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We have included portraits of each of the horses. Most are drawn from standard forensic work on old photographs, many of which were simply too old and too badly copied to reproduce here as they were without having to include some very large files. Some, like that of Toporbai, are based mainly on written descriptions. So far as is known to us, no photographs of Toporbai are available.

Ak Belek

Ak Belek was a grey sabino, foaled 1932 in Turkmenistan and eventually acquired by Soviet Turkmenistan. His name means "White waist," which probably referred to the white sabino (or probably rabicano) markings on his flanks. Ak Belek was the only line sire believed to have been a pinto-and the only one to trace in the tail-male line to an English Thoroughbred.

The line of Ak Belek is rare today, but Thoroughbred grandsire or no, it has been an extremely valuable one. According to Dr. Tatiana Riabova, current editor of the Stud Book:

From the illustration above you can see that this is true. The three Akhal-Teke grandparents have completely overridden the Thoroughbred influence of the fourth, Fortingbrass. Furthermore-and it may in fact be due to the strength lent to him from the outcross -- Ak Belek was well known to sire foals who were every bit as typey as himself. His daughters were particularly successful broodmares.

Ak Sakal

Ak Sakal was of the old line of Chopar Kel and stood 152 cm (15 hands). He was of the Alaman-At type. He participated in the famous Ashkabad-Moscow ride in 1934, and he is the only "line stallion" who does not (as far as we know) trace back to Boinou/Kutli-Sakar in any line. (However, the same cannot be said of most of his offspring or, indeed, any of his grand-get.) Shortly after his birth, his sire the Grey Kurt Bai was sold to Iran.

Of Ak-Sakal's lineage we know very little, even though he was born relatively late in the history of the stud. He is believed to have been purebred, but we know the names of only his tail-male line (back to Chopar Kel) and his dam, Ilyas.

I am still searching for a photo of Ak Sakal.

Arab

Grey, foaled 1930; 157cm (15.2hh)

4 Ag Ishan x Akhal Teke Mare

Why 26 Arab was named that is a mystery, as there was no resemblance to the Arabian about him. He does, however, bear a good resemblance to a heavily-Thoroughbred crossed warmblood, and his line has inherited and been bred for his particular affinity to classical horse sports. For all his fame and long lasting success as a sire and progenitor of horses suited to classical sport, 26 Arab was not officially awarded a line of his own until 1990, after 14 years of evaluation of his descendants by the then Soviet Institute of Horse Breeding.

Today, the Arab line is available through one of two forks: that of Absent and that of Alam. The Absent sub-line is by far the more widely represented in the breed.

A problem crops up, when breeding the line of Arab, that crops up again and again in breeding the line stallions: the problem of type versus performance. Especially in the males, it seems that the better performers are "less typey" and the more "typey" ones better performers. Of the line of Arab, Studbook director Dr. Tatiana Riabova states, "The most appropriate crosses for the Arab line are with the line of Gelishikli, which gets an animal of great endurance and aptitude but who is insufficient in breed type." Other "workable" crossing lines are considered to be those of Kaplan, Skak and Sapar Khan.

Bek Nazar Dor

Bay, foaled 1913, bred privately and ultimately sold to Makhtum-Kala/Soviet Turkmenistan Stud.

Today the actual direct male line of Bek Nazar Dor has been "discontinued;" nevertheless, this stallion features prominently in a great many pedigrees and his influence, along with that of his sire, Bek Nazar Al, is impossible to exaggerate. Between these two stallions is as much influence on the other founding stallions as is that of 2a Boinou himself, and these horses continue to be of phenomenal importance as a broodmare sire and a founder of families of great broodmares.

Bek Nazar was a well-known breeder of Akhal-Teke horses at the turn of the century. He lived in the Geok Tepe region of Turkmenistan but he and his horses were known even outside Turkmenistan itself. The two for which he is most well known are his chestnut (Bek Nazar Al) and his bay Bek Nazar Dor, the chestnut's son. In fact, Bek Nazar sold his Chestnut to Soviet Turkmenistan, but he and his bay were inseparable, the old man desiring that his stallion never be outside his reach. Bek Nazar Dor was his whole life; he lived in no settled place, but rode his stallion from camp to camp during breeding season and acquiring the necessities of their life in return for his stallion's services. Many times Bek Nazar had offers to buy Bek Nazar Dor-he was once offered 50 camels for the horse-but always he refused, saying, "One does not sell one's friends." However, age finally caught up with the old man, and he transferred the stallion to the Akhal-Teke breeding farm "Soviet Turkmenistan," which had once been Zakapiiski/Makhtum Kala. Bek Nazar died soon afterward, but Bek Nazar Dor continued his excellent career at stud. Bek Nazar Al was later sold to the May Day stud, where he died in 1939, leaving behind many daughters said to be "perfect."

Dor Bairam

Bay, foaled 1925, 1.55 m (15.1 hh) at the Soviet Turkmenistan stud.

44 Dor Bairam is another Chopar Kel line stallion this time with a maternal connection to 2a Boinou and Kutli Sakar. He was of excellent size for his time and powerfully muscled, although he did have what the Russians call a "fleshy back."

Like the vast majority of the old line stallions, we know very little about his antecedants, but more than about most. His tail-male line we know, and his dam, her parents, and her sire's line; but nothing more.

Dor Bairam was extensively bred in Turkmenistan, but most of his sons were sold to Kazakhstan to be used in breeding programs there. Like Kir Sakar, Dor Bairam turned out to be an exceptional broodmare sire.

At the present times, the main "stallion continuers" of the Dor Bairam line are the cremello Dagdon, standing at Stavropol, and the grey Smaragd.

El

The founder, 100 El, was foaled in 1932 at the 69th Stud Farm (later to become Komsomol and later still the Niyazov Stud), and as a youngster he was, as Belonogov put it in the Third stud book, "kept in poor condition by underfeeding." Once taken the to Ashkabad Hippodrome, he fared better, and proved to be a quality race horse, doing the 2000 meters (roughly a mile and a quarter) in a respectable 2:24 (compare to an average speed of 2:05 for a Thoroughbred running the same distance) as a four-year-old.

El, whose name means "Wind" or "Power," was a golden bay stallion with a short, plain head on a shortish neck; a long back with a very long loin, an excellent croup, good, dry legs and the curious combination of quite long pasterns and rather straight hocks. His lack of depth through the girth was considered at the time to be due to the impoverished circumstances in which he had been raised. He did not have the extremely "dry" conformation and indeed, he was known for suffering occasional swelling of the hocks (which may have been a relic of his racing days). Of his breeding, he is inbred to 2a Boinou 5 x 3 x 5.

El stood at stud at Ashkabad, and there it is said by Belonogov that he sired many offspring. It would appear that many were sold or conscripted for the war effort, for by 1945 only three of his foals remained: the stallion Enlimez, who was never formally registered, and the mares 1184 Elan and 650 Elmik. Enlimez himself left only a single son, 682 Almaz, and it has been through him that the line of El continues.

Although horses of the line of El have exceptional speed and endurance, the line has often been neglected in breeding because of the horses' plain type. At the present time a great deal of effort is going into improving the type while maintaining the horses' performance abilities, and it was for this reason that the new branch of Sovkhoz II q.v. was begun.

Everdi Teleke

Sooty ("Dark") Bulanaya, foaled 1914 in Turkmenistan; 154 cm (15 hh)

Dovlet Ishana (Boinou) x Everdi Teleke (Boinou)

Everdi Teleke (out of a mare by the same name) is inbred 3 x 2 to 2a Boinou, and in his general proportions was similar to that stallion, although the most widely circulated picture of him shows him in a very unflattering pose. Again, except for his maternal and paternal grandsire lines, we know nothing concrete about his antecedents.

All of Everdi Teleke's sons were taller than their father, and of all of them, the Turkmen themselves most liked Kara Kush, who went on to become a Champion of the Breed.

Parrot-Mouth is known to run in the line; according to Belonogov, the broodmares Anketa, Sakar Kush and Elichi all showed this trait.

Fakirpelvan

"Magician-Hero", a light liver Chestnut, foaled 1951 at Ashkabad. Graded "Elite" 1961, and was Champion of the Breed at the Moscow Agricultural Exhibition in 1969. He is one of a pair of famous brothers brought from Turkmenistan to Tersk, where they were both effective enough to found their own stallion lines. He is by 629 Fakir Sulu (Sluchai) x 647 Egoza (Elik)

Many Akhal-Teke enthusiasts today especially admire Fakirpelvan for his purity of pedigree (i.e., he carries a very small amount of Thoroughbred blood), but in this instance if one looked at his photograph alone and were asked to guess his breed, one might first guess that he is a Thoroughbred Middleweight Hunter or half-Thoroughbred warmblood. Indeed, over the years that the Soviets had control over the breed in their jurisdiction, the trend has been to breed Akhal-Tekes who are "less exotic" and more toward the European ideal of a warmblood to make them more attractive to exporters. In Fakirpelvan, the extreme type seems to have been successfully avoided; the angular forms one equates with the breed are inevident in his photographs.

Fakirpelvan is inbred 5 x 3 x 4 to Bek Nazar Al, and carries seven lines to Kutli Sakar through Boinou and one to Kutli Sakar through line stallion 220 Sluchai. His dam 647 Egoza is a daughter of line stallion 100 El, and granddaughter of Bek Nazar Dor's brother, line stallion 198 Posman. Line stallion 175 Mele Kush also appears in Fakirpelvan's pedigree. Unfortunately, about a third of his dam lines are simply unknown.

Fakirpelvan was bought from the Ashkabad stud by Vladmir Shambourant, along with his half brother Gelishikli, and taken by him to Tersk for use as stallions. Both brothers were being underutilized in the Turkmenian breeding program in favor of racing heroes 885 Kambar (see Karlavach) and Polotli (see Peren).

Fakirpelvan's best sons are considered to be 919 Opal and 971 Khalif.

Gelishikli

Golden bay Gelishikli, "The Incomparable," was foaled 1949, at Ashkabad and stood 156 cm (15.2 hh) . He was graded Elite in 1962 and was named Champion of the Breed, 1964, five years before the same honor was bestowed on his famous brother, Fakirpelvan. He is by 627 Fakir-Sulu (Sluchai) x 104 Gezel (Bek Nazar Dor)

697 Gelishikli is inbred 3 x 4 to Bek Nazar Dor, and 4 x 5 x 6 to Bek Nazar Al. He resembles the former to a great extent. His line is enormously popular among modern Akhal-Teke enthusiasts. Today there are more Gelishikli-line horses than those of any other line -- about 16% of the breed traces to him.

Gelishkli's performance at the race track was not spectacular; but nevertheless he was noted for these excellent gaits which lend themselves well to performance in classical sport. He was foaled at Ashkabad, but stood most of his time at stud at Tersk, under the supervision of Mr. Shambourant, who acquired him along with Fakirpelvan. Shambourant wanted both horses for their excellent "sportive" qualities; his intent was to breed Akhal-Tekes who could excel in Olympic disciplines as well as on the track, and in the Gelishikli and Fakirpelvan lines he succeeded admirablly.

Gelishikli's sons Gundogar and Yulduz are likely to found their own lines in the near future. They are both extremely typey and exotic looking horses.

The "rams' head" we read about is accounts of Bucephalus shows up with some regularity in the Gelishikli line.

Continuing the Gelishikli line in the United States are the stallions is golden-dun Melechan (left), imported by the Sprandel Brothers and now standing at the Nez Perce Horse tribal farm in Lapwai, Idaho, and his mahogany bay son Astrakhan (right), owned by Cascade Gold Akhal Tekes of Washington state and currently at stud in Colorado. This branch of the line is known particularly for their superb temperaments, fluid gaits and an exceptionally strong ability to pass on the beautiful "hooded eye" so prized in the breed.

The line of Gelishikli is also widely represented at Dr. Tito Pontecorvo's stud outside San Antonio, Texas. The 17 hh grey stallion Gigant is currently standing at stud, and performing well in jumping and dressage. The black stallion Greguar (right) will enter Prix St. George competition in 1999. (Unfortunately in this photo he had momentarily come off the bit, but still you can see his powerful flexibility.)

Kaplan

"Tiger", a black stallion foaled 1957 at Ashkabad. 161 cm (15.3 hh), graded Elite in 1968. Kaplan was by 736 Keimir (Kir Sakar) x 1249 Kelte (Everdi Teleke)

The one fault that most breeders found in Kir Sakar and his line was a lack of type. This was considered correctly with the birth of 721 Kaplan, who proved prepotent enough that in 1991 he was awarded a line of his own.

Kaplan was a superlative race horse; in 6 years, he ran 26 times and won 17 of those races. Some detractors claim that this was simply due to Kaplan's high percentage of English Thoroughbred blood, which he inherited from Kara-Kunon 1.

Karlavach

Graded ELITE, 1949

347 Vezir (Toporbai) x 60 Barok

432 Karlavach was an excellent race horse, which some people discount on the basis that Karlavach carried 12.5% "foreign blood" in the form of a doubling of an English Thoroughbred great-great grandsire, Burlak. However, his conformation is not typical of the English Thoroughbred in any way; and it is more likely that his speed came from the fact that Akhal-Tekes were, at that time, being bred for and tested on the racetrack. Karlavach was trained by Aga Mohammed, who once described his charge as, "A nice-looking little horse; he helps support my horse hobby."

We know a great deal about Karlavach's sire's family, but nothing about his dam except her name: 60 Barok. She is believed to have been purebred.

One of his most famous sons was also one of the most successful of Teke race-horses, 886 Kambar.

The line of Karlavach is represented in the United States by the stallions Kogan (left) and Kod (right), both standing at Tito Pontecorvo's studfarm outside San Antonio, Texas.

Kir Sakar

Grey, foaled 1936. Judging by his name, which means "Pale Grey," he was probably a grey on buckskin and/or dun. He was almost certainly also sabino.

Graded ELITE, 1949

16 Algir (Ag Ishan) x 8 Aiden (Line Unknown)

Kir Sakar became a line stallion on the basis of the evaluation of his sons, four of which--Kelam, Edenli, Goklen and Karader--are considered by MAAK to be "improvers" of the breed; his best son was Keymir. Nevertheless, Kir Sakar is seen in pedigrees mostly as a broodmare sire; his daughters Kagiz, Karali, Keskelti, Keshte and Kachkyr are seen very frequently in Akhal-Teke pedigrees.

The best traits of the line are considered to be a good croup, good size, substance and bone, and exceptionally smooth gaits. Their racing speed is said to be "passable," and in type many are considered fairly plain.

Mele Kush

 "Yellow Bird"

2a Boinou x Oraz Niyaz Kara Dashli

Golden Buranaya, foaled 1909; died 1933

175 Melekush was the last son born to 2a Boinou, born in fact the year following Boinou's death. He has one of the most popular names in the MAAK Studbook. In many people's opinion, he was also the best of his father's offspring, although he was known to have some faults by those who saw him in person. His croup, for one thing, was extremely high; a trait which is father did not have.

The line of 175 Melekush was continued through his sons Mele Kur and Suncheli, and especially through Suncheli's line-founding son Sapar Khan, q.v.

Peren

Golden Bulanaya (which here means that he was, from his breeding results, both dun and buckskin), foaled 1955 in Turkmenistan. 160cm (15.3 hh)

Graded ELITE, Champion of the Breed, 1967

711 Erkus (Skak) x 1321 Pobeda (Ak Belek)

779 Peren's performance on the race track was good, but not exceptional. Everything else about him was. He was in his day considered to be as "typey" an Akhal-Teke as could be imagined, and his son Polotli, along with Kambar, went on to become the pride of Turkmenistan. Peren raced four times, winning thrice, before being retired to stud due to injury.

Peren is inbred 4 x 4 to both Everdi Teleke and Sluchai. Even though Peren himself was tall for a Teke, horses in his line are noted for being on the "small" side.

Good outcrosses for the Peren line are considered to be the Kaplan, Kir Sakar and Karlavach lines.

The line of Peren is widely represented in the United States; indeed the first Akhal-Teke known to have been imported into the US was *Senetir, a great grandson of Peren out of a Fakirpelvan mare. *Senetir stood at Shenandoah Farm in Virginia until his death in 1997. His son Svengali (right), now stands in Australia. Another son, Sengar (left), was long-listed for the 1996 Olympics (Three-Day Event) until sidelined by injury.

Posman

The line of grey sabino Posman is one of the oldest, having been recognized by Mr. Belonogov, editor of the first studbook, very early in the book's inception. Posman is one of two sons of Bek Nazar Al (see Bek Nazar Dor) to be recognized with a line of his own, beginning in the fifth volume (which is actually the third volume in which Akhal-Tekes were given a separate book).

Posman was considered a true standout horse by the Turkmen who bred him. He was a successful racehorse at the shorter distances becoming popular on the tracks at the time. He was considered to have a short back and flat croup, which are handed down the line "even through the broodmares."

Little is known of Posman himself, although a good deal of intriguing information is known about his most famous descendant, Kermek II. This bay stallion was born at the Lenin Collective Stud in the Geok Tepe region of Turkmenistan, and was acquired by the Ashkabad Racetrack, where he was bred to the mare Fialki, also owned by the track. From her, he sired two foals who inherited his excellent conformation: the black stallion Karaman and the mare Peiker. He was then acquired by the collective farm "40 Years of the Turkmenian Soviet Socialist Republic," but his services were practically unused. He died "under mysterious circumstances" while being hauled back to the racetrack. Karaman turned out to be an "effective" stallion in his own right, siring the bulanaya stallion Gaigysyz who stands today at the "Moscow" stud.

Today most horses of Posman's line are descended from Kermek II and Karaman.

Sapar Khan

Golden Buranaya, foaled 1932.

213 Sapar Khan appears to have been a sooty bulanaya; some photographs show him as more or less cryptically colored, and others show him with a great deal of dappling such as one might find in a winter coat.

Skak

The line of the bay (and probably sabino) stallion Skak is one of the most widely represented in the Akhal-Teke breed, second only to that of Kir Sakar. "Skak horses" typically show large size and good bone, with moderate length of back. They also are known for exceptionally fluid gaits and a "statuesque beauty," but they lack racing speed. No less than eight Skak-line stallions are considered "improvers" of the breed by the Russian breeding authority MAAK.

Skak himself was foaled in 1940 at Djambul, by Kizil out of Skala.

The line of 569 Skak is widely represented in the United States through the offspring of the black stallion 1021 *Azal (right), who was imported by the Sprandel brothers in 1983. Azal was very successful as a stallion, but unfortunately died fairly young. Azal possessed the "Turkoman Glow" to a remarkable degree and is said by those who saw him in person to have been "blue-black." (Alas, the photo at right was taken on a cloudy day). He passed this quality to his descendants; his son Melechan, today owned by the Nez Perce tribe and being used in the Nez Perce Horse Project, is a magnificent example of the glow.

Sluchai

When one reads an Akhal-Teke pedigree, far more often than not, one will come across the seal brown stallion Sluchai. 220 Sluchai is famous not only for founding his own stallion line, but for being an exceptional sire of broodmares. 

While most writers on the subject of Akhal-Teke lines list Sluchai among the founding line stallions, he does not have a chapter in Riabova's 1995 work Lines of the Akhal-Teke Breed of Horses. Whether an official line stallion or not, his influence is great enough to merit for him an inclusion on this page.

Sovkhoz II

The line of Sovkhoz II was split from the line of El in 1998, on the basis that the descendants of Sovkhoz II were in fact the best representatives of the El line itself.

Sovkhoz II was a horse who almost did not have a chance to be a sire. Because of an injury sustained at the race track, he was sent from one collective farm to another, and at one point destined "for life as a work horse or to be sent to slaughter." However, he did recover from his injury and went on to sire outstanding long-distance racing horses.

Toporbai

244 Toporbai was a "light bulanaya" colored horse, which generally means that he was either a buckskin or a buckskin/dun combination. He was foaled in 1918, and died at Chelyabinsk at age 17. He was sired by the grey Khadji Bai out of Mele Khadji Nur.

The line of Toporbai is one of the oldest of Russian/Soviet Akhal-Teke lines. Toporbai was inbred 2 x 2 to Baba Akhun and therefore 4 x 4 to 2a Boinou.

Toporbai is found in pedigrees today mainly through his son 044 Tillya Kush, himself reviled in many circles because of his English Thoroughbred grandfather. Tillya Kush, however, is noted by Dr. Belonogov as having "inherited his good conformation from this [thoroughbred] grandfather, while at the same time preserving perfectly the Akhal-Teke type. His foals are very typey and well-formed." Tillya Kush was of the old, massive alaman-at or Goklan type, with a lot of daylight under him and strong, straight legs and, unusually for both Turkmenian and English Thoroughbreds, a heavy crest.

Tillya Kush's chestnut son Yulduz ("The Star," foaled 1923) was a superior racehorse in Uzbekistan, and stood for a time at the Iomud stud there.