Horses Turkmenistan 4
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Turkmenistan has a separate agency, Turkmen Atlary, responsible for the breeding, training and maintenance of Akhal-Teke horses.[31] However, the agency's work has been the focus of criticism from the President of the country, who holds the agency responsible for decreasing numbers of horses and inadequate facilities for their breeding, training and management.[32] At present Akhal-Teke horses in Turkmenistan are not registered with any other studbook. The main reason for this are allegations of a heavy infusion of Thoroughbred blood into the breed to create faster horses for racing in Turkmenistan.[33] There are estimates that as many as 30% of the horses in the Ashgabat hippodrome were not purebred.[34]
When the first horse minister of newly-independent Turkmenistan, Geldy Kyarizov, a lifelong advocate for the Akhal-Teke and former chair of the International Association of Akhal-Teke Breeders, began utilizing DNA to establish an Akhal-Teke studbook, he uncovered the pattern of adding in Thoroughbred blood. His decision to go public with this information was viewed as a threat to the profits of the horse-breeding establishment and he fell out of favor with the Turkmenistan government,[35] and in particular, then-President Saparmurat Niyazov.[36] He was charged with abuse of office and negligence in 2002, convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. He was ultimately pardoned in October 2007,[37] when Niyazov died and his successor, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, took control of the country.[36] By 2012, Kyarizov's health, which had been poor since his arrest and subsequent imprisonment, had deteriorated to the point he needed to go abroad for medical care, but was initially prevented from leaving the country.[37] By 2015, he was allowed to travel to Moscow for medical care, but family members, including his 14-year-old daughter, were forced to remain behind to "guarantee" his return. Ultimately, in September, 2015, the entire family was allowed to leave.[35]
Turkmen Atlary, in its capacity as the administrative arm of the International Akhal-Teke Horse Association, hosts a meeting of the association once or twice a year upon invitation in Ashgabat. Most of the bigger breeding farms and national Akhal Teke associations as well as Akhal Teke owners and representatives of the horse industry from around the world attend.[38] There is a horse racing organization called "Galkinysh" .[39] In Ashgabat, the Ahalteke equestrian complex,[40] one of the largest in Central Asia, is a horse-breeding center. The former Akhal-Teke horse Holiday, celebrated on the last Sunday in April, has been renamed 'Turkmen Horse Day