Date: Nov 1999
Q: Can someone tell me what the winters are like in Turkmenistan, and how much of a winter coat a Teke grows?

A: A:The winters in Turkmenistan are harsh but not as cold as here in the middle of Sweden where I live.
My experience is that the Tekes grow a winter coat not as thick as our
native breeds, but still manage the cold winter here. What makes them
get cold is the lack of subcutane fat, some of our horses are very dry and therefore have no isolating fat to keep them warm, while the massive type Tekes we have with more subcutane fat manage without blankets in the Swedish winter ( with a lot of extra food though).

II: I would like to answer first about what I know on the Turkmenian winter, cause I was in winter once there so windy not very cold ( comparing to Moscow) it can go down sometimes to -10 0r -15 , but the difference in the temperature between the day and the night is so big , and that's one of the factors which gives a value for the physiology of these horses .
About the coat they can get a hair about 2 or 3 cm
( depends also on the age and the health condition )
My mares stay outside all day long down to -25 without any problems .
Guy Khoury