LINES OF AKHALTEKE BREED
Petra Maresova

Overview
Percentual participation of lines

What is the line and line breeding? Line breeding is used for increasing hereditary consolidation of desired traits. It is the higher form of purebred breeding. There are usually more lines within the breed which vary by some typical traits. These could be, e.g. dressage or jumping predispositions in riding horses, speed and stamina in race horses, or constitution or character qualities, etc.
The breeding line usually dies down after 4-7 generations and new lines are formed.
To get major breeding effect there are used also inbred-lines, created by indivuals purposely bred between relatives, or inter-line breeding with combination of two lines of different qualities with aim to compound them.
Simply we could say, that lines are sub-breeds inside the breed.

At this moment there are 18 lines within the Akhalteke breeds, but not all are equivalent. You can see the statistics from the year 2000 here.

As you can see here, the most of today´s lines are derived from the stallion 2a Boinou (1885-1908).
Boinou, golden buckskin, was born in 1885. According to extant pictures and photos, it was very typey stallion, with fine head on the long neck, with long withers and straight, wide back and dry legs. He was not tall (153 cm stick measure).

Boinou was the son of Lelyaning Chepi, grandson of Karamcha and great-grand son of Kutly Sakar. From Kutly Sakar blood is derived 93% of today´s Akhalteke population - Kutly Sakar divided on two lines, Boinou (70% of AT, lines Mele Kush, Sere, Topobai, Karlavach, El, Everdy Teleke, Skak, Peren, Kir Sakar, Kaplan, Arab) and Sultan Guli (Gelishikli and Fakirpelvan).
Boinou was succesful racehorse (despite the fact, that he never ran on Ashkhabad racetrack), with fluid "like a snake" movement.
As a 15 year´s old stallion he was bought by G.A.Mazan to Zakaspiiskii Studfarm. His children inherited his typicalness, together with performance predispositions. Boinout died in 1908, at the age of 23 years.

The line Sultan Guli didn´t have too many horses in 20. years of 20 century yet. The most important breeding stallion of this line was 220 Sluchai. It was stallion of good type, with sable hind legs and steep pasterns. The best offspring he sired with

daughters of Kara Kunon I., Ag Ishan, Dor Bairam and Bek Nazar Al. Among his sons are 323 Baskak, 429 Kara Sur, 454 Koshpeli and finally, the best of them, 629 Fakir Sulu.
629 Fakir Sulu, bay, born 1935, inbred II-IV on Bek Nazar Al, was used as a breeding stallion in Djambul Studfarm for 8 years and then 6 years in Ashkhabad Studfarm. He was quite tall, impressive and typical stallion. The best sons were 790 Safyan, 697 Gelishikli and 828 Fakirpelvan. The last two named formed later own lines.

The Chopar Kel line continued through the stallions Kurt Bai Grey and his son Kurt Bai black, and stallion Ak Sakal.
Kurt Bai black had longer, softer back and sable hind legs, in connection with the mare

Inglis Kurro (grand-daughter of Dovlet Ishan) he sired the founder of the line Dor Bairam.
The stallion Ak Sakal sired with the mare Ilyas, same-named stallion, 13 Ak Sakal, later the participant of Ashkhabad-Moscow ride and founder of the line.
Two other sublines derived from Chopar Kel, Dordja Depel and Durno, never had big influence and dissappeared.

Niderbai line, sometimes called Voron line, today doesn´t exist.
Voron was born in 1898 and in 1902 was bought to Ashkhabad Studfarm, where he was used till 1917. His offspring was tall, with good, massive skeleton, but wasn´t so fast. The only stallion, who was succesful on racetrack, was Voron´s grandson and son of Movlyan Bai, the black Kara Kunon I. But he inherit the speed propably by grandfather from mother´s side, English Thoroughbred Fortingbrass.
Kara Kunon I. didn´t spend too much time in Turkmenistan, and as a 9 year´s old, in 1926, was sold to Northern Caucasus. But he let some offspring in Turkmenistan, usually with correct conformation, but with average type. Some of his children had steep pasterns on hind legs. The best were stallions Karasj and Kara Kunon III and daughters Teili, Sakar Kush and mainly Beifid, the mother of 142 Kizyl (Everdy Teleke).

Line Gecheli, founded by the stallion of same name, also doesn´t exist nowadays. Gecheli was tall, bony stallion of good type, who drew attention of public in exhibition in Kiev in 1913.
The last stallion in direct male line was black stallion 339 Birgut, born 1944.

Information collected from Akhalteke Studbooks III.-X., the book of V.O.Vitt "The Breeds of Central Asia" and book of T.N.Ryabova "The Akhalteke lines"