During the past week another two very young Akhal Teke died on their (still) totally unprepared for this owners. In one case a cherished mare of barely seven years, in the other a famed and extremely expensive stud just having turned five.

The circumstances around the mare's accidental death during breeding have not yet been ascertained completely. Khabib Shael however simply dropped dead from one moment to the next in his paddock, the cause most probably a brain aneurism. Barely 5 years old, imported at great cost by Kerri-Jo Stewart of Argamak Stud Canada from ShaEl Stud a short while ago, he left only two foals before his untimely death.

And even though the majority of breeders still refuse to see facts and acknowledge realities, he is just one of the many cases which lately lower importantly the average lifespan of the breed (have a look at our statistics on lifespans!). He's not even the only Akhal Teke to simply drop dead while munching grass on the pasture or resting in their stalls as if felled by an axe, there have been several such sudden deaths during the past 12 months. The usual veterinarian verdict is brain, pulmonary or aortic aneurism. More than 50 such sudden untimely deaths of Akhal Teke have occurred during the past few years and these are only those, where it is known that they simply dropped dead from one moment to the other or their owners found them dead in the morning without any hint as to the cause.

Instead of going into a concerted denial effort owners ought to wisen up to these harsh possibilities. Insure your horses if they were very expensive, at least against sudden death. Do have your stallions collected and frozen early on, whether freak accident or sudden pasture death, stroke or colic, do prepare for the eventuality that the stallion your breeding program depends on as much as the breeding programs and breeding needs of other breeders might die at any given time. The Akhal Teke breed most certainly does not have the numbers and the diversity to tolerate much more of this continuous loss of genes which we can watch happen as we speak. If you have an aged stallion, then have him tested for freezing his semen and have it done first opportunity after breeding season. The breed has by now far too few ressources of well-aged and longlived sires. We breeders will need these ressources desperately soon if the current development continues as fast as it does. Owners of aged and young mares should consider their breeding value and have at least one year's embryos frozen as well.

Our condolences to those who lost their beloved horses this week.