06/17/2025
“Survival of the Akhal-Teke Breed, Part Two”
In Part One last week, we looked at the need for Akhal-Teke numbers to go up, while maintaining both horse quality and breed genetic diversity.
Now we’ll ask, “How can Akhal-Teke numbers be increased, to ensure survival of this ancient breed in our time?”
The current general practice of Akhal-Teke breeding, particularly in North America, involves small independent breeders breeding their mares and selling young horses.
And like most horses of about any breed, most of the 300 or so Akhal-Teke horses in North America are used for competition or pleasure, and are rarely bred.
Of course this is the case, because only a tiny fraction of horse owners are horse breeders.
In fact, the current breeding practice generally produces Akhal-Tekes who will get bred one or twice, if at all, during their reproductive period. The actual result of the current general breeding practice — despite all the great intentions, incredible commitment, and major sacrifices of small independent breeders — is a shrinking population.
In order for Akhal-Teke horses to be more available to riders — to actually increase the Akhal-Teke population to a sustainable level — there needs to be a breeding pool much larger than what exists in North America today. And the current practice, which results in most horses never being bred, will just not do it.
The Akhal-Teke Foundation has run the numbers. Because horse reproduction is so slow, with at most one foal per year per reproducing mare, to grow the minimum sustainable breeding population will require keeping virtually every good mare, and every good filly produced, within that breeding pool … for a period of 15 to 20 years. And there is no way a commercial breeder can go without selling horses for 20 years.
And the breed registry for Akhal-Tekes only allows embryo transfer to a purebred Akhal-Teke recipient mare.
This is why the ATF is building and supporting a core publicly-held, nonprofit-owned genetically diverse breeding herd of Akhal-Tekes. Currently we support 25 purebreds at the nonprofit Akhal-Teke Center in Lexington, Virginia. A solid foundation herd with about 100 mares and 10 stallions is projected as a useful target to meet the needs of the breed.
Concurrently, the ATF is collaborating with the Livestock Conservancy to develop one of the first endangered equine breed recovery plans, including a complete North American breed census, detailed pedigree-based herd book analysis, and setting robust goals for a sustainable population.
While the ATF is taking on a “buck stops here” kind of role for the future of the Akhal-Teke breed on our continent, the project will only succeed with community involvement and support.
Crucial to Akhal-Teke recovery is supporting the network of responsible Akhal-Teke breeders, including making a diversity of genetics available for commercial breeding programs; assisting breeders in making pairing choices based on genetics; mentoring new breeders; connecting the breeding community to assist in genetic diversity and breeding underrepresented bloodlines; and growing a cryogenic archive of purebred Akhal-Teke horses, including frozen semen and cell lines.
Equally crucial is community support for the foundation’s role in this generational project. There are many ways to help:
https://www.akhaltekefoundation.org/supporters.html
What’s the urgency?
“Once the genetics are gone, they’re gone forever.”
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Join our email list:
https://www.akhaltekefoundation.org/email_list.html
Help the endangered Akhal-Tekes survive and thrive:
https://akhaltekefoundation.networkforgood.com
📷 Akhal-Teke filly Swan Altyn Alma, (Anikit x Arima, 2023) with her dam Arima (Arim x Annuschka, 2014). Photo by Ellen L Chappell Photography.
