The Akhal-Teke Horse

The Akhal-Teke horse is a truly amazing and abnormal equine. It is also known as the Turkmen, which relates to the area of the world it comes from; the deserts of Turkmenistan, a region to the north of Iran and to the east of the Caspian Sea.

The Akhal-Teke horse is a very slim horse, with an elegant head and slender legs. They are often an odd golden sheen like a Palomino – just much, much brighter and more polished. But they also come in the colours of bay, chestnut, grey and black.

This breed of horse is renowned for their devotion to their owners. This may be due to the method of training that a young horse was trained by. An Akhal–Teke horse in training would be kept alone and treated unkindly by everyone but his owner. This made these horses become incredibly devoted, but with a slightly difficult temperament.

Akhal–Teke horses are surprisingly good jumpers, unlike most other desert horses such as the Arabian and Barb. They are rather rare, not the sort of horse you'd normally see at a horse show or competition. They stand from about 15.1 to 15.2 hands, not very big, but they still are hugely agile and striking.