What Happened To Sunmicrosystems

The horse world's rarest and most precious of



His Majesty the Akhal-Teke




"The golden horse", "the athlete from the mantle of silk," "the only truly pure thoroughbred," "the
most beautiful horse in the world ': can not talk about him without resorting to superlatives. Surely
the Akhal Teke is an extraordinary animal. Different from other horses as much as the greyhound,
for example, is different from other dogs.

E 'originating in Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, rich in
immense natural gas reserves, located between the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan, bordered on the north and south
Uzbekistan, with Iran. His birthplace home is an oasis in the midst of prosperous sort
Karakum desert, the valley dell'Akhal, whose capital bears a name, Ashkabad,
translates to "City of Love." This paradise is the fiefdom of a Turkmen tribe, the
Teke, few in number but always known for the quality of their embroidery, jewelry and carpets. Their company

more successful, their most beautiful creation, however, is not a product
craft, but a horse. A horse is not very high (from 1.60 to 1.65 m) but slender,
fine, graceful, aristocratic, the coat silky, metallic reflections, from gaits
flowing. A horse with long legs, very dall'incollatura detected, with the head and the expressive
tuft almost non-existent.

"A horse that you would gladly She" explained Maria Cerkezova, a Russian settled in Ashkabad and nicknamed "the mother of the Akhal Teke" for having dedicated his whole life (he died in 2003) to the preservation of this magnificent race, which threatened with extinction due to unforgiving nature of a (Ashkabad was devastated twice, in 1924 and 1948, earthquakes), but also of human stupidity: taking the view that the horse had to make way for the mechanization, the Soviets had decided in the 50s, to dell'Akhal Teke an animal for slaughter!

would be a sad end for such a fantastic animal, a horse from the past is so prestigious. The Turkmens, in fact, believe without a shadow of a doubt that their horse - which today stands at the center of the emblem of their republic, is the ancestor of all horses. And 'certainly was the steed of the Shiites, and even parts of the Amazon. Surely Bucephalus, the horse of Alexander the Great, was an Akhal Teke. Surely the famous "heavenly horses" of the Chinese emperors were also Akhal Teke.

Certainly without the courage to expert lovers, like Mary Cerkezova or Shamborant Vladimir (Soviet livestock from France), who opposed the slaughter, the breed would probably be extinct. Today, fortunately, is the subject of loving care, not only in its homeland but also in neighboring countries, mainly in Russia, Germany, and even, for a short time now, the United States. Despite this now spread worldwide, the Akhal Teke is a rare animal: worldwide there are about little more than three thousand copies.

appreciated for centuries for His prodigious skills and background resistance, the Turkmen horse was noted for the particularly gifted dressage: Absent was one of the most award-winning horses in the history of the Olympic Games. This ease of learning, coupled with its extraordinary beauty, it is also sought by an animal circuses all over the world.

Text by Jean-Louis Gouraud
From the book "HORSES" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand