The Akhal-Teke horse of Turkmen, with its distinctive metallic sheen, is renowned for speed endurance, intelligence and courage.
It’s ancestry dates back thousands of years. Some consider it one of the original four horse “types” to have crossed the Bearing Strait from the Americas in prehistoric times.
It is said there are, currently, less than 7,000 Akhal-Tekes in the world, mostly in Turkmenistan and Russia.
At the center of the Turkmenistan Emblem of State, within the blue circle, stands Yanardag, the Akhal-Teke horse born in the year of independence from the Soviet Union, 1991.
The Turkmen name, Yanardag, translates in to “Fiery Mountain”.
Yanardag was named world champion of the breed in 1999 and has become a symbol of national pride to Turkmenis. He subsequently was acquired by Saparmurat Niazov, the president of Turkmenistan from 1990 through 2006.
Front: Former President Dictator Saparmurat Niazov. Turkmen coat of arms. Back: Akhal-Teke horse.
Hippodrome. Main colour: Purple. Watermark: Portrait of the deceased Turkmenbashi.