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Turkmen leader orders beauty contests for horses

Once prized by Alexander the Great for their speed and stamina, Turkmenistan’s thoroughbred horses are being groomed for a series of beauty contests, ordered by a presidential decree published Monday.

The Akhal Teke breed is a distinct breed from the Thoroughbred breed.

The word Thoroughbred should only ever be used to describe horses registered with The Jockey Club as Thoroughbreds.

To describe pure breed horses use the word purebred, or simply don’t use the word at all – when you describe horses of a certain breed it is assumed they are purebred and there is no need to clutter up the reporting by adding in the unnecessary word.

Please make sure your reporters, writers, and especially your editors understand the difference between purebred and Thoroughbred.

J.C.D.

Thanks for the input. I would agree with you if our story had upper-cased thoroughbred, but it did not.

As it is, there appear to be a number of dictionary definitions to support our use of the word, as in, thoroughbred: of pure or unmixed breed, stock, or race, as a horse or other animal; bred from the purest and best blood. GBU Editor

Legendary Akhal Teke racehorse rears up in front of a small group of potential buyers just outside Turkmen capital Ashgabat in a 1998 file photo. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumato

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