Date: August 2002
Q: Most horse people in the western world love fat horses and I have observed in the past that
AT's which everyone could recognize as being an AT on my farm,have muted to
a shape just as a warmblood, since they have a new owner.

A: I have seen very few fat Akhal-Tekes, but far to many undernourished Tekes
in Russia and Europe.
Tony Pavord writes on condition; "Bodily condition should be neither thin
nor fat. The sceletal structure should be well covered with healthy, fit
muscle, rounding the contours of the body. In a young horse muscles will be
soft, becoming harder and more clearly defined as the horse grows older and
starts to work.
Roles of fat indicating a horse that is overweight are easily identified.
Conversely lack of condition is when the ribs become plainly visible muscle
wastage occurs along the back, over the loins and in the large muscles of
the quarters."

I have not yet met any horse person in the western world that love fat
horses but they do like and are used to fit horses with well developed
muscles and good condition.
The look of the horse depends on its type, those breeders and owners of
Akhal-Tekes that keep their horses in poor condition and explains lack of
muscles and thin horses by the fact that the Akhal-Tekes are desert horses
used to no food have little knowledge in horse keeping and about the Akhal-
Teke type.

I have noticed that the main type of Akhal-Tekes does not have the ability
to get fat, they keep their dry, greyhoundlike constitutin no matter how
much food they get. The massive type of Akhal-Teke though seem to be able
to gain a lot more from protein rich food.

I do not think that an Akhal-Teke can mutate to a warmblood only by food
and training. The "warmblood type" Akhal-Teke is achieved by selection of
the breeding material.