Sacred Horses: Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy

by Jonathan Evan Maslow

The author of The Owl Papers chronicles his odyssey through Turkmenistan, a Moslem republic in the former Soviet Union, in search of the Akal-Teke horse, a rare equine breed, and the people who breed and raise them.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Animals, Horses, Asia, History, Adventure

342 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 1994

About the author

Jonathan Maslow was a journalist and naturalist whose travels took him from the rain forests of Central America to the steppes of Central Asia. (NY Times)

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to give this book mixed reviews. I was interested in Turkmenistan, about which I know very little, and in the Akhal-Teke horses, and I did learn interesting things about both. However, the author is not a very nice person and I did not like his approach to travel in another country. Granted travel in a communist country was undoubtedly fraught with problems created by the bureaucracy. Granted, also, that hospitality customs in another country can be frustrating to the naive guest. However, I have read several other books where authors had to deal with equally frustrating bureaucracies and hospitality, and these authors were able to do so with much more grace and courtesy. Maslow is impudent, self-centered and demanding that he get just what he wants on his own schedule.

I still enjoyed reading much of the book. I did a bit of googling about the Akhal-Teke horses and they seem to be doing okay and are still being bred in both Turkmenistan and in the US. Turkmenistan seems to be ever so slowly gaining ground. I notice a couple of other books on travel to Turkmenistan that I will put on my list for possible future reading.

This books looks particularly good:
Daily Life in Turkmenbashy's Golden Age: A Methodologically Unsound Study of Interactions Between the Tribal Peoples of America and Turkmenistan.

[Ernie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for my recent trip to Turkmenistan and the Akhal-Teke horse conference. The book is an account by a fellow who is fascinated with Akhal-Teke horses beginning in the 1990s and his experiences visiting Turkmenistan. I liked the book and found the depiction of the places, people and horses accurate and interesting. The book is better written than the previous account. The country has changed dramatically and rapidly. The author visits on two occasions and notes differences as Turkmenistan went from being one of the Soviet Union states to being an independent republic. It continues to evolve. The book helped me understand the people and their response to the type of democracy occuring in Western Asia, and also the unique place of the Ahkal-Teke horse for this country.

I particularly liked his description of the human horse interaction written in the first chapter: "... human and animal can work together as a team, blending mind and muscle in a perfectable union..."

This encapsulates the unique situation for horse and man, not dominion but teamwork. The only comparable situation is for working dogs, herding and hunting.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book in a used book store. Thought it might be good as I like Horses, I like cowboys and I wanted to know more about Turkmenistan. Did have some insights into the territory and political history, and the horses that the author aspired to riding, were a hook. In the end, I put it down without finishing, feeling like I had had enough and would rather spend my time reading something else.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the brilliant afterimages of that parade of Akhal-Tekes, I knew I had found my way to one of those sacred places on Earth, where humans have in, one small instance, in the case of one species, combined their talents for breeding with natural evolution to achieve something truly miraculous: a work of art that can trot and canter.

[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sacred Horses a book by Jonathan Maslow


I read this book in 1995, according to my journal.




A very interesting history lesson, as well as a social commentary. The Sacred Horses of Turkmenistan, otherwise known as the Akhal-Teke breed, was very nearly wiped off the face of the earth under the Soviet domination of Turkmenistan. This breed is found in the desert area of Turkmenistan, and is considered to probably be the forerunner to the modern day Thoroughbred, it is valued not only for its unique beauty, but for its amazing stamin (can cover 125 miles a day for weeks on end). Jonathan not only examines this incredible breed of horse, he also explores the unusual side effects of the downfall of the Soviet Union on many of its former states. Turkmenistan is one of the more unusual former Soviet states, as it is almost entirely Muslim, with few amenities.
I don't know if this title is still available for purchase, it seemed to be listed in Amazon when I was doing a google search for the title. I do know that Sno-Isle does not currently own any copies. I do recall that I enjoyed reading this title very much, and I learned quite a bit about this unusual, and unknown to me, breed of horse. If you can find a copy of this title, I would strongly suggest you give it a shot.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rambling travelogue of the author's often-frustrating, often-rewarding quest to ride the famous Ahal Tekke horses of Turkmenistan. Being one of those rare Americans who has actually BEEN to Turkmenistan, more than once, I can grok where the author is coming from, although I still find him more than a little arrogant and exasperating. Still, many aspects of travel in Central Asia CAN be exasperating, and developing a cynical shield is an important coping mechanism. To be fair, the author's love of the people and the horses shines through his bitterness about the inane bureaucracy and rough conditions he must endure. One of the very few books out there about Turkmenistan at all, and worth a read.

[Rena Sherwood]

I gave up at page 188. What a piece of crap! Even the BIBLIOGRAPHY was more interesting than the 188 pages I sloughed through. The title AND subtitle are completely misleading -- this is NOT a book about Akhal-Teke horses. Akhal-Tekes only appear in about 20 -30 pages (most info gleaned from Encyclopedia of the Horse-type books.) This is about a really stupid guy from New Jersey who tries to travel in the former Soviet Union. Surprise, surprise -- he can't. And he didn't deserve to. He acted like a typical Ugly American. I was hoping he'd get beat up by page 188 just to make reading the previous 188 pages worthwhile. Sadly, it was not to be.

[Delana Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One man's adventurous search for the rare Akhal-Teke horses of Turkmenistan, perhaps the common ancestor of all modern horses. This great travel book also provides fascinating history and insight into Soviet-era culture.

[Marjorie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing much about the horses. Lots about how awful most of the people are in Turkmenistan. It seems the film he went there to make and apparently had lots of footage never materialized. I noticed on the internet many were searching for this film without luck.

[Lyrel]

A little dated, but I enjoyed the rare insight into Turkmen life.