This unique breed is not less than three thousand years old. The Akhal-Teke is a direct descendant of the horses of the Massagetae, the Bactrians and the Alans which were famous in antiquity. In ancient Persia these horses were known as Nisaean and several centuries later - as Parthian, but they were always spoken of as the best in the world. In the second century B.C. the Roman historian Oppian wrote of them: "These horses, worthy of the most powerful rulers, are strikingly beautiful in appearance, they move lightly under the rider and lightly accept the bit; the head with its Roman nose is carried high and their golden manes flow majestically in the wind."
 

After studying most of the relevant historical, archeological and literary data, modern specialists (V. Firsov, K. Gorelov, V. Witt, V. Kovalevskaya, E. Ershova, M. Belonogov and others) came to the conclusion that the Akhal-Teke breed is a strain of the ancient racehorse that has developed independently. For many centuries no other breed could compare with it in respect of size, strength, speed and distinctive beauty.

The antiquity of the breed is beyond dispute, but no specialist, either now or in the past has been able to explain the appearance of such a horse on the territory of modern Central Asia. Its unusual appearance is unlike that of any of the ancient types of equines. Consequently the theory that this remarkable breed originated outside the area merits consideration and in the light of recent archeological findings in the Altai a number of specialists support this view.

There is clear evidence in modern literature on the subject that these horses were instrumental in the creation of such world famous breeds as the Arabian and the English Thoroughbred and in the improvement of breeds of horses in Russia, Europe and the Near and Middle East. In the words of Professor Witt, the Akhal-Teke horse "possesses the last drop of that valuable blood from which all the breeds of well-bred horses have been developed."

THE DIVINE ARGAMAK

In the Middle Ages the horses of the Central Asian civilisations of antiquity passed into the hands of the Turkmens who kept pure the blood of these priceless animals as their qualities surpassed those of all other breeds. After the annexation of Turkmenia to the Russian Empire in l88l the Turkmen horse became known as the Akhal-Teke combining the name of the Teke Turkmen tribe and the Akhal oasis in the foothills of the Kopet-Dag mountains. At that time the horses there were kept singly, as part of the household, surrounded by love and affection and fed light but highly nutritious food such as alfalfa, barley and pellets containing mutton fat. Because the owner depended on his horse for his wellbeing and his very life, no expense was spared in its care and maintenance. As an old Turkmen saying goes: "The owner who rears a good horse turns into a lean dog." But the horse repaid his owner with an exceptional devotion. Mistrustful of strangers, he gave his heart to his one and only friend.