It has been a dry summer and also a dry fall, which means dusty arena and poor growth of grass. The prices for hay that are already high are supposed to increase due to shortage of the local coastal hay.
We do hope that we will not see to many thin, emancipated horses during this winter. The worst case horse owners actually starve their horses during the winter when there is no hay, some owners are very well aware of how thin and emancipated they can allow their horses to get before they die or before the authorities can do something.
Some people say that the wealth of a country should be measured on how the country cares for its children, to protect them from violence, illness and violence, as well as give them a good education. I would like to translate this into a breed, the success of a breed is much depending on how we care for the individual horses, that we all care for that no Tekes are being treated badly, starved or denied a possibility to a good education to become nice, well developed, user friendly horses that we all can be proud of. I would like to encourage each and everyone to call on the authorities if you have visited a farm where horses are starved or abused.
The fact that some owners/breeders can continue year after year to abuse and starve defenseless horses is a shame for all of those that went there and did nothing. Call the authorities, our breed deserves it. The starvers and abusers of Tekes does really work against those of us who wants to show the Tekes as high quality animals, that where once owned and sought after by kings, emperors, khans and czars.
I have attached a photo of a young Teke filly that was sold from a rather large breeder in Europe to a first time buyer of Tekes, what did she do to deserve being starved to almost nothing? Is this the way we want to promote our breed to the public?
The lack of actions from the Teke community against the starvers and abusers is also observed outside our community by horse people that wonder how we Teke owners really value our breed.
Next time you see a Teke in the condition of the horse below, call the authorities, they know how to evaluate situations and they do know how to see the difference between a slighlty thin horse due to growth spurts or a dry horse from a starvation and abuse case.

1. Heather11/07/2006 15:18:22

Jessica,
That picture is horrific! I am horrified that someone would sell an animal in such condition. I mean, better for the horse that it was sold, but what on earth was the breeder thinking? Even after gaining weight, a horse in this condition likely has some structural issues from malnutrition. If this is not an uncommon occurance, than your post has substantial merit.

2. Darya11/07/2006 15:25:55
Homepage: http://www.avatstud.com

What a lovely filly and what a shame! I hope she recovers well with a new owner and goes on to be a wonderful horse to enjoy. She has got such a sweet look on her face, what a shame!

3. ingrid Hovik11/08/2006 03:22:11

Usj...it makes me want to cry when I see horses like that- AT or not - no animal deserve that!!!
Hopefully the filly is doing better now - it would be nice to see a picture of her when she has put on some weight and got some attention!
No horse/animal deserve that kind of treatment!!!
There is a difference between AT and "warmblood riding horse", as youngster, but not like this! I agree - speak up when you see a AT like this - that is no good promotion for any of us that loves the breed!!!

4. Blanca11/08/2006 08:36:52

Some of you know that I bought Ardon, my horse, in Kazakhstan, in the nineties, when in this country has no money/possibilities to feed the horses. Mine was lucky for belonging to a private owner who paid for the food, he had the right to proper feeding. But the poor horses owned by the State were suffering from lack of hay and grain.

Well, all to say that horses in Kazakhstan at that time looked MUCH BETTER than this poor filly.

BUT:

I heard once, from a breeder here in Europe, that a typical AT has its ribs visible...

An excuse for:
1) not to feed the horse?
2) compesante the lack of typicalness?

5. maria11/09/2006 06:38:23

Yes, Blanca, I have heard the same advice about the ribs from a prominent member of the GB Society... On a humorous note, Mualim has an extraordinary appetite, as I might have mentioned... I regularly get comments from people who help to look after him, when I explain what they need to give him to eat: "Oh yes, of course, your horse is in training for Grand National", or "He does get through SOME hay, doesn't he?". I must admit though, he is the greediest AT I have met and deserves the name someone recently called him: "Kolobok".

6. Hans-Jurg Buss11/09/2006 07:42:51

Blanca, when I "entered" into this breed I heard the same stupid phrases. The horses of that breeder looked accordingly. It is really just an excuse for the two points you mentioned. When we look at the pictures of all the famous stallions and mares in Russia and Turkmenistan of last century we can not really see the ribs of these outstanding Tekes. They are all well muscled and well fed.

7. Darya11/09/2006 08:38:34
Homepage: http://www.avatstud.com

I think it is not so much the ribs on that horse that show off bad condition, it is the hips, legs and the neck. Ribs can be a bit decieving when trying to judge horse's condition, but when I see such massive dips on the hips/croupe, that is really scary.