Kentucky Horse Park 102020

Amber Freeman visiting the Breeds Barn at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Barr.

More barr donors.

C1 3 amber-host: it's a beautiful day here at the kentucky horse park, but i guess what day is it not?

It's always fun out here.

Kathy: from wednesday through sunday, every day is a beautiful day.

It doesn't matter what the weather's doing.

We joke about that.

It's always a beautiful day here.

Amber-host: it is.

It's one of my favorite places by far, and we're out here at the breeds barn with kathy.

Thank you so much, kathy, for having us.

Kathy: thank you so much for joining us.

Amber-host: and, emma, thank you for modeling with us.

You're quite the horseman yourself, and we have a beautiful buckskin right here.

Tell us about this breed.

Kathy: that's right.

His name is magnotley, and he is an akhal-teke.

That could be a confusing name.

It's two words.

It's a k h a l - t e k e.

And they're bred from a little known country in the middle east called turkmenistan.

Kathy: and that country is known for its splendid carpets, its beautiful horses, and tremendous natural gas reserves.

And this horse is incredibly important to that country.

You'll find their image on their currency, on their bank notes, and also as a part of their official country emblem.

Amber-host: so, he's exotic.

So, correct me if i'm wrong, because coloring-wise i was talking about buckskin.

Is that actually the color that they're called because they're not that... kathy: not necessarily.

They're known for a coat that, when the direct light hits it, it almost glitters like it's made of metal.

Many people think that we put special products on these horses because when you get the light just right it does look like there's glitter covering them.

But, it's very unique to this breed.

The akhal-teke actually, their hair shaft is designed like a prism, so when the light hits it,it enters and bends or refracts, and it gives that impression throughout the entire coat that it's made of glittery metal.

Amber-host: that's stunning.

Does that have anything to do with where they originated?

Kathy: well, it may have something to do with the way they were raised.

In the desert, there's no timber available for stabling, so they had to get creative.

So, what they would do is they'd wrap these horses up in up to seven layers of felt material from here all the way back to where their tail is, and that helped to keep their coat short and shiny.

But, most likely the effect that we still see to this day, it's due to genetics.

Amber-host: that's incredible that that much goes into it.

So, the breed itself, he looks pretty chill here.

Kathy: yeah.

Amber-host: what kind of work do they do?

Kathy: well, they were originally designed just like many desert horses for war, to be able to go long distances and then for very quick forays into enemy camps.

So, they had to have a lot of stamina, but also a lot of quick action.

They had to be able to go in and go out really quickly.

Now, one thing this breed is known for, it's part of the breed standard, are its closely-cropped mane, we call that roached, and also the closely-cropped forelock.

And that's just the way they're supposed to look.it just shows off their lean, gazelle-like appearance.

Amber-host: okay, so they were used for war, probably not so much now... kathy: nowadays, in turkmenistan,they race these horses.

Amber-host: there we go.

Kathy: yep.

They're used as racehorses.

Amber-host: all right.

So, we know that very well in kentucky, just another breed.

Well, we appreciate it.

He is beautiful.

Kathy: yeah.

He is.

And he's very kind and very smart too.

We love magnotley.

Amber-host: he is such a soft guy.

Kathy: yep.

Amber-host: well, we appreciate it,kathy.

How do we come out here and see him?

Kathy: come out here wednesday through sunday.

You'll get to see breeds like magnotley and other breeds here at the breeds barn presentation at 10:00 am and 1:00