About the Akhal-Teke Foundation
Our Mission •
Our People •
Sponsors •
Memberships and Awards •
ATF in the News •
History of the Foundation
The Akhal-Teke Foundation is an award-winning 501(c)3 public charity for saving the rare & amazing Akhal-Teke horse, with programs to support long term conservation breeding and the success of Akhal-Teke horses and their people.
What is an Akhal-Teke? Why are they so important?
The Akhal-Teke is one of the oldest and rarest horse breeds, with only around 350-500 registered purebreds in North America, and 3500-5000 worldwide. The Akhal-Teke goes back some 4000 years, to the dawn of horse domestication, and they are the precursors to the Thoroughbred. A passionate, expressive, intelligent, and loving breed, naturally great at many sports including endurance racing, jumping, eventing, polo, and dressage. One of the few 'hot blooded' breeds, along with Thoroughbreds and Arabians. Perhaps best known for their unique metallic sheen, earning the label of "world's most beautiful horse".
The Akhal-Teke is the athletic foundation for most modern sport horse breeds, and in particular, it’s the foundation of the modern Thoroughbred, created in the 1700s by breeding Akhal-Teke stallions with local English mares. DNA research has also shown that 6 of the 8 founding sires of the Lipizzaner were Akhal-Tekes.
The Akhal-Teke horse breed is listed by national and international organizations as endangered, threatened, vulnerable or otherwise considered at risk, including the Livestock Conservancy, Equine Survival Trust, the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Select Breeders Services has partnered to support reproductive services to rare equine breeders, offering a substantial discount for a variety of services.
As a uniquely elegant, and yet biologically “primitive breed,” still carrying significant genetic characteristics of the species Equus caballus that predate horse domestication, maintaining the ancient Akhal-Teke is also critical in terms of fundamental global biodiversity.
Who are we, the Akhal-Teke Foundation?
The Akhal-Teke Foundation (ATF) is the only 501(c)3 nonprofit supporting the recovery of the Akhal-Teke horse breed.
Through the ATF, we are building a bold new structure, modeled broadly on the European system of national stud farms, publicly funded, to support important equine breeds. The Akhal-Teke Center is the only conservation breeding nonprofit stud farm held in the public trust, supported by public contributions, and it’s located with the generous donation of long term substantial use of a beautiful 800 farm in the Blue Ridge foothills. The Akhal-Teke Center serves breed preservation directly, with active, selected reproduction of resident and leased purebred mares and stallions.
What does the ATF do?
- Building and supporting a core conservation breeding herd of Akhal-Tekes. Currently we support 24 purebreds, expecting five foals (2025) and breeding 10 mares for 2026.
- Maintaining and growing our cryogenic archive of purebred Akhal-Teke horses, including frozen semen and cell lines, expanding into frozen embryos.
- Building and mentoring a network of responsible Akhal-Teke breeders across North America.
- Supporting and leading programs to rescue at-risk purebred Akhal-Tekes. Rescued the largest Akhal-Teke stud farm in Northern America.
- Currently developing one of the first endangered equine recovery plans (robust census, pedigree analysis, DNA analysis, setting population recovery goals)
- The ATF is embarking on a census paired with a pedigree analysis and DNA testing to confirm the AT population and its structure in North America.
What’s the urgency?
Once the genetics are gone, they’re gone forever. “Extinction is forever.”
Why a publicly held stud farm dedicated to conservation breeding for a healthy population?
Conventional horse breeders breed for specific purposes, necessarily favoring a commercial, recreational market, often following the latest trend or fad. Over time their selection process leads to a smaller gene pool, a loss of diversity and a host of vulnerabilities (lethal genes, disease, susceptibility to illness, etc.).
Conservation breeding doesn’t lend itself to a conventional horse breeding business model. Successful conventional breeders often offer a type or even specific bloodlines based on what is currently marketable. Their success is often based on offering a consistent product and leans toward uniformity and reduced diversity.
In order to recoup some of their costs, small breeders of endangered horses tend to sell off breedable animals with rare genetics, leading to genetic loss in the breeding population. Stallions are often gelded, or hardly bred, and mares not bred, as they are used as sport or pleasure animals. Conventional breeding can’t solely support a conservation endeavor for the public good and also be financially sustainable on a commercial basis. However, a conservation breeding herd can support conventional breeders with genetically diverse stock that would otherwise not be available.
By The Numbers
Approximately 350 purebred Akhal-Tekes horses in North America. (About 3,500-5,000 exist worldwide.)
To put this in context, there are some 60 million horses in North America, of the largest breeds represented, including millions of Quarter Horses, around 100,000 Thoroughbreds, 100,000 Arabians.
About one in 20,000 horses in North America is an Akhal-Teke.
Assuming a 50%-50% representation of males and females, divide 350 known Akhal-Tekes in North America in half, that’s roughly 175 mares.
Divide that in half and fewer than 90 is roughly your totally theoretically breedable mares, not too young nor too old, reasonably healthy and physically able to reproduce. Then figure a good number of those are companion animals or pets, amateur, or professional competitors. Remember, the average conception rate for a horse breeding farm is 65% and gestation is about 11 months or 340 days. A single mare should likely have breeding years off periodically to preserve their health. It’s little wonder that on an annual basis only 10-15 purebred Akhal-Teke foals are born each year in North America.
Exacerbate that dwindling population with shrinking genetic diversity and you have an impending disaster, an endangered breed, ongoing loss of genetic diversity and eventually the loss of a breed.
How to Help
Our People
Pat Johnston
Founding President
Pat is president of the Livestock Conservancy, and a recent board member of the Akhal-Teke Association of America. A life-long horsewoman, her degrees and professional background span biology and ecology, collaboration and project management. Her non-profit experience includes serving as an officer and board member on a diversity of non-profit organizations, as well as successful fundraising of millions of dollars for various non-profit and community projects.
Kevin Matthews
Founding Secretary
With the breadth of blacksmith, educator, and entrepreneur, Kevin combines formal education in horse breeding and genetics, training, and riding, with practical experience from breeding, training, and transport, to nutritional analysis and forage production, to managing horse operations, international sales, and equestrian disaster aid. Kevin has served various non-profit, higher-education, and government organizations as a board and committee member and officer, including successful fundraising for a variety of NGO and community projects. He recently served on the board of the Akhal-Teke Association of America (ATAA).
Memberships and Awards
Memberships
The Akhal-Teke Foundation maintains memberships in related organizations where it furthers our non-profit mission of preserving the Akhal-Teke breed through public education and support.
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Akhal-Teke Association of America (ATAA) — North America
Akhal-Teke Horse Association (ATHA) — Europe
United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)
United States Dressage Federation (USDF)
Equine Science Society
United Horse Coalition
Equus Survival Trust Affiliate
Endangered Equine Alliance
A Home for Every Horse
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Akhal-Teke Association of America Publicity Award
Akhal-Teke Association of America Volunteer Award for Community Involvement
Akhal-Teke Association of America Horse of the Year Award for Adamek
Akhal-Teke Association of America Producer of the Year Award for Adamek
USDF Region 1 Fourth Level Open Reserve Champion (2022) for Adamek, trained and ridden by Sabine Desper
Adequan/USDF National All Breeds Award for Adamek (2022), trained and ridden by Sabine Desper
Breyer Horses portrait model of ATF stallion Adamek (2022)
Virginia USDF Third Level Open Champion (2023) for Adamek, trained and ridden by Sabine Desper
Virginia USDF Fourth Level Open Reserve Champion (2023) for Adamek, trained and ridden by Sabine Desper
Equus Foundation Klinger Award nomination
Sponsors
We are grateful to these Sponsors, Major Donors, and In-Kind and Non-Profit Discount Supporters. Thank you!
Including Artur Baboev, Barn Manager, Breyer Model Horses, Purina Mills, John Deere, Akhal-Teke Association of America, The Livestock Conservancy, Richard B. Negley and Leith Askins Negley, Katherine Yates, Rona Garm, Olwen Busch, Marcia deChadenedes, Annina Speerli, Nancy Salminen, Joy Caughron, Mary Sue Oleson, Lucy Leaf, Leslie Case, Lori Case, John Macone, Peter Macone, Michael Liebling, Kathryn Tannert, Yorke McGillivray, Larry and Karla Pattis, Susan McClafferty, Pia Johansen, Jose Moreira, Jaime Blees, Dan Thompson, Tom and Gail Frame, and important Anonymous Contributors.
Please call us any time at 541-514-4766, or email us at akhaltekefoundation@gmail.com, to donate, for planned giving, and to discuss sponsorship opportunities.