Page 33 - August 2019

“The Byerley Turk – who may have been captured by his owner at the Battle of Buda
in 1686, where a European coalition defeated the Ottoman Empire - certainly fits the idea of a Turcoman, described at the time as horses that were descended from
‘
‘
‘t
t
th
h
h
ho
o
o
o
s
s
s
se
e
e
eo
o
o o
f
f
f
A A
A
A
r
r
ra
a
a
ab
b
bi
i
i
i
a
a
a
o o
o
or
An 1848 French image of a Turkoman Horse. The conformation of the Byerley Turk, the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian indicates they were Turkoman bred stallions with quite a bit of Arabian blood.
1738, 1745 and 1747. The official pedigree of the Godolphin Arabian is unknown.
The Darley Arabian seems to have a less complicated story with his move to England. He may have been foaled in 1689. He was purchased by Thomas Darley in 1704 as
a gift for his brother. He came to England through Aleppo, Syria, which was part of the Ottoman Empire. He stood at Aldby Stud and was the leading sire in 1722. The reports say he may have been the most like an Arabian in his conformation. The official pedigree of the Darley Arabian is unknown.
The British had found that they needed more stamina in their War Horses, and they were able to get it through a breed known as the Turcoman. The Turcoman was known as a middle distance runner with speed. This led to the import of Turcoman stallions with their middle distance speed that was needed in the English War Horses.
This brings us to the use of the term Arabian as part of the name of two of these three foundation sires. When we look at this time period, the full blood Arabian was the most valued horses of the Arab world and the Sultans who controlled them. It was forbidden for them to export these valued lines in pure form. Thus, many of the horses that were exported were only part Arabian.
Many of the Turkoman horses carried some Arabian blood, but they were not pure Arabian. The paintings of these great stallions and others that were listed as Arabian were actually Turkoman bred, and they would show them held by people in mid-eastern attire to give the impression that they were Arabian horses.
Dr. Deb Bennett PhD in her ongoing series “Conformation Insights” for EQUUS magazine reports that the conformation of the Byerley Turk, the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian indicates they were
Turkoman bred stallions. Dr. Bennett uses paintings to confirm her statements about the origin of horses like these three great stallions based on their conformation. Dr. Bennett
in the January 2015 issue tells us that the Turcoman horses originated in an area North of Baghdad, Iraq, around the Caspian Sea. She describes four main strains of Turcoman: the Akhal-Teke, the Yomud, the Goklan and the Nokhorli.
Alexander Mackay-Smith in his book
Speed And The Thoroughbreds, The Complete History helps us understand the role of the Turkoman over the pure Arabian. Smith tells us that Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland and second son of Charles II, was a pedigree enthusiast who believed that the Godolphin Arabian was a Turkoman
- and he ordered the 1753 painting of the horse. He had this inscription added, “This extraordinary foreign horse got a greater
r
r P
P
P
P
e
e
e
r
r
r
rs
s
s
s
i
i
i
a
a
a
,
,
,
,’
’
’
b
b
b
b u
u
ut
t
t
t
w
w
w
w we
e
er
r
r
e
e
e
‘
‘
‘ ‘ ‘l
l
l
o
o
on
n
ng
g
g
ge
e
e
r
r
r i
i
i
i
n
n
n b
b
b
b
o
o
od
d
d
dy
y
y
y
a
a a
a
n
n
n
d
d
d
a
a a
a
l
l
l
l a
a
ar
r
rg
g
g
e
e
e
er
r
r
s s
s
si
i
i
i
z
z
ze
e
e
.
.
.
.’
’
’
’”
”
”
”
”
SPEEDLINES
SPEEDHORSE, August 2019 31