to their loved ones in
prison. The fear climate is really similar to that of
North Korea?if that gives you an idea of what it?s
like over there. 


I know many endurance people don't know about
Akhal-Teke (AT)
horses, but they are rare, only about 3000 purebreds
in the world.   Geldy?s heard is one of the best in
the world?in fact the horse on the TM flag was bred by
Geldy.  Many consider AT's the OLDEST breed in the
world. They have been used as foundation stallions for
many Russian breeds (the Orlov and the Don),
warmbloods (the Trakehner), and most likely the
Thoroughbred. They are a priceless gene pool to the
equine world. They are awesome endurance horses...the
few that participate in endurance do quite well.
Ramona Thacker's horse Midnights Sky's Shiraz  is half
AT.

So if you want to help, you can check out the link
above or email me privately.  There is a lady in
Washington state that sends funds monthly to the
family via Western Union.  I can give you her email as
well.  Any little bit helps.  We?ve managed to keep
Geldy?s herd alive this long, and it looks like there
is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks!

-Lynn White
lynndeepoo@xxxxxxxxx




____________________________________________________________________________________
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