BREEDS AND ANCIENT
STANDARDS (Full article from ALBC News)
by Sarah M. Drake Ph.D., first published in Saluki International and reprinted
courtesy of the author
THE MOST ANCIENT OF HORSE and dog breeds arose in the vast
desert-scapes of the Middle East and Central Asia. There are still places in
this region to be found where the centuries-old nomadic traditions exist in a
relatively undiluted state.
We have little physical evidence of the origins of the
ancient breeds. Whatever evidence remains can be discovered in some of the oral
traditions, in archeological artifacts, and in literary allusions. One of the
oral traditions is that of the recitation of genealogy, or pedigree, similar to
that one can find written down in venerable religious or classical literary
texts. Among the archeological artifacts are sculptures and paintings,
mummified animals, particularly in burial sites, and incised scripts. The
literary texts include the religious texts already mentioned, poetic works,
historical references, and, rarely, business documents. The only other means of
compiling an accurate lineage of the ancient breeds will have to come in the
future through genetic sleuthing into the genetic markers, which may be unique
to specific breeds.
The first of the known breeds came about through the
domestication of wild species encountered by nomadic tribes while roaming
across the steppes and deserts. We may call these first breeds the “primary”
breeds, i.e. those which originated through the process of domestication. The
other known, subsequent breeds can be designated the “secondary” or
“artificial” breeds, i.e. those created through the interbreeding of primary
breeds or through subsequent variation and selection, often for a particular
functional specialization.
In addition, other influences have played a role, a kind of
“tertiary”-level process, in the continuous modification of all established
breeds. It is a kind of “drift” or gradual change in the appearance, or
phenotype, or in its gene pool, the collective genotype, of a breed. This
tertiary process occurs principally as various characteristics and features of
individual animals are selected for with every single breeding decision. It
results also from the addition to, modification of, or deletion of genes from
the gene pool, due to spontaneous mutations, the recombination that occurs with
every single breeding, or the loss of animals from the gene pool.
ILLUMINATIONS OF ANCIENT
Actually the notion of a “breed” per se is a modern European
concept superimposed upon centuries-old species and subspecies for the purpose
of standardizing appearance and function. When a group of animals is designated
a “breed,” it’s gene pool is usually restricted and separated off from that of
other members considerable knowledge, and insight into the factors which
precipitate change plus frequent corrections to restore the breed to its
intended state.
In the Near East region of antiquity (Now called Central
Asia and the Middle East), concepts similar to the modern breeding practices of
European breeds were utilized and perhaps served as a model for the development
of “breeds.” This was long before these practices were established as a formal
means for the creation of alteration of a subspecies by human manipulation of a
gene pool. Today, when crossing Asia and the Middle East, one sees that the
dogs are divided into two distinct classes of subspecies, the “herd guard” dogs
and the “hunting” dogs, i.e. the Saluki. These two classes are almost mutually
exclusive when it comes to breeding. It is breeding according to function.
These were functions that were developed early within the history of the
primary breeds by tribal entities for the purpose of meeting specific social
needs.
Other factors, such as geographical barriers and political
events, also entered into the picture and tempered breed development. The
desert climate has demanded the development of endurance and a survival
capability in the Near Eastern breeds that far exceeds anything that was
demanded of European breeds, living in a less harsh environment. The deserts
also isolated and limited contact among the tribes. Beyond this, the many waves
of political conquest which have rolled through this region have dispersed and
redistributed breed animals innumerable times, as good bloodstock was often
considered a trophy of war or was destroyed by the events themselves.
Breeding in ancient times was often centered within a tribal
unit, which developed its own bloodstock animals as part of the collective
tribal wealth. Bloodstock, or a specialized bloodline (usually based on
line-breeding with occasional outcrosses to bloodstock from other tribes), was
gradually built up within a tribe, This kind of breeding led to the development
of the different “types,” which we know too well in Salukis. A more accurate
term than “type” might be the word “strain,” consistent with a distinct set of
bloodlines originating with a particular tribe. These individual tribal strains
then come to be associated with particular “types” over the years. The major
“types” in Salukis were known as the “Shami,” “Omani,” “Nejdi” and the
“Yamani.” The set of types could also be distinguished further, reflecting
geographical and demographical factors, into the “northern” types, which were
basically a larger, more heavily feathered animal, found in Syria, Turkey,
Kurdistan, Persia, and Central Asia, and the “southern” types of Arabian
peninsula and north Africa, which were a smaller, finer-boned, more sparsely
feathered animal. Thus a “breed” of the region was often further subdivided
into “strains” and then into “bloodlines.” In the modern world the resulting
strains and types are difficult to reconcile with a single standardized
phenotype, and the Saluki breed has long resisted such a standard as being
antithetical to the very nature and substance of the Saluki breed, a breed
which long predates the recent notion of a fixed “breed standard.”
ASSOCIATED BREEDS
Among the ancient breeds of this world, which all have their
roots in prehistoric antiquity, we might list the Saluki and the Arabian horse,
which share geographical origins and also have shared many of the same breeders
across the ages. The Saluki and the Arabian have had an even closer kinship
because of the function both horse and canine have had in common for hunting
game. Together with the falcon, they have constituted an age-old hunting triad,
which through selective breeding and highly specialized training grew expert at
bringing down all kinds of game. It was this hunting ritual which helped to
shape the breeds individually and fostered the physical characteristics which
they had in common-speed, endurance, independence, and the ability to work
together and with humans. Each animal carried out a unique function during the
hunt. The horse carried the rifer. The falcon spotted and helped to immobilize
the game. The canine pursued and brought down the game. Some of these
functional hunting characteristics were than later developed into even more
specialized functions for the breeds, especially the horse, among which
functions were those for warfare, companionship, racing, etc.
In the spring of 1944 I came across a newly published book
about another of these ancient breeds, which offered a number of insights about
their origins and the ideas and practices which helped to shape many of the
breeds. It was a book by Jonathan Maslow, entitled Sacred Horses, and detailed his ventures into the steppes of
Central Asia to find the Akhal-Teke horse, as the political barriers there
began to ease towards the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The political
barriers along with the geographical isolation imposed by mountain ranges and
deserts had gradually served to separate the Akhal-Teke off from the other
related breeds of the region and had imposed upon it an extremely harsh
existence which has almost decimated the bred. That the ancient Akhal-Teke
still exists is a tribute to a few dedicated breeders and few remaining nomadic
tribes, who committed themselves to its survival and preservation despite enormous
odds and hardship.
As a Saluki breeder, I was only quasi-involved while reading
about Maslow’s quest to find the Akhal-Teke until I came upon an account of an
interview by Maslow with one scholar in Turkmenistan. In the interview it was
mentioned that the Akhal-Teke was traditionally used to hunt together with the
“Tazy” and the falcon. Suddenly a new light shone upon the Akhal-Teke, and I
began reading the book again from the beginning. It became clear to me as I
read on that the Akhal-Teke was really another strain of the ancient breeds of
horses, which have often been referred to generically as Arabians, “Arabian”
being used traditionally as a general term for the horses of near eastern
origin. Bred like the Saluki for millennia in this region, the Akhal-Teke is an
Arabian strain which has undergone several name changes and changes in location
across the centuries as it has been taken over by and dispersed to various
tribes and nations. An important clue to its relationship with the other
ancient breeds and Arabian strains of the region, besides the historical
references, was contained in the continuing practice of hunting with the Saluki
and the falcon.
The Saluki breeder has no problem with interrelating Salukis
from different strains from different portions of the region, be it in the
north, where the Saluki is known as the “Tazi,” or down on the Arabian
peninsula and across northern Africa, where it is called the “S”luqi” and
varies into the more radically different strains, now considered different
breeds, the “Sloughi” and the “Azawakh.” What soon becomes clear while studying
breeding customs of horse and canine fanciers across the ages is that the
notion of a “breed” does not begin to articulate the complexities of types and
strains actually found among the ancient breeds, both horse and canine, of the
region. In the Middle East and Central Asia these phenotypic variations, as
previously described, have derived chiefly from breeding groups centered within
the various nomadic tribes. The Akhal-Teke, because of the isolation imposed
upon it for so many years, remains perhaps the one breed or strain today that
still leads an existence closest to its ancient nomadic origins.
When in further reading I discovered that the Akhal-Teke is
supposed to have the appearance of a “greyhound”, a premise began to take shape
in my mind, namely: it appeared that perhaps the same “standard” had been used
by the breeders of the Saluki and the Arabian horse in their development of the
horse and canine breeds of the region, probably for the functional purpose of
having these different species be able to work together as a team of haunting.
It was a “standard,” as the amalgam of ideas about conformation, function, and
other essential elements, which seemed to have been transmitted through the
oral tradition and to have been applied to different species with similar or
associated functions. Now this prospect was fascinating! Was the oral tradition
still alive? How did the “standard” of oral tradition differ from the written
standards we have in common used in the West today? How have the ancient breeds
changed across the centuries? There was much promise contained in this
rediscovery of the ancient Akhal-Teke in its native habitat.
From the perspective of a fancier of ancient breeds, these
breeds are precious jewels of time immortal. They are archeological artifacts,
still living, of the millennia. What appeals to breeders of ancient breeds is
not only their incarnation of history but their reflection of the unique
adaptation and perseverance of various species to what is one of the harshest
and most volatile environments in this world. These breeds seem to tap into
some of the essences of life itself, which often go unnoticed in a more mundane
world. To sum it up, one can refer to a well-chosen quote from Herodotus, which
Maslow used in his book.
In the Histories, Herodotus says: “It does seem to be true
that the remotest regions, which surround the inhabited countries and lie to
the outside of them, produce the things which we believe to be most rare and
beautiful.” (p139).
There is more than just the development of a functional
breed inherent in the Saluki and the Arabian horse. The patterns of breeding,
the standards used, verge upon being an aesthetics and a philosophy. Not only
are these animals creatures of remote regions and ancient civilizations, but
they were also bred to the most highly specialized functions and to striking,
rare beauty.
I went on with the discovery of the Akhal-Teke in this new
light, now almost as if on a pilgrimage or a journey of exploration into unseen
worlds. The Akhal-Teke, as a premier, ancient breed in its historically and
geographically isolated state seemed to offer a singular vehicle for this
discovery process and promised as a result to provide new insights into the
Saluki as well.
Most of the Akhal-Tekes reside today in the republic of
Turkmenistan, a former part of the Soviet Union. Others can be found with
nomadic Turkmen in Iran and western Afghanistan (to which they fled under Soviet
repression of their lifestyle). There are a number in Europe, Russia, and the
United States. The principal breeders and guardians of the Akhal-Teke in the
United States are Philip and Margot Case, who tend a select herd in the
Shenandoah Valley near Staunton, Virginia and offer the same kind of warm
hospitality for which the Middle East and Central Asia are famous. (*Note - Sadly Margot passed away in 2009
but Philip continues to steward the breed on their farm.)
The Turkmen are not the first breeders of this horse. Before
them, in prehistoric times, the Akhal-Teke were the horses of nomadic tribes of
Central Asia, who during their migrations, encountered the wild horses grazing
in their range on the steppes of Central Asia and undertook their domestication.
After that the horses migrated with the humans in all directions of the compass
for thousands of years. They were exchanged among the tribes, who were slowly
building bloodstock, in the course of peaceful commerce or were snatched as
tribute and by robbery in less tranquil times, which, unfortunately, occurred
frequently in the region, the crossroads not only of much trade but also of
many tribal disputes and devastating conquering armies.
Long before they were a breed or had acquired their current
name and long before the Turkmen tribe arrived about 1200AD in the region of
their origin, Akhal-Tekes are considered to have been the legendary horses,
known as the Bectrian or Turanian horse, which was used by Darius and by
Alexander the Great in their conquests. Alexander the Great’s famous horse,
Bucephalus, was reputedly one of those “horses of quality”. They were the
horses of the Scythians and later the Parthians. Because these peoples were
often engaged in warfare and used their horses to carry the warriors, the
horses acquired the function of a cavalry steed, in which role their fame
spread across the continents, for, with their speed and endurance, they were
instrumental in achieving many victories. The Romans are thought to have been
stymied in extending their empire further east because they could not compete
in warfare against the opposing side’s superior horses. The horses were coveted
as far away as China, and the Chinese sent an expedition to attack Bactria in
126ac, solely for the purpose of acquiring some of these “heavenly horses.”
It is thought by some historians that some of these horses
passed into the hands of Arab tribes during their conquest of Iran and Middle
Asia, which provided in part the basis for the superb bloodstocks they subsequently
developed. The Arabs have shown unusual skill at breeding horses for three
thousand years, but up until the time of the spread of Islam, they had had only
a small number of horses. In an exchange, the great Timur, during the 14th
century, brought 5000 mares back from Syria which were incorporated into
Turkmene herds. During the centuries that followed, the bloodstock strains of
the horses of the Near East began to fall into three principal groups: the
“Barbs”, and the “Arabs”, reflecting the northern, western, and southern
portions of the Near East region, although the latter term continued in usage
for any horse originating from the region as a whole. The southern Arabian, the
horse which nowadays is referred to as the “classic Arabian” breed, eventually
became concentrated on the strains, at present referred to as the Al Khamsa
strains: the Kuhaylan, the Saqlaei, and their related strains.
The use of “Arabian” horses from the region in the
development of Thoroughbred is a story that is reknown. We know of the entry of
“Turkish mares” into the English Stud Book in the 17th century.
Three famous stallions of Near East origin, bred to English mares, are
considered to have been the foundation of the Thoroughbred and brought with
them outstanding speed and stamina into the creation of this modern breed.
These stallions were the Godolphin Arabian, the Byerly Turk, and the Darley
Arabian. The Godolphin Arabian was considered to have been a “Barb”, or a
Jilfan Arabian. The Godolphin Arabian was considered to have been a “Barb”, or
a Jilfan Arabian. The Byerly Turk was definitely from one of the northern
stains of “Arabians,” “Turk” meaning actually Turkish or Turkmene. The Darley
Arabian was from the Mu’niqi-Hadruj strain, another northern strain of “Arabians.”
The story of the Darley Arabian is one that provides
numerous insights into the value of the ancient breeds and into the breeding
philosophy and practices of the region. The Darley Arabian has been bred by the
Fid’an tribe (one of the “Anaza” confederation of the Bedouin tribes), which in
the 17th century was forced by drought to migrate out of the Nejd
into the north, into what is now Syria. There they encountered a northern
tribe, the Salqa, who had out crossed their classic Arabian strain of Mu’niqi horses
with horses of Turkish, or Turkmeme, origin, producing the Mu’niqi-Hadruj
strain, which was acquired also by the Fi’dan. Thus was created a new strain of
“Arabian,” whose type, combining the sleek, angular type of the northern
strains with the rounded outlines of the southern strains, was subsequently to
demonstrate enormous promise on the racing courses of Europe. Mr. Thomas
Darley, British consul in Aleppo at the beginning of the 18th
century and a British horsemen, interested himself in the horses of the local
nomadic tribes. He was then invited to participate in a hunt by the chieftain
of the Fi’dan tribe and his retainers. During the hunt he had the chance to
observe these tribesmen carrying falcons on their wrists, while Salukis coursed
alongside their galloping mares. At a later date Consul Darley was asked to
choose a colt from the Fi’dan herd as a personal gift from the chieftain. This
colt, “Manak,” was eventually exported to England, where he stood at stud. His
most famous offspring was the racehorse, called “Flying Childers” (whose dam
was also of near eastern origin), considered to be of the fastest racehorses
that ever lived.
Like the Saluki, the types (and strains) of “Arabian” horse
had gradually divided into distinct groups possessing unique qualities: the
Kuhaylan (strength and muscle), the Saqlawi (beauty and refinement), and the
Mu’niqi (angular, long-bodied). Each horse bred carried the strain name of its
dam and, if the horse came down from a line which has been bred consistently within
its own strain, it was considered “asil” i.e., “pure-in-strain.” This helps to
explain why there are also different “types” and historical strains of Salukis,
bred for centuries according to the same ideas. It lends credence as well to
how the notion came into being of “purity of strain”, and subsequently of
“breed, “ i.e. a “purebred” now being defined in Western terms as
pedigree-based along a known, unbroken line of select ancestors. The English
were the first to have initiated the written record, or stud book, of this Arab
practice of maintaining the genealogy, or pedigree, of an animal. Yet the
notion of a “breed,” defined as a select group of animals with common features
and ancestors and a restricted gene pool varies from the original, more complex
Near East practice of breeding by tribal “strain” or “type,” of an animal.
There a “breed” is made up of a number of various “strains” with their
distinctive “type,” each “type” with its unique qualities, all of which were
utilized in the process of the continuous refinement and improvement of the
species or subspecies over the centuries. The concept of “pure-in-strain
breeding” rather than single-group “breed breeding” is still paramount to the
breeding practices of the Middle East. This kind of breeding also underwrites
the constitution of the Saluki breed as a whole, a breed made up of many
“types” and consequently of many Saluki “strains” as well, which were developed
along the same lines as the “historic Arabian” strains. That the terms “breed”
and “strain” are now indiscriminately confused obscures and accurate picture of
the real development of the Saluki and of the horse in this region. This is in
part due to the intense political turmoil which has so often exercised such
destruction upon the region. Strains of horses of common origin and related
breeding are now designated separate breeds because of the problems of
imprecise nomenclature, fragmented genealogy, and political and cultural
interferences. The Saluki, which, as a species, remained less subject to
political trends than the horse, continues to fit the “historic” definition of
the ancient Near East “Arabian” breed and to include the northern strains of
“Tazi.” However, in the horse world, the term “Arabian” gradually was reduced
to horses bred by Arab tribes and redefined
as the “classic Arabian,” despite the fundamental relationship with the
northern strains in terms of shared origins and common gene pool. The northern
strains then came to be considered separate breeds, whereas in fact they are,
and have always been, historically just different strains of the same ancient
race of “historic Arabian” or near eastern horse.
Even the “classic Arabian” has been put through intense
political turmoil with severe damage resulting to the strains. This happened
particularly during the expansion of the Turkish Empire, when the best
bloodstock animals were forcibly extracted from the Arab tribes and taken down
into Egypt, where they were suddenly commingled into a common gene pool. After
the fall of the Turkish Empire much of this bloodstock was arbitrarily
dispersed or destroyed. There are remnants of what were the finest horses of
the southern strains still to be found among the breeding stock of the Royal
Agricultural Society in present-day Egypt, which serves as a source of many of
the best of the Arab purebloods available in the world today. (However, Egypt
is once more in political turmoil.) these modern, pureblood, classic Arabian
horses Saluki breeders have been able to see through the collaboration at
specialty events of the breed with the Pyramid Society, which has undertaken to
help rebuild the classic Arabian horse along it original lines.
The Mu’niqi-Hadruj strain which was created by an
interbreeding of one of the northern strains of the “historic Arabian” horse
with the Mu’niqi, one of the “classic Arabian” strains, is an example of how
strain-breeding has proceeded, which example was also followed by European
breeders in the creation of many new breeds in the modern age. It’s success as a
new strain through the Thoroughbred, and subsequently through the world of
horse racing, brings it into prominent focus among the annals of breeding and
serves to re-emphasize as well the previous renown and worth of the ancient
“historic Arabian” race and northern strains of horses, which have been known
throughout the ages respectively as the Sythian, the Parthian, and Bactrain and
the Turanian horse: the “Akhal-Teke” strain, or “breed” is the current
principal name bearer of this ancient line of horses. The re-alliance of the
southern “classic Arabian” type (the Godolphin Arabian) with the
“historic-Arabian”, northern type (the Byerly Turk) plus the new combined
strain (the Darley Arabian) in the
Thoroughbred helped to re-create the European world of horse breeding. It only
goes to show the enduring value of the outstanding qualities which had been
bred into the horses of these ancient strains. When tapped through
interbreeding with horses of European origin, these horses introduced the same
qualities of intelligence, speed, and great endurance that had been their
renown into the newer breeds of horses. At the same time, the ancient horse
acquired new functions, as the horse which had borne the warrior of antiquity
became the horse which carries the jockey.
CARE AND CONFORMATION
During Maslow’s ventures into Central Asia to visit the
Akhal-Teke he had many discussions with breeders of this now rare desert-breed,
of which perhaps 2000 animals remain in known breeding stocks. He wanted to see
the horses in their native environment, to learn about how the horses were
cared for, and to discover what qualities were looked for in breeding. After he
arrived in Central Asia, he was told: “The Turkmen loves three things,…his
horse, his wife, and his hunting dog (Tazy)”(p251).
Until the time of the Russian occupation the horses were
raised according to tribal conditions. Each tribesman kept one horse and
perhaps an additional mare and foal. The horses were used for horseracing and
for raiding. Each family maintained the tradition for raising and training the
horses.
With the Russian occupation of Central Asia, Cossacks were
sent to collect the horses into stud farms. Then, with the Bolshevik
revolution, private ownership was banned. Upon this edict, many Turkmen tribesmen,
who were the principal guardians of the breed, fled with their bloodstocks
across the borders into Persia and Afghanistan for refuge. A further edict came
down, stating that all breeding practices were to be converted into so-called
“scientific” means. At the stud farms Russia breed bloodlines were intermingled
with many of the Akhal-Teke. Next a decree was issued ordering the destruction
of all “draft” horses and their conversion into food. With this the Turkmen
breeders turned their pure breeding stocks loose into the desert to avoid the
utter destruction of the Akhal-Teke. It was not until many years later that
some of the feral horses of the pure stain were recaptured and serious breeding
program to preserve this desert breed was recommenced.
What had lent credence to the effort to maintain the breed
true to its origins had been a “performance test” carried out in 1935 by some
of the tribesmen, who, mounted on their native horses, rode almost 3000 miles
in 84 days from Central Asia across deserts and other arduous terrain into the
gates of Moscow. During one stretch they crossed 225 miles of desert in three
days on practically no water. The stamina and endurance shown by the horses,
far superior to that of any of the halo-breeds or the Russian breeds, at last
convinced the government of the value of this pure desert bred breed of horses.
Their value, which had stood for tremendous speed over long distances when the
Thoroughbred was created, now came to stand as well for exceptional endurance
and stamina over long distances under the harshest of conditions. These are the
same attributes we look for in Salukis, and it is the stamina and endurance
which set Salukis off from all other sight hounds and racing breeds of dogs.
Today there are two stud farms in Turkmenistan which
struggle to preserve the Akhal-Teke. As one Turkmen stated: Many of our
Akhal-Teke horses were killed without thought….Someday the horse breeders of
the West will want to go back to the original genetic material that produced
the Thoroughbred to strengthen the
bloodlines….We believe the Akhal-Teke are….the last drops of pure blood that
brought forth all race horses of the world”(p63).
But there in Central Asia they are basically cut off from
regular trading and communication channels, and the economic collapse of the
Soviet Union eliminated government support and threw them off on their own to
forage for feed and resources. What is happening currently is news which is
almost impossible to come by, although the Akhal-Teke has recently been
declared a national treasure in Turkmenistan. What is happening with the
nomadic tribes and their bloodstocks in Iran and Afghanistan is even more
impossible to learn because of the political events in that part of the world.
There are Akhal-Tekes in Europe, scattered here and there. The Cases are
maintaining a small herd of pure bloodstock in the US withal the dedication of
the original tribesmen and are trying to bring their worth to the attention of
the Western horse world. The struggle, fraught with enormous difficulties, to
maintain this ancient desert bred breed in the modern world shows the need for
a strong support system, for more than the usual dedication, and for increased
recognition and cooperation among the breeders of all the ancient desert bred
breeds, if these unique, invaluable breeds are to survive at all and to be
preserved true to their origins.
While in Central Asia, Maslow was told how the Akhal-Teke
are cared for by the tribesmen. They are kept in small bands, tethered to stakes,
and covered with felt blankets. The horses are fed pellets made of alfalfa,
barley and mutton fat. This type of management results in a horse which can
subsist on small amounts of food and water in a terrain which has extremes of
temperature and is devoid of natural vegetation for most of the year. The foals
are brought along slowly, being allowed to run first just with their dams, and
then later with the other mares. Daily exercise is considered essential so that
they can learn to breathe deeply and build strong leg muscles for galloping
across the desert. “The Akhal-Teke must run”(p251). The horses are devoted to
their master and are suspicious and aloof with strangers. This is not unlike
the Saluki, which we know to be bed a diet of mare’s milk, dry bread, and dates
in the same native habitat and to demonstrate the same devotion and aloofness.
In conversations with the breeders he visited Maslow was
told what qualities are bred for in this desert bred horse. They want a long,
tapering, slightly concave, aristocratic head with long neck set high on
excellent sloping shoulders: high head carriage: flaring nostrils: long,
beautifully shaped mobile ears: and expressive eyes having a proud fiery gaze
(p61/Case). The head carriage, that is, the ability to hold the head up high,
was explained to Maslow as: “In the desert the horse needs to hold its head up
high to see for and smell danger a long way off” (p106). This is indeed very
similar to the head, head carriage, neck, neck set, shoulders, ears, and eyes bred
for in Salukis of quality.
The coat is “fine like doe skin” and glossy. The colors are
white, black, dappled, bay, and the bright gold with a metallic sheen, that is
unique to the breed (p76/Case). The coat is often thin, and the mane and tail
are sparse (Description of “The Turkoman Horse” from the pre-revolution Royal
Horse Society of Iran/Case). The colors, coat and furnishings are similar to
those of a Saluki.
The chest is narrow. The withers are long, prominent and
muscled. The back is long, lean, narrow, short-barreled and long, pronounced
croup and sloping angle of the hindquarters. The legs are long, strong and dry:
fine, delicate pasterns: good forearms: and hocks well let down with short
cannons of dense bone. The hooves are small with a thick wall of strong horn
(p77/106/RHS/Case). Except for the anatomical differences this is very similar
to the Saluki standard.
The Akhal-Teke has a high, courageous spirit with sparkle
and energy (p.77). Its temperament is quiet, but it is easily aroused. It
should be bold, alert, intelligent, and will respond will to sensitive training
(Case). As Margot Case has explained “Akhal-Tekes can’t be forced. They have to
trust their rider. Once they do, they perform like no other, but if you try to
push them, they’ll balk. If you break trust with them, they won’t work with
you….You have to work with the Akhal-Tekes, not on them.” That’s what people
mean when they say that Akhal-Tekes are temperamental. It’s not that they are
high strung, only that they are so loyal they seem to have an emotional key
different from other breeds (p220). If the description had not been intended
for the Akhal-Teke, it would just as well fit the Saluki to a tee, as we all
well know.
The gait references are for a magnificent action, free and
flowing: in all paces a soft, gliding, elastic stride (Case). The trot is
high-action, short-stepping but smooth (p258). Again this gait description is
very like that of a Saluki.
One breeder in central Asia described the most typical and
ancient form of the Akhal-Teke as being an animal “with a very “dry” anatomy: a
long, narrow, dished face, little mass on the bones, long ears for hearing over
desert distances, a long neck, and long, lean legs.” They wanted this dry type
“for strength over longer distances”.
“Why does the Akhal-Teke win marathons?” he asked
rhetorically. “Because of the heart. It must pump blood to every muscle in the
body. A thorough-bred will run the first ten kilometers of a
five-hundred-kilometer race faster than any horse in the world, but then,
because of the weight it carries in it muscle mass, the heart has to work hard,
and the horse begins to tire. The dry anatomy of the Akhal-Teke means that
heart has to work less hard to circulate the blood”(p302).
The general relation of a lean, “dry” anatomy to the
capacity for strength and endurance prides a useful explanation for how and why
these qualities were bred into the breed. It also explains why a very “dry”
appearance is found in many desert bred Salukis and why a “dry” anatomy is also
characteristic of the Saluki breed as a whole, compared with other breeds. It
also counter indicates the insidious trend to breed up in size and weight and
away from moderation for show purposes, because of the subsequent loss in
function, speed and endurance that will result.
In general: “The Akhal-Teke is a true desert bred horse with
a light, elegant build and an original and distinctive conformation….The
overall effect is of the long, lean grace of a greyhound” (Case).
STANDARDS
In working through this description from multiple sources of
the Akhal-Teke, an ancient desert bred breed, one is repeatedly reminded of the
Saluki standard. If the horse were not being continuously mentioned and if it
were not for the anatomical differences, one could easily substitute the Saluki
as the object of the discussion. One begins to ponder if, at the basis of all
these breeding objectives, there is a general “standard” that over the
centuries has been applied to both desert bred breeds, horse and dog. Perhaps,
when Western dog breeders formulated their written standards for these desert
bred dogs from the same region, they were making the first written formulation
of what has been a general standard for breeding in the Near East, one which
has been passed on in the oral tradition among the tribes throughout the
millennia. The Akhal-Teke still has no formal, written standard, promulgated by
a national organization, which is used in judging the breed. As a strain or
breed, it still uses the informal standard which has been derived from the oral
tradition and which remains within the scope of the ancient, tribal traditions.
But this same standard, used for desert bred horse breeds, appears to be almost
identical, or is at least very similar, to the formal, written Western
standards of the Saluki breed. Yet the breeders of Central Asia in their
isolation have had no knowledge of or recourse to Western written standards:
and, vice-versa, the Saluki breeders of the West have had no recorded contact
with the Saluki (“Tazi”) or horse breeders of this region.
It would appear, therefore, that the formal standard of the
Saluki breed derived indirectly from an ancient, universal, unwritten standard
in the oral tradition of breeders in Central Asia and the Middle East. What has
been added by the West is a written format and an organizational association
with a pedigree-registry, established to maintain “purebred” status, which
concept perhaps derived as well from the “pure-in-strain” notion of the
strain-breeding that has always been central to breeding practices in the
region. It is only recently that “breed” has replaced “strain”, although
nowadays the two are arbitrarily intermixed and confused with resultant lack of
clarity for a precise understanding of the historical development of breeding
practices and “breeds.”
The Akhal-Teke is a breed or strain of ancient “Arabian” or
Near Eastern horse, coming down in a direct line from the first domesticated
horses. Today it remains perhaps closer than any other extant breed to its
ancient origins and the traditions which brought it into being. Like the desert
bred Saluki, it still has an important role to play in reminding us of what is
authentic and unique to these ancient breeds. When we depart from the path
forged by these ancient breeds and their breeders, we lose what is vital and
essential to these breeds - a loss that can occur with every single breeding
decision that does not focus seriously on the preservation of the essential
characteristics of the breeds. If we lose the true nature and characteristics
of these ancient breeds and many are in serious trouble, we lose gene pools and
genetic characteristics which it took millennia to build and which are
irreplaceable. The story of the founding of the Thoroughbred only helps to
prove that their value is continuous and incalculable. It is the same
ecological argument which is advocating the preservation of the endangered,
wild species of animals.
We also have a problem currently with the notion of
standards. There has been a strong effort made to “standardize” breed
standards, which the Saluki breed has wisely resisted because of the
deleterious effect it would have on a breed which was constituted, like the
“historic” and “classic” Arabian horses, from a variety of strains. These were
strains that allowed for flexibility in “type” and for development of
characteristics which went to ensure the highest quality in the breed. They
also allowed for the large and diverse gene pool that is necessary to maintain
health and vigor in a breed, and the lack of which is quickly becoming all too
apparent as a serious problem in “pure-bred dogs” where gene pools have become
too restrictive or by their homogeneity too susceptible to harmful genetic
traits.
When changes are made without the necessary thought about
what is good for a breed, instead of what is good for someone or something
else, very destructive mistakes can occur-we have seen their effects over and
over in the history of the ancient breeds. For example, one knowledgeable, long
term Borzoi breeder told me that the trend towards the two-dimensional,
“angelfish” Borzoi began when the standard was changed to allow for an increase
in height: however, someone forgot to increase the weight allowance to go with
the height increase. The trend towards extremes has obviated the balance,
soundness, and functionality of moderation in many breeds. The Saluki breed
would do well to adhere firmly to its present standard, which appears to have
been formulated, not in this century, but to have been formulated in antiquity
and to have guided breeders for ages in their development and preservation of
these ancient breeds.
What we need for better judging is not a “standardized”
standard but better hands-on knowledge of animals: familiarity with pedigrees
and the merits and faults of individual animals: awareness of breed
characteristics and of negative genetic traits in a gene pool: re-emphasis on
strain-breeding: knowledge of breeding patterns and of which particular pattern
will improve/correct/fix a trait, maintain vigor, assure special breed
characteristics and good temperament, etc. No written standard will ever
replace the accumulation of real knowledge and in-depth experience. We who are
involved with the ancient breeds can be assured that we have the support of a
long and proven breeding tradition behind us. If we learn more about it, if we
continue the practices which made and maintained our ancient breeds in the
past, we have a strong foundation which will help to carry these exceptional
breeds into the future. The path is not an easy one, and it is one that
requires special gifts in the people who dedicate themselves to preserving “the
rarest and the most beautiful”.
The native Akhal-Teke breeders, the breeders who seek to
preserve the pure desert bred strains and breeds, know they are dealing with
something more than a recreational activity, a sport, or a commercial venture.
They are preserving an ancient and noble way of life, whose creatures, beyond
being animals, are irreplaceable works of art. They are species bearing unique
and highly specialized functions which took millennia to develop and which can
be lost in just a short time, if not properly cared for. We are required to be
artists, scientists, and curators as well as fanciers and breeders. We need to
know the whole scope of our duties to these breeds and the required skills for
maintaining them. We need to be innovative and to develop methods and means, in
tandem with the breeders of the ancient horse breeds, which will help all our
breeds to survive true and intact into future ages.
As Maslow indicates, these are not just “sacred” animals,
but they are also maintained by “sacred trust”? Much thought and definition can
still be lent by each and every member of the trust, those of us who take it on
as an avocation when we make a commitment to one of these breeds. As we have
seen from the experiences of the breeders of the classic Arabian, and now of
the Akhal-Teke as well, these are our friends and allies who share in this
sacred trust and it will take that special kind of commitment to preserve these
breeds in an authentic state for perpetuity.
