Seven Akhal-Teke horses live in the stables of the Presidential Affairs Department, each of them has its own name, character, and place in the family tree. The mare Aqzhan of rare isabelline color is a daughter of purebred Akhal-Teke horses Gauntly and Tabys.
The Head of State treats her especially warmly and personally chose her name.
Akzhan become a real celebrity in recent months, far beyond Kazakhstan; her photos have appeared in local and international publications, and even the British magazine Country Life wrote about her. What makes this mare special is her unusual appearance: her light coat shimmers with a metallic shine in the sun, and after training, when the horse sweats, her soft pink skin starts to show through the coat.
A whole team of trainers, grooms, and veterinarians looks after all seven horses, and their daily schedule is planned down to the hour, including daily training sessions lasting one and a half to two hours, bathing in a special drying area, and three meals a day with added carrots, apples, honey, and vitamin supplements. Young foals are still kept away from heavy workloads; for them, the main thing right now is to grow, get stronger, and learn to trust humans.
What is known about horses' intelligence
Horses are often underestimated, seen only as beautiful and obedient animals, but their mental abilities continue to surprise researchers again and again. Horses have excellent long-term memory; they can remember routes, locations, and even specific people they encountered years ago.
Scientists from the University of Sussex conducted an experiment where they showed a group of horses large photos of people with different facial expressions, happy and angry. It turned out that the animals read human emotions almost like their own kind, and the better a particular horse knows a particular person, the more accurately it recognizes their mood. Akhal-Tekes are considered one of the most sensitive breeds in this regard; they subtly pick up on a person’s state and react to rudeness or indifference much more strongly than most other horses.
Why countries are so protective of their purebred horse stocks
The view of purebred horse breeding as a national treasure isn’t unique to Central Asia. India kept its famous Marwari horses, known for their uniquely inward-curving ears, completely banned from export for decades, fearing that the already small population would simply vanish outside the country. Export was partially allowed only in 2000, and even then, only in small batches and with special permits.
A similar approach was applied for a long time to the Friesian horse in the Netherlands. For centuries, the breed hardly ever left its native province of Friesland, and breeding was strictly controlled by the studbook to maintain bloodline purity. Today, Friesians are exported all over the world, but the breed still holds its status as a national treasure and the title of Holland’s black gold.
In each of these cases, authorities clearly understand that purebred horses are an important resource.
Kazakhstan Among the World Leaders in Number of Horses
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, by the end of 2024, Kazakhstan ranked fourth in the world in terms of horse population and firmly held the top spot in Central Asia. Only Mexico, Brazil, and Mongolia were ahead, while China and Kyrgyzstan were lagging noticeably behind.
Over the past five years, Kazakhstan's horse population has grown by almost half, from 3.1 million to 4.6 million, and continues to increase faster than its regional neighbors. Even at the current growth rate, Kazakhstan still has a way to go, as there's a significant gap of millions of heads to the top three countries. Preserving and multiplying purebred lines, like the Akhal-Teke, is becoming no less important than developing any other branch of agriculture.
A strategic resource, not just a tradition
For Kazakhstan, the horse has never been just an animal for transport. People rode them while migrating, hunting, fighting, measured family wealth with them, and used them to cement alliances, and the Kazakh saying about the horse being the wings of a man still reflects the place the horse holds in national culture.
But in the 21st century, horse breeding also takes on a very practical dimension. It’s export potential, it’s a genetic fund, and the foundation of a whole industry. And purebred horses can become the basis for improving their own unique breeding herds.
