It took a few years of corresponding with breed experts and of research before we launched the first complete and free-standing Teke web site "The Akhal-Teke Network" in 1996. The main objective with the web site and the mailing list was to create an international community for the breed.

We learned a lot from the years running the web site but decided to close it when MAAK published their web site as they are the organisation that should host and develop the international site/community for the breed.

When I quickly scanned the archives from the mailing lists, I could see, however, that not much have changed over the years when it comes to topics that are discussed.

I have attached a few from 1996 and 1997.

But first, I could not resist sharing this picture, published in the Swedish equestrian magazine, "Hästen" in 1994.
It is of Todd and his first real Teke love Guldenze (Kaltaman-Guldjakhan-Gelishikli)


Here is one of the first messages on the mailing list from 1996.

Maybe we should get the ball rolling by presenting ourselves.
Just tell a little about your selves, where you're from and whatyou do. Don't forget of course what your interest is in Akhal Tekes!!
Here's the current list of subscribers to OUR list:
AkhalTeke@AOL.COM Raija Kirsch
EAJohanson@AOL.COM EA Johanson
mightyjoy@AOL.COM Mighty Joy
tekke@AON.AT Lindberg A. Rauter
liz.paul@CALI.CO.UK Liz Paul
cathy@CRYSTALGATE.COM Cathy Leddy
ATLIST@GLN.SE Mail-In Database
jessica@GLN.SE Jessica Eile
todd@GLN.SE Todd Keith
ingrid@PRAIRIENET.ORG Ingrid PNET
ge.s@SAEVE.GOTLAND.SE Gun Eile
You can at any time get this information by sending
"REVIEW AKHALTEKE" to "LISTSERV@GUL.AKHALTEKE.ORG"
I'll start by saying that my name is Todd Keith.
I'm an American living in Sweden (about one hour
north of Stockholm). My wife and mother-in-law (both on
this list) got me interested in Akhal Tekes about 6-7 years
ago (I'll let them explain more). Me and my wife Jessica
have our own Computer Consultant firm and thus the access to Internet and this List server....
We live in the country with our 5 Akhal Tekes along with
2 daughters (3 years and 9 months), 2 dogs, 6 peacocks,
1 donkey and 1 Akhal Teke/Swedish partbred crossbred.
Well that's enough to get the ball rolling.......:-)))
Todd

Here are some postings on popular topics

Teke colors from 1996


>It seems that the Turkmen slaughtered cremellos/perlinos. They are afraid >of blue (eye color of a cremello/perlino), (I think Tatyana said it mean >bad luck, can't remember for sure).

To this I have had contrary information from several (and also turkmenian) anthropologists and experts on turkmenian mores, which is sustained not only by their findings, but also via the breed itself.

What they say is that before the arabs brought Islam to Turkmenia the turkmenians were "sun worshippers" and incorporated some of that religion into the islamic one. They do use the sign of the blue eye to *ward off* evil and they also preferred the very light yellow and the red colours which resemble their ancient "god", the sun, in its various stages. These scientists actually say that in pre-1900 time blue eyes were regarded as a special protection against bad luck. There are charms one can buy in the bazaars against the "bad" or against being given the "evil eye" which are a blue eye.

I never checked up on that info (will do if you want that), but I tend to believe it, as actually there are far too many cremellos/perlinos in the body of the breed, for any severe dislike of them. Apart from the colour breeds like Palomino and American Cream/White you do not find anywhere else so many and so regularly dropping foals of these colours, which also are to boot never carrying truly lethal genes or turn out to be real albinos (contrary to many of the cremellos which fall unwanted among other breeds Akhal Teke creams almost never have problems and if only very slight ones with their eyesight or with the sun), and - there are actually many turkmenian-bred cremellos. If they had truly slaughtered regularly/as a rule the cremello/perlino-coloured foals the result surely should have been the same as it is for all the other breeds where certain restrictions are enacted (which is that such a colour is extremely rare in the body of the breed).

There also are several breeds which have as a breed-specific colour one of the light, yellow colour or a red colour, meaning the whole breed is either dun/buckskin (e.g. Fjord, Buckskin), palomino (e.g. Haflinger, Kinsky), sorrel (e.g. Kirkjubaer Icelander) or chestnut. Even though these light colours are genetically anchored these breeds do *not* have larger percentages of cream foals than other (non-cremello allowing or yellow/red oriented) breeds. Which proves that it would have been possible to have a sun-oriented "yellow" or "red" colouring without the blue eyes or a large percentage of cream foals. This isn't the case for Akhal Teke.

Lastly, the very old scriptures and reports on the turkmenian horses always *include* a description of cremello horses. Strato f.e. called them "rainbow-coloured" and specifically spoke of them. The reason for this can only be that the colour was prominently there *and* too unusual (from the viewpoint of the outsiders looking for turkmen horses) to pass by unmentioned.

I do know however that the colour is "disliked" by many russian breeders and generally disliked or even forbidden in many international breeds. They try to avoid it and never pair very light horses for fear of getting a cream coloured foal (e.g. Mr. Klimuk never pairs, unless he cannot really avoid it, two duns or two palominos or a dun with a palomino or a cremello/perlino with either).It naturally might be the case that - once the turkmenians were more influenced than earlier by western ideas and wishes - their opinions on cremellos have changed. This would have been first the case from the 17th century on and certainly with the beginning of the 19th century. The anthropological research I referred to dealt mostly with turkmenian mores/religion before this.

A problem is also, that descriptions/names of colours changed with the 7th studbook. Before that the cremellos/perlinos were not called "Isabellovaia" as they are today, however there can be at least 4 different names found for "white/grey" (among which is a "very white white" and one which says "white hair"), 3 for palominos (among which is a "very light palomino" which was applied to horses looking like cremellos on photos), 3 for duns (among which is a "very light dun"), plus a couple of descriptions which read also as resembling some very light colours. Starting with the 7th studbook (thus with the time Tatiana was responsible) the colour descriptions have lessened in number and now roughly adhere to international rules. What is curious in all this, is that many of the "very white", "very light palomino" and "very light dun" horses, as well as several of those with the curious descriptions look on photos a lot like either cremellos, perlinos or borderlines of those colours.

I also have read somewhere that the Yomud (or Yamoud) and other turkmenian/iranian tribes/nomads further south indeed did dislike blue-eyed horses. I'll try to find that report/passge of a book again.

Still, I wonder how so many (up to 2-3% relative to the breeding period, studbook) cremellos/perlinos can regularly fall, if the colour was cause for killing those horses a mere couple of decades ago and for such a long time (from at least 300 AC to 1900 AC if the turkmen truly hated them). In other breeds, where that colour is openly discouraged and forbidden in breeding, the percentage is well below 1%, in the 0,0xxx numbers, and breeds like f.e. the Hannoverian or Wurttemberger, where all other colours apart from this are allowed and which are only roughly 3-400 years old as regulated breeds, they have practically no creams, only - if at all - an occasional true albino.

The cremello/perlino colour is certainly a curiosity of the Akhal Teke breed and especially breeders who have these colours in their folds might be interested in following this up. Anyone who wants to do this, maybe we could set up a research group on this?

Teke training from 1997
>What Ann and Raija wrote about the owners responsiblity for his horse
>brings forth another question:
>how do you all train your horses?
>I mean from the very beginning!
>Since the AT is known to be no easy horse for people with a hard hand >I would like to know how you handle yours (and your other horses).
We have two purebred two-year-old fillies and one partbred(Swedish Halfbred) four year old mare at the moment, that we have bred ourselves. The first two years of our horses lives we work a lot on socializing, before we let our two-year-olds out on summer grazing??, May to September in Sweden, we want them to do the following; be used to and comfortable with saddle,bridle and blankets. Stand still when being cross tied and groomed, be comfortable with the farrier, be able to walk obediently by hand in walk and trot and to stand still while being examined. Walk onto a trailer and travel without being to stressed. Work on the lounge?? and obey the commands stop, walk, trot and galopp. We work with the horses till they do all this with joy and pleasure, that is the most important when we work with our horses, teamwork and harmony.
>What theories or plans do you follow when you break in (is there really >no other expression in english?) a young horse and how do you educate >them to become willing, alert, courageous and save partners?
Horsebreaking is a terrible word, that is not what we do in Europe.
When our horses turns three years old they have been in a riding house
and have jumped a few small fences, which they often find very enjoying, our partbred is a very good jumper and moves really good.
Before we let our three-year-olds out for grazing in May we ride them in straight ahead, they spend a lot of time in different types of nature,
sand,
forests, fields in that way we think they learn to look where they are
putting
their feet and they get a lot of drive to move forward.
We want them to work
in a forward, downward form the first year of riding. To spend a lot of
time
with the young horse in different places is a good way to make the horse team up with you, he will also learn to trust you.
When the three-year-old
is comfortable with being ridden and works in a satisfying form we let him rest for a couple of months.
Our partbred is in this stage now, she's
getting started now for more intense dressage and condition training.
At five years old it is time for the first jumping and dressage competitions.
This is shortly how we train our horses!
>Do you
>follow European tracks or rather western-riding traditons or did any of >you ever try alternative methods? How many of you for example have >studied Pat Parelli's methods and practise them?
Please tell us more on Pat Parelli's and your methods!
So long
Jessica
By the way, any Teke babies yet?

Teke type 1997
>My observations have concluded that there are too many horses used for
>breeding that have significant faults. Since I have seen so many with
>ewe necks and long backs I wondered whether breeders accepted these >traits in their breeding programs.

As I do not cease to repeat, and please go there and verify yourself if you do not believe me, that faults are WANTED, they are BRED FOR and f.e. a horse with a moderate instead of long back or a medium instead of long swanny neck will not be graded well! So do not wonder that there are these faults, they did not get there perchance. I do not even contend that they shouldn't do this, it's their breed, what I personally contend is that it's so exclusive, that it is so forced upon everyone. Tatiana may "say" that each type that you like is for you ideal, but she can say that tongue-in-cheek, anyone doing something else won't be acceptable in the breed shows and will be downgraded in the studbooks. So there's no incentive to breed differently. And breeding a warmbloody, correct-conformation horse in the image of european classical sporthorses certainly is NOT any solution, that's just the other extreme. This means that you will have a light Trakehner with the Teke breed name and also is not what originally was bred.

Todd's online studbook 1997
Hi all!
I've re-vamped our web site.... I've added my studbook database
(Articles - Studbook) for ALPHA (!!!) testing. Take a look and
let me know what you think. Please let me know of any errors too!
I still haven't figured out how to get the Russian names to display correctly......
Todd

1. Heather Mahoney08/16/2006 12:07:26

Jessica,
I found your historical post very interesting, and very much appreciated the opportunity to look it over. It made me laugh a little at how far we've come technologically in such a short period of time. In 1996 my family did not even own a computer, and now I am posting on a blog that is read literally around the world!
It is intriguing to me that some of the issues mentioned above are so similar to what we frequently discuss now. It makes me curious if the Akhal-Teke world is somewhat static, and what other's perceptions of this will be as well. For instance, you mentioned above about breeding FOR flaws, and encourage readers to go "see for themselves." Do you think that your views on what is and isn't a "fault" has altered over time, or are your opinions constant? Let me clarify, however, that I am referring to phenotypic characteristics specifically, and not genetic "disorders" like crypto, etc. Intriguing post though. Much appreciated.
Cheers!
Heather