by Alessandra Deerinck

If we can look at behavior as the expression of an individual, we can also see that it is a dynamic entity that constantly changes. It has some components that are species specific like instincts, others coming from life experienced through memory, and some that are unconscious, like emotions. All of these are filtered through an individual’s personality.

Behavior can be influenced through the learning process, defined as the acquisition of information. In horsemanship a very important part of the information comes from the interaction between human and horse and we, horsemen, need to take responsibility for this. Aside from what can be openly perceived, learning produces a much hidden fact: the stimulation of neural cells, which causes the production of new molecules (proteins). These changes at cellular level determine the new way the cell and the whole individual will respond to a stimulus at a later time. This is true for humans and for horses or any other kind of animal.

In light of this, it is very important that in horsemanship we make so communication and understanding of each other really works both ways, from human to horse and from horse to human.

Read more: Horsemanship and Behavior

Breed Profile: The Akhal-Teke
Courtesy of The Akhal-Teke Association of America

A horse like a shimmering gold mirage, its head held high, almond eyes focused on you, poised to leap into action, yet held by the tether of its deep bond with the human beside it.

That is the quintessential Akhal-Teke, a race that has shared its history with humans for thousands of years and is among the oldest equine breeds.

ORIGINS

These horses are descendants of the steeds that enabled the Scythians to dominate Central Asia until the 4th century BC, described by the Greek historian Herodotus as controlling a vast empire from the Russian Steppes and India westward to the Baltic and the Caspian Sea, The Scythians were partly pastoral, partly nomadic raiders who supplied slaves to the Greeks. Fast horses were essential to their trade.

It is claimed the Ice Maiden of the Altai Mountains, discovered 11 years ago and widely publicized in America through the Nova special, was a Scythian. This woman, who lived over 24 centuries ago, according to radio-carbon dating, was buried with six horses in gilt harness.

Her tribe has been called the Pazyryks. They occupied the mountain plateaus that now lie on the border between Russia and China. The Ice Maiden must have been a powerful figure to merit the sacrifice of so many horses, although in fact 5 were geldings and the sole mare was found to have crippling arthritis in her joints.

Read more: Akhal-Teke, a Horse Like Shimmering Gold