Turkmenistan is putting significant effort into the training of service horses, as Altyn Asyr TV channel has reported. According to the report, Turkmenistan recently inaugurated a 40-hectare horse breeding complex in one of the foothills of the Kopetdag Ak Bugday district of the Ahal region.

The ceremony was attended by the country's President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Army General Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

"The clean mountain air and natural-climatic features of this corner of the native land, vast meadows create a favorable environment for keeping horses and foals," the report says.

The complex includes an open riding arena, a farmstead for 500 horses, a medical center, and a specialized pool. 

The Akhal-Teke is descended from Turkmen horses, first described more than 3,000 years ago. The American Livestock Conservancy, a non-governmental organization, has placed the Akhal-Teke breed on the endangered list.

In 1935, the Turkmen performed a fantastic publicity stunt to draw attention to the breed. A horse group of Akhalteke stallions traveled 2,500 miles from the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat to Moscow in 84 days. One of the stages of the journey was a 225-mile crossing of the Karakum desert.

The most famous Akhalteke, Absent, won an Olympic dressage gold medal in 1960 and had six trophies in his career, the most ever won by an individual horse.

Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat