Surrounding the whole topic of studbook management there are several specific problematic issues, which need to be addressed. Especially the non-suspecting, western newcomers to the breed will not be aware of these issues, as they are so totally outside of the normality of horsebreeding standards that few of them even notice what is being done or how things are being done so differently. Other issues are quite simply detrimental to the breed and glossed over.

1. Lack of Democratic Structures

As is explained in both the articles about MAAK as well as WATO, the Akhal Teke studbook was never maintained by a democratic system and the currently largest breeders have no intention of changing this.

For the past century the studbooks were maintained by civil servants, like e.g. Tatiana Ryabova did for the past decades, who ruled every decision singlehandedly, with neither control of individual decisions, nor democratic decision processes regarding practically every aspect of studbook and breed management, nor any contingency for appeal procedures, nor any publication of whatever grounds decisions are based upon, and of course there was and is little open discussion about any of this. In short: currently the studbook and breed management of the Akhal Teke is a totalitarian dictatorship of one person installed by a governmental body (VNIIK), which insists on managing the breed as if it were still state-owned, even though by now there exist no statefarms anymore, nor is there even any agreement on who truly is the originating state.

Already the shady founding procedures of WATO, which purposefully excluded a vast number of breeders, especially smaller private and non-Russian breeders from participating by ensuring that only such heard about it who are guaranteed to simply go along with what the major players of the breed decide, show us that WATO will not constitute any improvement of that situation. Given our day and age with readily available means of having those who cannot travel conference in electronically instead of in person, there is no excuse for such a mode of operation - safe the conscious will to simply change one dictatorship for another. This is underlined by the immediate resurgence of rules (e.g. votes as per number of purebred broodmares) which will ensure that those wishing to step into the dictating position will have the majority of any vote before anything is even voted upon. This is clearly mere windowdressing. One doesn't even have to mention the fact that such a system not just excludes smaller breeders, but also stallion owners and of course also the complete fraction of people owning only the many shadily evicted partbreds (even though both closed and partbred studbook will be maintained by the same entity). Thus, WATO is no step towards real modern democratic studbook and breed management, it is simply an effigy meant to outwardly appease western customers of the large Russian studfarms, while going on as it were.

To clarify the differences between e.g. the practice of another oriental breed studbook maintained firmly grounded in a democratic system and the current dictatorial Akhal Teke studbook, let us look at how WAHO (World Arabian Horse Organisation) and how VNIIK dealt with the problem of sires of questionable origin. Based on democratically agreed upon procedures of research and definitions WAHO researchers of the - democratically voted - examination committee looked into the background of sire Sharkasi with meticulous care, presented their findings to a - democratically voted - committee of executives, who decided on further research after hearing a specialist of the breed local to the place of birth of said stallion, and after this further research produced results, the executive committee voted on the status of Sharkasi. VNIIK or rather Tatiana Ryabova on the other hand rejected the status of purity of sire Agat after allegedly receiving a letter from a former stable hand at the studfarm that he was born at. No proof was produced in front of a simple meeting of breeders, e.g. as in inviting the relevant stable hand to give a public account of why he believed Agat to have been sired by another sire or at least producing the letter itself. All was done in a "you have to take my word on this" manner, the word of the renowned breeder using Agat (V. Schamborant) however was not duly considered. No official voting was taken on the problem either and no one owning Agat offspring had any means to file an appeal.

2. Total Lack of Awareness of Genetics

Inspite of the fact that since roughly two decades not just general inbreeding depression has made itself felt, but that also genetic load has started to have unfavorable effects on the Akhal Teke breed, and that we just watched the advent of the first visible lethal recessives, the breed and studbook management shows a marked lack of reaction or even the most marginal awareness of modern genetic science except where it simplifies minor matters such as proof of parentage.

Both the old studbook management as well as the proposed new one are in denial of the current state of affairs:

• an average lifetime of less than 16 years
• an AVK of less than 50% (85% would be the minimum)
• a significant rise of immunerelated deficiences
• a significant rise of orthopaedic deficiences (such as kissing spine or ringbone)
• a significant rise of vicious characters or stereotypal behaviourisms
• a rise of horses breaking down very early in their lives
• miserable conception and fertility rates (way under the norm)
• very high abortion/reabsorption rates
• high numbers of sterile stallions
• timewise early loss of fertility in stallions
• large number of sires with low semen quality
• advent of the lethal recessive "Naked Foal Syndrome"
• advent of the lethal recessive "Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Disease"

And this puts names but to the most pressing issues the breed is suffering from. While even the educated layman is able to see that there very obviously is a major genetic problem the Akhal Teke suffers from, while every other studbook management already would have at the very least a research group working towards a solution, we don't even see open debate and registration of the issues with the current studbook management of the Akhal Teke. Not just that, the proposed board of directors of WATO also blithely state that all is well.

Instead of seeking the aid of population geneticians, all of whom would immediately point out that the main reason for the surge of genetic problems is the low amount of genetic diversity of the breed, the high amount of inbreeding done by all major breeders and the deviant culling it is subjected to, one can watch the concerted effort of all to sweep these problems under the mat. Even worse, in the case of the naked foals born lately in a mind-boggling number for so small a population, the only reaction is one of mild interest and the statement that "these foals look very typical".

This lack of reaction and modern breeding science can be explained via the rather distorted teachings all current breeders and so-called studbook experts still received through former USSR curriculi, which - to say it mildly - propagated some extremely curious ideas (e.g. that genetic influence does not exist, that everything is environmental), but it can't serve as an excuse to not seek some up to date education and help from scientists who are up to dealing with such problems.

3. Massive Discrimination Against Non-Russian Breeders

The discrimination against breeders not living in Russia does not confine itself to keeping them from influence on studbook decisions. Thanks to a few out-spoken smaller Russian breeders it has been discovered a while ago that horses sold abroad were regularly downgraded by the studbook management on their export pedigrees.

This lead to such curiosities as horses having been graded straight Elite while still serving as breeding animals in Russia with these bonitations duly entering and heightening the grading of their Russian offspring, being then downgraded often even a whole class when exported, with the subsequent offspring abroad also not benefitting from the original Elite grade. Given the late new grading rules which bar any offspring from a non-Elite parent to achieving an Elite grade, this has far-reaching ramifications. Not just that horses were downgraded, they also magically tended to lose height once exported. And as if this wasn't enough the current studbook management runs a long line of "in absentia" gradings and measurings, usually not very good ones, of horses they haven't ever seen in person.

This whole affair is especially interesting insofar that various high-profile Russian breeders and riders have used the allegedly deserved low grades of Akhal Teke kept or bred abroad to document the superiority of home breeding and the lack of knowledge and breeding expertise of non-Russian breeders.

Regardless of the fact that the current bonitation and grading system does not comply to the breed characteristica per se, such a comportment belongs to the lowest possible category of human behaviour and character.

4. Lack of Open, Free and Modern Studbook Management and Maintenance

The VNIIK studbook is managed as if the scientific progress of the last 100 years never happened and in a proprietory manner which totally excludes breeders and owners from due information and freedom of choice.

None of the current and former data exist in a digitalized form to which breeders and owners of Akhal Teke have free access at all times, especially from abroad or prior to purchases. Especially the data concerning evictions from the closed studbook, data which quite clearly have great import on the financial situations of the owners or buyers of these horses, are kept firmly locked away from anyone who has a vested interest in knowing more or possibly questioning them.

Studbooks are exclusively available in printed form, and old editions have not just been allowed to become sold out, they haven't been reprinted either, even though today it is no problem at all to digitalize them and offer them via one of the book on demand services. Even the still available editions are very hard to acquire, especially from outside Russia, not to speak of the partbred books.

Every studbook so far contained mistakes, which is quite a normal thing - human beings are fallible. What is not so normal is that mistakes are rarely corrected in a definite manner which leaves nothing open to questions. It would be easy to preface every new edition with a chapter on which horses had to be corrected in prior editions and on what grounds.

Very important data are left out of the studbooks, like e.g. the results of bloodtests and DNA-tests. This, in a breed with a closed studbook and considerably value depending on these results, is inadmissable.

Add to that that conversation with the studbook management is difficult, time-consuming and often limited due lack of an international language like e.g. English being spoken fluently at least by one of the relevant secretaries, that papers for foals can take years in the making and delivery and that there still is no acceptable payment route for breeders living outside of Russia, it is clear that besides everything else sheer management needs a major overhauling before meeting with current international standards.

Lastly, inroads are made by WATO to restrict usage of the studbook data by anyone but them. While it certainly is admissable to copyright work based on gathered data, it is not in the interest of either the breed itself or the customers and breeders if usage of these data is restricted to those maintaining the studbook only. This practically holds every owner and breeder of Akhal Teke hostage to the whims and follies of a very small group of individuals who - as of current knowledge - are principally profit-oriented. So far all breeders and owners have paid for their data to be gathered and maintained, be it through the prices of the horses, the fees rendered or the tests paid themselves. Studbook personnel has been - for decades - invited and travelled through the studfarms at the expense of those wishing to have their horses inspected and registered. In short: these data have been paid for several times already, by the breeders themselves. Consequentially they also belong to everyone.