Equines in India

7/27/2019 Equines in India

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NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE ON EQUINES(Indian Council of Agricultural Research)

Horses

According to the National Commission on Agriculture (1976), horses in India can be placebroadly in two classes viz. the slow moving pack ponies and the fast running saddle horses used fo

riding or for drawing carriages. The indigenous breeds of horses/ponies include Marwar

Kathiawari, Manipuri, Spiti, Bhutia and Zanskari. Among these, Marwari and Kathiawari ar

considered as 2 distinct breeds or types although they have several characteristics in common

Kathiawar (Gujarat) and Rajasthan are the homes of Kathiawari and Marwari breeds, respectivel

These breeds have been selected both for utility and beauty. Bhutia, Spiti and Zanskari ponie

mainly found in the

hilly areas of Himalayan ranges are slow moving horses. The Manipuri horses having qualities o

both hill and plain breeds of horses have been bred over centuries in the Manipur area of th

northeast. Manipuri horses reputed for their intelligence are used for polo and racing. Three othebreeds of India namely Deccani, Chummarti and Sikang are considered to be on the verge o

extinction.

The exotic breeds of horses introduced in India include English thoroughbred, Water, Arab, Polish

Connemera and Halflinger. The Arab, the first to be introduced,is believed to have contribute

substantially for the evolution of Kathiawari, Marwari, Sindhi, Malani and Manipuri horses. It i

believed that all the indigenous breeds of the horses are rapidly deteriorating in quality as a result

lack of organized systematic breeding and availability of good specimen animals. Unless hug

financial commitment is made, there is a possibility of the breeds losing their identity even in the

home tract. More>> Breeding Tract of Horses in India

Equines in India


http://nrce.nic.in/eqindia.htm 1


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3. Spiti Horses

The Spiti horses are distributed in Spiti valley and adjoining areas of Kullu and Kinna

divisions of Himachal Pradesh. These horses are smaller in height. The Spiti ponies have tw

strains, Spiti pure and Konimare. The Konimare ponies are comparatively taller. They a

capable of thriving in cold regions under adverse conditions of scarcity of food, lo

temperature and long journeys at high altitude. The Spiti horses are used for riding and as pa

animals. The predominant body colour is grey (complete white) followed by black, black fla

bone (white body with black patches), brown and bay. The Spiti horses are hardy a

surefooted. Body is well developed with fairly strong bones. The legs are thick and covere

with long coarse hairs. The mane is longer having 20 to 30 cm long hairs. Solid and compa

body, convex face, erect ears, black eyes, straight back, long and straight tail, alert looking a

short height are some of the important breed characteristics. The horses are nervous

temperament. The Spiti horses have on average 97 cm body length, 127 cm height, 150 c

paunch girth, 15 cm long ear, 49 cm face length and 20 cm face width. It has been observ

that females have shorter body, height, heart girth and paunch girth.

1. Kathiawari Horses

The superintendent of Gaekwar Contingent in 1880 suggested that the Kathiawari breed ma

have sprung from the wild horses of Kathiawar (a sort of Quagga, Bombay Gazett

Kathiawari, foot note, page 97). The breeding tract of the breed is Saurashtra province o

Gujarat which comprises of Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar Junagarh and Amreli distric

of Gujarat. The most prominent body colour in Kathiawari horses is chestnut followed bbay (body chestnut, Foreleg up to knee and fetlock are black, Keshwali black, Hairs of ta

and neck are black), grey (complete white colour) and dun (light chestnut). The physic

characteristics of Kathiawari horses are concave profile, long neck, short leg and square

quarters. Face is dry and short, triangular from pale to forehead and small muzzle, b

nostrils, edge of nostril is thin; small, fine and curved upright ears on 90 degrees axis that ca

rotate at 180 degrees, broad forehead and large expressive sensitive eyes. Tail is long, no

bushy, curved well and touching to the ground, foot round and broad. Kathiawari hors

have on an average 119 cm long body, 147 cm height and 160 cm heart girth. The averag

ear length is 15 cm. The average face length and width are 53 and 21 cm, respectively. Th

tail length without switch is 42 cm.

4. Zanskari Horses

Zanskari horses are available in Leh and Laddakh area of Jammu and Kashmir. The

predominant body colour is grey followed by black and copper. The horses are known for

their ability to work, run adequately and carry loads at high altitude. Horses are medium in

size, well built and 120 to 140 cm high. The Zanskari horses have predominant eyes, heavy

and long tail and uniform gait. The body hairs are fine, long and glossy. Only a few hundred

2. Marwari Horses

The Marwari breed is derived from the Marwar region of the Rajasthan - the natural habitat

of the breed. The Marwar region includes Udaipur, Jalor, Jodhpur and Rajasamand districts

of Rajasthan and some adjoining areas of Gujarat. The Marwari horses are reared mainly for

riding and sports and no attempts are being made to prepare them as thoroughbred race

animals. The predominant body colour is brown where as other body colours are roan,

chestnut, white and black with white patches. The Marwari horses have 130-140 cm long

body, 152-160 cm height, 166-175 cm heart girth, 60 cm face length, 22 cm face width, 18

cm ear length and 47 cm tail length without switch. The Marwari horses are longer and taller

than Kathiawari horses. More>>




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6. Bhutia Horses

Bhutia horses are distributed in Sikkim and Darjeeling. They are usually grey or bay coloured and similar to the Tibetan pony

5. Manipuri Horses

Manipuri breed of ponies is one of the purest and prestigious breed of equines of India. It is

strong and hardy breed and has very good adaptability to extreme geo-climatic conditions. It

one of the well-known breeds of India and has been claimed as the oldest polo pony. They arfound in Manipur and Assam, and are similar to the south-east Asian type pony.Generally th

Manipuri ponies are of 11-13 hands high at wither with a good shoulder, short back, we

developed quarters and strong limbs. Mane is generally coarse and upright. It has small pointe

prsicked ears, eyes are alert and slightly slant .The area between the nostrils is flat not crisp

Withers are not prominent. Face is concave and tail is well set and commensurate with heigh

Manipuri ponies are intelligent and extremely tough, and have tremendous endurance. Perhaps

these good qualities made it suitable for polo game for which it is globally famous. The breed

available in 14 different colours viz Bay, Black, Gray, Mora white, Leiphon white, Sinai Whit

Stocking, liver chestnut, Roan, light gray, Reddish brown and dark bay. The pony undoubt

played significant role in the field of war and play. It has close association with th

socioeconomic life of the people of hilly region through travel, transport and hunting. It is a matt

of concern that the number of Manipuri has decreased drastically. As per latest data th

population of Manipuri pony is 2327 only. Thus, immediate attention and efforts are required

conserve this precious breed of ponies in India.ng.

horses at present exist in the Zanskar and other valleys of Laddakh. Large scale breeding

with non descript ponies has endangered this breed. The Animal Husbandry Department,

Jammu and Kashmir has recently established a Zanskari horse Breeding farm at Padum

Zanskar in Kargil district of Ladakh for breed improvement and conservation through

selective breeding.

Donkeys/Asses

It is considered that asses are of purely African origin. The ass was first domesticated in the valley of the Nile. Three wil

races of asses were observed:

North-East African race (Nubia).

North-East African race (Sudan) and

Somalian race (Somali-land).

The greatest contribution to animal husbandry that ass has made is the production of mules. Mules fit well in differen

agricultural operations. The asses have several features that differ from horses; one of the most noticeable characteristics i

longer and much larger ears of asses. The hair on mane and tail are very scanty and there is a brush like switch at the end o

the tail. Jacks and their mule offspring have well-muscled, broader loins, long and well sprung ribs. Consequently, they ca

take more abuse and punishment than the horse. Jacks lack apparent muscling, have larger bone and joints but smaller rounde

feet than the horses. Jacks also have a characteristic bray, which is a decidedly in contrast to the whinney of the horse.

The modern domesticated asses have mainly descended from the Nubian race. Though grey colour predominates but black

white and even piebald asses can be seen. The ass is indisputably one of the most useful animals and is available everywhere

FAO has reported three distinct types of Indian asses viz. Indian, Indian wild and Kiang. Indian wild asses are available in

Rann of Kutch while Kiang are available in Sikkim and Laddakh. They are dark red brown with white underparts and patc

behind the shoulder. Among Indian, two major types of donkeys i.e. those of larger size and smaller size are common. Th

larger size donkeys are light grey to almost white in colour. The smaller size ones are dark grey in colour. Good quality donke

stallions of exotic breed obtained from France and other European countries are maintained by NRCE, State Anim

husbandry Deptt. of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and at Equine Breeding Farms of the Army.




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Mules

The mules are most useful pack and transport animals as they play important role, both in the military establishments as wellas in civilian occupations particularly in hills. The mule combines some of the superior qualities of both horses and donkeys. It

has size, speed strength and spirit of the horse, along with the surefooted-ness, lack of excitability, endurance and ability to

thrive on poor feed.

The production of mules involve three steps: the breeding of jack stock for use as stallion, breeding of mares and crossing of

jack with mare. One of the biggest difficulties in mule production is to locate a fertile jack that can quickly serve. The most

common practice however, is to tease mares with a stallion and allow the jack to serve a properly restrained mare so that

she will stand for the jack. Only sound broodmares of good quality should be selected for providing high-grade mules.

Breeders of work horses usually take particular care in choosing good mares for breeding purposes but ordinarily mule

breeders make no consistent effort in selecting mares for production of mules. Mares used in mule production are of no fixed

Distribution of Donkeys in India

Indian Donkeys Indian Wild Ass




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breed and vary in size and temperament. The mules are usually produced for draft purposes.

The draft mules measure 155 to 172 cm in height and weigh from 450 to 650 Kg. An ideal draft mule has long ears, broad

forehead, broad deep chest, well filled heart girth, short and strong back, broad, heavily muscled and smooth hips and deep

body. The neck is heavily muscled, fits neatly at the shoulder and has slight crest. The legs are squarely placed. The pastern

shows moderate length, strength and a desirable slope. The feet are durable, wide and high at the heels, with concave soles.

The horn of the hoof is smooth, dense and sound.

Horse's Prayer

To thee, Oh my master, I offer my prayer

My life and health I give to your safe keeping

From you I ask food and water

Shelter in winter and summer

A kind hand and a quiet voice

And when I am old And have served you well

Pray, Oh my master

Do not sell me to slavery and a cruel end



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Equines in India