History of the Akhal Teke 2

In the times before Christ, the Nissean plain was a very fertile area characterised by wide open plains, ideal for horses to grow tall, athletic and fast. As the desert gradually encroached upon these parts, the people that kept them became ever more reliant on them for their livelihood. As a result their horses had to adapt to withstand famine, and become frugal. The value of the horse was attributed to height and the ability to bear a nomad rider to the Silk Route, plundering the caravans as they came through. There were many Silk Routes to both the North and South of the Caspian Sea, all travelling from Asia to Europe or vice-versa. The people living in this area profited by the constant interchange of goods but also suffered due to army invasion as well - Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes.

Geok Tepe; Russian defeat of Turkmene tribes

People who used these horses included; the Scythians, the Parthians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Turkmenes who gave them the name Akhal Teke, the Moguls who came from Turkmenistan and invaded India, the British- to develop the Thoroughbred and the Germans to develop the Trakehner.