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 Dominant
Black, also called "Electric Black" and
Raven Black, is quite common in the Akhal-Teke.
Combined with the famous Akhal-Teke Glow, these
horses literally glitter with a blue or purple
sheen. This color is so special that it has its
own name, voronaya, in Russian. This is
the color of five time Olympic medalist (2 gold,
2 silver, 1 Bronze) ABSENT, and is found in many
of his descendants. The horse in the photograph
is stallion 1021 AZAL (Angar x Karlangatch, Line
Skak), owned by the late Eberhard Sprandel. Azal
figures prominently in many American Teke pedigrees.
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 Light
Palomino. This horse, 885 KAMBAR (432 Karlavach
x 1127 Karali; Line Karlavach), is the world record
holder for racing distances of 4000-8000 meters.
Seeing his picture has been the start of Teke-love
for many an American! This color is often called "isabella" in
much of the United States, although in Europe and
in Russian "isabella" refers to cremello
and perlino.
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 Mahogany
Bay. The "sooty" factor, which gives
a black tip to the hairs, produces many lovely
variations in horse color. This is AAKT62 ASTRACHAN
(AAKT101 Melechan x AAKT126 Fargona; Line Gelishikli),
the number 1 rated Elite Akhal-Teke stallion in
North America, owned by Cathy Leddy.
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 Dark
Golden Dun. Along with Golden Bay, Golden Buckskin
and Golden Dun, one of the archetypical Akhal-Teke
colors. In the sunlight, the coat glitters with
gold in a way that a camera simply cannot capture.
This color (actually a form of olive grulla) is
so dark that it is often mistaken for a non-red
bay; but a stripe down the spine and zebra striping
on the legs show that this is a dun. This is MV
KATRINA (MV Mazan x Kyra, Line Yel), owned by Fara
Shimbo.
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Bay. The Akhal-Teke produces some spectacular
bays, with coats which glitter with reds and golds.
This is AAKT 148 GORA (1028 Amelit 12 x 2171 Galatea;
Line Gelishkli) imported from Russia and owned by
April Pruente.
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 Dunskin. In
the Akhal-Teke, the dun and cream factors can combine
in some striking ways. In this case, the result was
a foal with a bicolored mane. The bicolor mane is
not common; usually these horses have black manes
and tails. This is the mare AAKT56 PELENLI (883 Kaltaman
x 1838 Pikhta; line Fakirpelvan), and her son AAKT130
GLOZENOV (by AAKT62 Astrakhan). Pelenli shows the
extremely light version of this color. This horse,
below as an adult, shows no white in his mane.
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 Liver
Chestnut. While not as common in the Teke as
it is in the Morgan, this color is found quite
often in the Teke. In fact, this was the color
of the line founding stallion 828 Fakirpelvan,
sire of the famous European jumper Penteli.
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 Palomino. The
Akhal-Teke produces some truly stunning palominos,
usually with plenty of chrome. This is field hunter
MV MAZAN, sire of Katrina above.
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 Chestnut. In
Tekes, chestnuts tend to be more golden than red,
but there are a fair share of lovely redheads. This
is stallion AAKT29 DOBLET who is featured elsewhere
on this site.
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 Cremello. Cremellos
(or "isabellas" in Europe) and Perlinos
are found quite commonly in the Akhal-Teke. The glow
to the coat of these blue-eyed wonders is so strong
that it is visible even in a darkened barn. This
is AAKT159 SHAZADA GIZ (Myzar x 2354 Magura; line
Gelishikli), a mare imported from Italy and now owned
by Amrita Ibold.
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 Claybank or Red
Dun. A rarity among Tekes. This mare is owned
by the Niasov (formerly Komsomol) breeding facility
in Turkmenistan.
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 Cream
Grulla. This is a combination of grulla or
dark golden dun and perlino. In this color, the
eyes may be blue, grey or hazel. Russian stallion
CHAKAN.
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 Grey. Greys
are actually fairly common in Tekes. They are often
beautifully dappled and many turn completely white.
This is mare Olympic Gul (Myzar x Olympia, Line Gelishikli)
owned by Amrita Ibold. Note the hooded eye, particularly
evident in this very sweet mare.
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 Grulla. Among
Tekes, most grullas are of the "olive" variety
and usually called Dark Golden Dun. Here is a true
Slate Grulla, part of a herd from Russia. Grulla
can be distinguished from grey in that the head is
dark and the color does not change with age.
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 Golden. Called "Bulanaya" in
Russian, this is thehe archetypical color of the
Akhal-Teke horse. These horses are sometimes purely
buckskin (without a spinal stripe) or dunskin (with
a spinal stripe a few shades lighter than the mane
and tail but darker than the coat and plainly visible).
In this breed, because of the unique structure of
the hairs, these horses may be quite dark in color
and may even be confused with bay; however, when
bred together, they can produce perlinos and cremellos.
This is the famous stallion AAKT1 SENETIR (917 Sektor
x 1431 Altyn; line Peren), the first Akhal-Teke to
reach the United States, photographed at three years
of age at the Komsomol Hippodrome, Ashkabad, Turkmenistan.
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 Perlino. Perlino
differs from Cremello in that there is some reddish
or brownish color to the tail and often the hocks,
knees and legs. As with the cremello, the eyes are
blue. This is the stallion ALIGER (Amelit x Gumsara,
Line Gelishikli), owned by April Pruente.
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Akhal-Tekes typically have white markings,
and some sport a great deal of "chrome." Sabino
pinto markings are not at all uncommon, and rabicano
is also seen. Older stud books list roan as an Akhal-Teke
color, although this line seems to have died out.
Akhal-Tekes are registered on the basis of parentage
only. While some breeders prefer some colors over
others, there are no "disallowed" colors
or markings in the Akhal-Teke breed.
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The Akhal-Teke typically has a marvelous metallic
glow to his coat. This is caused by the structure
of the hair; the opaque core is very reduced in size
and may in areas be altogether absent. The transparent
part of the hair (the medulla) takes up this space,
and acts like a light-pipe, bending light through
one side of the hair and refracting it out the other
side, often with a golden cast. You can see the structures
clearly in the photomicrograph below. The top hair
is from an Akhal-Teke; the middle from an Arabian;
the lower from a half-Thoroughbred Appaloosa.
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