Members of the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (known in Iran as University Jihad) in North Khorasan Province will soon begin mapping the genome of the Turkoman horse. “North Khorasan is the only region in Iran where this breed of horse is bred,” said Reza Shahinfar, head of the research center’s provincial office, according to Mehr News Agency. Experts are of the opinion that the real Turkoman horse has gone extinct, and the modern day breed of the horse found only in Iran and neighboring Turkmenistan is its closest living relative, mainly due to the striking physical resemblance to the highly sought-after breed. “We’ve had discussions with the provincial office of the Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry will have to review our proposal, which will be submitted soon, and once they approve it we’ll begin the project,” Shahinfar said.
