Post by RogueLightning on Nov 20, 2013 11:28:37 GMT -8
Akhal Tekes are one of the most unique horse breeds on earth and possibly the oldest, with a verifiable history going back 2500 years. Created by nomadic Turkmenistan tribes, they were long distance war horses with unequaled courage, intelligence, and stamina. The Russian nobility who conquered the East Asian tribes admired and nurtured the Teke, gave them as gifts to royalty and created the first studbook. European horse breeders are said to have described them as having every conformation flaw for a horse possible. Yet today most people who see a well-bred Teke find them to be some of the most beautiful and exotic around. They are also a “thinking” breed, prone to be loyal to one owner and dog-like in devotion, and needing a smart handler to work with them.
On Equiverse, the Akhal Teke has always been a rare to mid-popular breed. When I first started them almost three years ago, there were a few hundred in the whole game and the majority of the second generation ones were from the same two studs. The breed was considered for the cull, but due to the response of the players here it was voted to be saved. That confirms there is a place for them here on the game and potential for the breed to be one of the highest quality and have a thriving market.
Today, there are a few distinct lines Teke breeders have either purposely or unconsciously created, and I’m going to talk about them later. Tekes are lucky in that players have bred them in all disciplines but pulling, so you can find a multi-generation Teke to suit what you want for the most part. You just have to be willing to pair them with a store horse at some point. There are also many colors to be had, though dilutes have always been a favorite and champagne(which may be changed to another gene in the recode) is the most sought after.
The purpose of this breeding group is to be a place where both new and old players can find information about the breed and talk to other breeders, for us to organize our breeding so that foals are sold before they are even created and lines are not carelessly deleted, and for us to see the breed improving before our eyes without dead ends. My hope is to make good breeding more rewarding, both monetarily and socially.
The group will not refuse anyone whether they breed to our standards or not, but in order for there to be benefits to joining it, there are some rules that must be agreed to before you can have the full benefit of membership.
1. You must agree not to delete horses you breed and sell foals to others from to protect their pedigree.
2. You must agree to sell and buy horses AT LEAST at the minimum value the group agrees on.
3. You must agree to attempt to sell horses to other breeding group members BEFORE selling to players who have not joined the group. You can sell outside if you wish but we can’t guarantee the person will protect your lines.
4. If you decide to leave the game, you should try to sell your stock to breeding group members OR lock your account for good. No sending bred horses to the rescue center unless it won’t hurt someone else’s lines.
5. You must agree to notify other breeders if you see horses from their stock in the RC.
6. You must agree not to produce foals with less than 150 stats, or about the same quality as a horse from the Equine Center. It won’t benefit you and it doesn’t benefit us.
OPTIONAL
These are things I would like breeding group members to do but are not required.
1. Maintain at least two matched pairs of store horses at any given time. One of the main problems in the breed is everyone adds stores to lines instead of starting new ones. So our horses are only getting more related and studs will become harder to find.
2. Give your horses a conformation number. I do this myself and I will show everyone how to. It basically says how good the horse’s conformation is overall just by looking at their name.
3. Not inbreed the stock of other players who have sold to you. Once someone sells the horse, you can technically do whatever you want, but inbred horses are near impossible to sell and I delete ones from my lines that I find. You can do whatever you want with your own stock bred by you.
4. Be willing to give new players reasonably good horses you find. If you see a horse in the RC that’s not good enough for you but not totally worthless, then pick it up and sell it to a new person in Tekes for change.
5. Suggest Tekes as a breed to work with if someone is looking for a new one and be helpful to new players.
Benefits
In exchange for you joining the breeding group, you have full permission to ask me at any time for custom foals, horse tokens, to delete horses, and use of my studs. If other players wish to make that commitment they are welcome to do so. But no one is required to sell anything if they do not wish to.
We are going to try to have as many people breeding in each discipline so no one person is on their own.
We are going to maintain a public listing of everyone’s horses and their pedigree. You should be able to look and see here who has a stallion that will match your mares and vice versa.
You can use this post to advertise horses for sale, future breedings, and when you are looking for horses to buy. This will be for Akhal Tekes only.
There will be congratulations, birth announcements, and contests for accomplishments in the breed.
If anyone can think of anything else they'd like to have I will be happy to add it.
A finally, there shall be breed specific art. If you join, you will get this little banner to display on your page to let everyone know you are part of a breeding group.
Right now I’m not really able to, but when I can Akhal Teke tags and characters will be available to the group ONLY. Yes, you will get exclusive characters with custom everything to show your Teke pride. Just don’t expect it immediately or often because they are bloody hard to draw correctly.
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WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RULES
You don’t have to follow the rules, but because I stalk Tekes like a hawk I WILL KNOW if you do. You will not be blacklisted or publically ejected from the group, but others will probably notice as well and be less likely to sell or buy from you. If you do something blatantly hurtful like delete a member’s horse out of spite, I will request that you no longer post here and ask a mod to remove the listing of your horses. You will no longer have art or contest privileges.
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On a happier note…I am very excited to get this started and I hope it will give you guys some peace of mind to see other active Teke breeders and know you’re not going it alone. I also hope it will clear up for a newbie what they need to do to have success here with the breed.
So if anyone wants to join me in this endeavor, for now just post to say you’re interested. You don’t have to already breed Tekes or have been here very long, as long as you agree to the required terms.
Current Members
Babbity Rabbitty
Windspun
Crimson Waters Ranch
Tavi
Bullet to Bone
Winter Wolf
Lenka
Rogue Lightning