Dominant Black, also called "Electric Black" and Raven Black, is quite common in the Akhal-Teke. Combined with the famous Akhal-Teke Glow, these horses literally glitter with a blue or purple sheen. This color is so special that it has its own name, voronaya, in Russian. This is the color of five time Olympic medalist (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 Bronze) ABSENT, and is found in many of his descendants. The stallion in the photograph is owned by the late Eberhard Sprandel. Azal figures prominently in many American Teke pedigrees.

1021 AZAL
(Angar x Karlangatch, Line Skak)

822 OLIMPIC GUL
(Myzar x Olimpia, Line Gelishikli)

Grey. Greys are actually fairly common in Tekes. They are often beautifully dappled and many turn completely white. Note the hooded eye, particularly evident in this very sweet mare imported from Italy owned by Amrita Ibold.

Mahogany Bay. The "sooty" factor, which gives a black tip to the hairs, produces many lovely variations in horse color. This is the number 1 rated Elite Akhal-Teke stallion in North America, owned by Cathy Leddy.

AAKT62 ASTRACHAN
(AAKT101 Melechan x AAKT126 Fargona; Line Gelishikli)

AAKT148 GORA
(1028 Amelit 12 x 2171 Galatea; Line Gelishkli)

Liver Chestnut. While not as common in the Teke as it is in the Morgan, this color is found quite often in the Teke. In fact, this was the color of the line founding stallion Fakirpelvan (shown here) sire of the famous European jumper Penteli.

828 FAKIRPELVAN
(629 Fakir Sulu x 647 Egoza)

AAKT29 DOBLET

Chestnut. In Tekes, chestnuts tend to be more golden than red, but there are a fair share of lovely redheads. This stallion is a wonderful example of how beautiful the chestnuts can be.

Golden. Called "Bulanaya" in Russian, this is thehe archetypical color of the Akhal-Teke horse. These horses are sometimes purely buckskin (without a spinal stripe) or dunskin (with a spinal stripe a few shades lighter than the mane and tail but darker than the coat and plainly visible). In this breed, because of the unique structure of the hairs, these horses may be quite dark in color and may even be confused with bay; however, when bred together, they can produce perlinos and cremellos. This stallion is the the first Akhal-Teke to reach the United States, photographed at three years of age at the Komsomol Hippodrome, Ashkabad, Turkmenistan.

AAKT1 SENETIR
(917 Sektor x 1431 Altyn; line Peren)

MV KATRINA
(MV Mazan x Kyra, Line Yel)

Dark Golden Dun. Along with Golden Bay, Golden Buckskin and Golden Dun, one of the archetypical Akhal-Teke colors. In the sunlight, the coat glitters with gold in a way that a camera simply cannot capture. This color (actually a form of olive grulla) is so dark that it is often mistaken for a non-red bay; but a stripe down the spine and zebra striping on the legs show that this is a dun. This mare is owned by Fara Shimbo.

Dunskin. In the Akhal-Teke, the dun and cream factors can combine in some striking ways. In this case, the result was a foal with a bicolored mane. The bicolor mane is not common; usually these horses have black manes and tails. This mare shows the extremely light version of this color. The horse, below right, as an adult, shows no white in his mane.

mare: AAKT56 PELENLI
(883 Kaltaman x 1838 Pikhta; line Fakirpelvan)
colt: AAKT130 GLOZENOV
(AAKT62 Astrakhan x AAKT56 Pelenli)

Claybank or Red Dun. A rarity among Tekes. This mare is owned by the Niasov (formerly Komsomol) breeding facility in Turkmenistan.

Palomino. The Akhal-Teke produces some truly stunning palominos, usually with plenty of chrome (a term referring to horses that have lots of facial white and high leg white, with the occasional belly spot or roan patch). This field hunter is sire of Katrina above.

MV MAZAN
(Jomud x Minorka II)

885 KAMBAR
(432 Karlavach x 1127 Karali; Line Karlavach)

Light Palomino. This color is often called "isabella" in much of the United States, although in Europe and in Russian "isabella" refers to cremello and perlino. This horse is the world record holder for racing distances of 4000-8000 meters. Seeing his picture has been the start of Teke-love for many an American!

Cremello. Cremellos (or "isabellas" in Europe) and Perlinos are found quite commonly in the Akhal-Teke. The glow to the coat of these blue-eyed wonders is so strong that it is visible even in a darkened barn. This is a mare imported from Italy and now owned by Amrita Ibold.

AAKT159 SHAZADA GIZ
(Myzar x 2354 Magura; line Gelishikli)

AAKT146 ALIGER
(Amelit x Gumsara, Line Gelishikli)

Perlino. Perlino differs from Cremello in that there is some reddish or brownish color to the tail and often the hocks, knees and legs. As with the cremello, the eyes are blue. This stallion is owned by Sharon Saare.

Cream Grulla. This is a combination of grulla or dark golden dun and perlino, also called 'champagne'. In this color, the eyes may be blue, grey or hazel. This Russian stallion is a perfect example of the rare champagne color.

CHAKAN

Grulla. Among Tekes, most grullas are of the "olive" variety and usually called Dark Golden Dun. Here is a true Slate Grulla, part of a herd from Russia. Grulla can be distinguished from grey in that the head is dark and the color does not change with age.

White Markings. Akhal-Tekes typically have white markings and some sport a great deal of "chrome" (a term referring to horses that have lots of facial white and high leg white, with the occasional belly spot or roan patch). Sabino pinto markings are not at all uncommon, and rabicano (or roan) is also seen. Older stud books list roan as an Akhal-Teke color, although this line seems to have died out. Akhal-Tekes are registered on the basis of parentage only. While some breeders prefer some colors over others, there are no "disallowed" colors or markings in the Akhal-Teke breed.

sabino: Madga

rabicano: MV Fergazel
(Gindarkh 13 x Fergan)

Top: Akhal-Teke hair
Middle: Arabian hair
Bottom: 1/2 Thoroughbred - 1/2 Appaloosa hair

Hairs. The Akhal-Teke typically has a marvelous metallic glow to his coat. This is caused by the structure of the hair; the opaque core is very reduced in size and may in areas be altogether absent. The transparent part of the hair (the medulla) takes up this space, and acts like a light-pipe, bending light through one side of the hair and refracting it out the other side, often with a golden cast. You can see the structures clearly in the photomicrograph below. The top hair is from an Akhal-Teke; the middle from an Arabian; the lower from a half-Thoroughbred Appaloosa.