In describing the various kinds of Turanian horse, we use the term "breed" only for the Russian Akhal-Teke. Being the only one which has a closed stud book, it is the only type which is a "breed" in the modern sense.

Genetic research performed at the University of Kentucky indicates that all these horses are genetically the same "breed" in the old sense, of a kind of horses who when bred together produce offspring resembling the parents. Each of the different horses bred by the different tribes represents a "strain" of the Turkoman breed. Each strain additionally may have several different sub-strains; a horse of a very set type (a set of characteristic conformational traits) bred by a subset of the tribe which breeds the type (for example, there are at least type types of Goklan, one of the types of Turkoman). We have also adopted the 19^th century spelling of "Tekke" for horses bred by Tekke or Akhal-Teke tribesmen living outside Turkmenistan, as the proper pronunciation of both is TEH-keh and not "teek".

The photo at left is of Ghara Tepe Ai Gol, six month old filly owned by the Ghara Tepe Turkoman Stud in Iran. The photo was taken by and is © by Louise Firouz and is used here with her permission. Her sire is Duldul, an Tekke Turkoman (i.e., bred by Akhal-Teke tribesmen in Iran), and her dam is Sannam, a Turkoman mare sired by a Russian Akhal-Teke (bred at a collective farm in the then Soviet Union).

Which Turkoman strain would you like to read about?