'Report on the North-Eastern Frontier of Persia and the Tekeh Turkomans' [‎125v] (42/50)

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, These horses are not prepossessing ; at first sight they are decidedly leggy, long in
the back, and long in the neck, but they soon grow on one, and when the wonderful
feats of endurance they can perform are seen they are appreciated at their true value.
Most grossly exaggerated statements of the feats performed by Turkoman horses are
current and no one has erred in this respect more than Colonel Grodekoff, the cluet
of General Skobeleffs staff. He says, in his book, “If the victim is human the
« Tekkin firmly binding the hands of the prisoner, places him behind his saddle,
“ securing both his legs under the horse’s belly ; fastens a rope with two long ends
“ round the man * waist, and sitting in front of the victim passes the end of the rope
“ under his own arms, and thus sets off on his long homeward journey. Lntil he
“ reaches a safe retreat, the Tekkin, when his alaman is over, never draws rein except
“ for a few seconds to water his horse. As to its food it has to eat it on the move, a
“ ba" with either cakes or barley being tied under its mouth. If the Turkoman
“ happens to return home by the' road he came, lie stops to recover his buried pro-
“ visions, otherwise he never gets off the horse’s back, neither does he allow the
“ prisoner to do so. Mustaffa, who has had personal experience, said, and other
“ ex-prisoners of the Tekkins confirmed his statement, that ‘ for five days and five
« ‘nights, during which time the horse never ceased galloping, his captor never once
« . i e f t his saddle, neither did he drink, and only occasionally ate a handful of roasted
“ ‘ millet.' ”
Now the slowest pace that can be described as a gallop is not less than eight miles
an hour, and this would give for the first day and night 192 miles, and for five days
and nights 960 miles, carrying two men and food, which is of course absurd. It is a
pity that any traveller should allow the exuberance of his fancy such wide play. I have
no such feats to record of a Turkoman horse, still they are good hard working horses.
I do not consider them fast. Their best pace is a quick walk ; they also have a long
cantering pace'. They never trot. The best distances that I have heard accomplished
is from Kala Koushid Khan to Mash-had, about 200 miles, in three^days, carrying all
that the rider and horse required as food on the way. Also from Kala Koushid Khan
to Khiva, 350 miles, in six days, doing the same. I have heard of a Turkoman horse
covering about 100 miles in 24 hours, carrying his rider, body clothing, &c. I believe
a reallv good Turkoman horse will do 60 miles a day for several days together, eating
very little food, but anything beyond this is pure fiction. There are no milestones in
the desert, and all orientals are prone to exaggeration.
The Begler Begi presented me with a horse, which was a fine specimen though old,
and I purchased two Turkoman horses, one was of Akhal Tekeh breed and the other
came from the Merv country. The Akhal horse was a very tall one, standing about
15 hands 3 inches. If 1 was asked to point out a distinguishing feature of the Turko
man breed of horses, I should say their greatest peculiarity was their hairlessness.
They have naturally very little mane, and what they have is always carefully cut off ;
their tails are generally scanty. The skin is very soft and thin, and the hair on it
very fine indeed. If a patch of hair is rubbed off it only grows again very slowly, and
if rubbed off more than once often does not grow at all. Bare hairless patches are
common, especially behind the saddle, where saddle bags are usually carried. The
horses are never stabled, hut picketed out in the open. The greatest care is taken of
them, and they are well clothed. First a thick felt body covering is put on of the
size an English horse wears, over this an immense piece of felt is fastened, covering
the hurse’s^ears and his whole body down to his hocks. This clothing is secured with
a long roller, which is passed three times round the body.
However little clothing a Turkoman may take for himself, he always takes all this
clothing for his horse. Generally, for himself, he takes nothing hut a long sheepskin
coat called a “ poshtin,” and he will sleep even in snow with nothing but this. Cer
tainly Turkomans are a very hardy race, and when on their alamans do with wonder
fully* little food and clothing. The horses, when in their “ oubahs” or camps, are fed
on barley and chopped ? traw. On a foray they have nothing hut the hushes, or some-
time* rough grass which they can pick up, hut some grain is always given them once
a day. 1 made inquiries as to the barley meal and sheeps tail fat halls, which the
Turkomans are said to give their horses. The Turkomans 1 saw were not accustomed
to give their horses this mixture, hut flour and sheep’s tail fit or clarified butter are
given all over the East to horses, when required to go through great exertion, so there
would he nothing extraordinary in a Turkoman occasionally giving it. I myself in
India have often given my horses 1 lb. flour, 1 lb. coarse sugar, and | lb. clarified
butter made into halls when I have ridden them far and wanted them to go on again.