Hi!
Being new to Internet (et al.) I certainly at once browsed on my favourite
subject, the Akhal Teke (after loading our homepage on the breed...) and I
discovered a (to me, excuse me!!!) somewhat curious discussion on the
subject.
But let me explain a little bit about my "self" first, so that you maybe can
understand my reactions. I am an active breeder and rider of the breed,
owning a stallion, broodmares and offspring. I am also founder and at the
moment president of the international Akhal Teke association "IGATER" and
founding member of the "World Organisation for Breeding of Akhal Teke
Thoroughbred, Highbred and Partbred Horses". Apart from this I am an author
(research on early horses, domestication of the horse, Akhal Teke, etc.), a
horse-artist (paintings) and artisan (tack) - thus just about everything in
my life revolves around "The Horse", and especially around the Akhal Teke.
Thus my first reaction on reading your discussion was a slight shock, shock
because the apparent standart of information on the breed appeared not only
very low, but also slightly "off". This was deepened when I tried other
sources and homepages on the breed, which all were evidence of false or low
information and several grave misconceptions about the breed. I actually
liked best the reaction of "laney@ix.netcom.com", whoever she is. What - to
me - was really cause for being shocked is the fact, that Akhal Teke are bred
for quite a couple of years in the USA and that one should expect more public
knowledge. True, the Akhal Teke is very rare in the US, yet it should be the
goal of breeders or associations to give every scrap of information to the
public and there seems to be something missing.
With this back to the actual discussion on Akhal Teke. I advise anyone really
interested in the breed to read through (!) IGATER's homepage on the breed.
There you will find just about any information available on the breed and the
homepage is continuously added to (the best would be to download the complete
page, as it is quite encompassing and should be read "offline" and at
leisure), it gives exhausting information on history, breeding, owning and
riding, buying, has regularly updated pages with news, horses at stud or for
sale, etc.etc., along with photos of most of the important stallions, lines
and people. There also are adresses, ongoing discussions and questions
answered.
It does explain about "conformation faults" so often talked about, which - to
explain here in short - are actually none or are very similar to those of
most endurance breeds (e.g. the Apaloosa has/had the same sabre-legs, the
Icelandic horse has the cow-hocks and french-toes, etc..) or have been
introduced into the breed AFTER the change of studmanagement at the turn of
the century (for example: the extremely long backs are a rather new
acquisition, introduced by the preference of russian studmanagers for the
conformation of stallion Boinou, the long necks also are new in their present
extremes, they came to fashion in the late 70ies with another stallion).
Pre-1900 Teke had actually no conformation faults when regarded with the eye
of someone who wants to use Teke as they were used by the nomads, for long
and fast treks. Sabre-legs put the horse "on the point", meaning that it not
only already and naturally bears more weight on its hindquarters, it also
tends to be a very easy "turn" (change of direction on place), french toes
and cow hocks are actually a point in favour for outdoor horses, when they
are a breed characteristic (and not a crop up in a breed where they are
unusual), and nearly all of the endurance, long-distance and outdoors breeds
have them, they further sure-footedness and ability on difficult going.
Most conformation faults are defined by those from outside looking in.
Naturally to a dressage horse breeder the ewe-neck of many Teke seems to be a
fault, as it actually IS a fault to someone who wants to ride dressage. But
the Teke NEVER (!) was bred to be a dressage horse (though there are some who
continue to believe this nonsense), the Teke was bred to be a warhorse and it
is simply insignificant for a warhorse whether its neck is convexe or
concave, as the breed is perfectly ridable with either neck form.
This goes for any other so-called "conformation fault", with the exception of
those incited by "fashionable" breeding during this century.
Next - partbreeding the Teke with the Arabian is a good idea...as long as you
know exactly what you are doing, just as mentioned in your discussion. If you
want a ridable horse, bred for endurance, you have to go for the
"unsensational" arabian broodmare, which means a mare with a very straight
profile (and whose ancestors also had straight noses), with a straight
backline (no saggy backs allowed as is often the case among the asile
show-horses) and with a preponderance of ancestory in the pedigree which were
ridden and not just showed. Probably the best strains to partbred with are
those of the "Mun'iqui" arabians, as they had large AT infusions as late as
the 18th century, the Marbach lines, as they too have lots of AT blood as
late as the 19th century and the arabians bred by the Tahlawi beduins.
Another very good choice to partbred AT with are the English Thoroughbreds of
the stayer type or the african barb. Certainly NO good choice is the
Quarterhorse, as mentioned in your pages. The Quarter is a breed belonging
more to the northern body type among horses, its bones are thick in
circumference, yet coarse-grained and the bone-structure is physically not
very strong (thus imagine a foal with the narrow cannon-bone of the AT, but
instead of the AT's strong and fine-grained structure with the coarse
structure of the Quarter...), its mucles are especially (!) geared for short
bursts of speed, those of the Teke have been bred for milennia for long
distances, the Quarter is a horse especially bred for high bodymass and
calibre, again the Teke is the complete contrast, etc.etc.. The result is a
foal with in-built weaknesses, which makes it a sure candidate for illness
and break-down. Such a foal may (not is) be the base for a breeding essay for
a new breed, but usable and healthy horses will not be bred in such an essay
before the R1 or R2 generation, maybe even much later. Thus - for a usable
partbred this cross is absolutely against any breeding rule!
The AT crosses well with all "southern" breeds, meaning the breeds of the
African continent, Eurasia, India, etc.. It also crosses well with
thoroughbreds (Arabian, English) and any other breed similar to its phenotype
(meagre, longfibred and flat muscles, low calibre, high tolerance for heat,
fine-grained cellular structure, etc.), in the US - apart from the
thoroughbreds - such breeds might be the mustang of the southern regions, the
Saddlebred, the Trotter, the Tennessee Walker and several south american
breeds.
Lastly - my overall impression of the various comments is that more people
seem to think that the Teke has a good colour and looks gorgeous, than have
actually thought through what this horse actually is. In fact - to the
nomads, colour and looks were of no importance at all, it was simply the
climate which furthered the metallic sheen in the coats. Important is what
one can do with such a horse and it should not be regarded as some crazy
exotic freak, it should be regarded as the ancestor and founder of two of the
most important breeds today, it should be viewed as a "doer", a really
practical horse, and it should be regarded as a horse for endurance and
trekking.And just as important is that Americans begin to understand that not
every horse which is said to be an Akhal Teke actually is one! I have
remarked on the fact that there are offers for "Akhal Teke" which are simply
the partbreds of partbreds and they are called by the breed's name.
I know that there are few Teke in the US, but this must not necessarily stay
so. If you read our pages on horses for sale, which (do and will; the page is
added to weekly) contain horses from all over, you will find true Teke so far
below th US-prices (which are hopelessly overpriced sometimes), that to
import is a real alternative.
So far for today, if you want to discuss on the subject, our homepage and
e-mail adress are at your service, we will upload letters and participation
every week.
Bye-bye
Raija Kirsch
President of IGATER
Studfarm Akkal
P.S. : Am writing as "guest" at the moment, return only (!) to e-mail adress
above!!!!