Kathiawarii Horse

The Kathiawarii is a breed from India who is best known for his exceptional ears, known as tulip ears. The tips of the horse’s ears are bent inwards towards each other. The Kathiawarii is said to have its origin in the Arabic desert and the steppe horses. The breed that is both intelligent and friendly and is presently the biggest horse breed used among mounted police officers in India.

This old horse breed originated on the peninsula of Kathiawari in India and gets its name from there. The horse confirmation clearly shows that it has a lot of Arab blood in his pedigree but there are no records of how the Kathiawari breed developed.

The breed had documents which outlined the breed desirable confirmation instead. Some of the stories documented are in the realm of fairy tale, and in some writings like the Harremmen which recommended the horse did not have whorls or white markings.

This was common practice in the Arab countries and India, and in the Hindu book called the Asva Sastre from 1300 held account to 117 bad signs that should be avoided in purchasing a horse.

The author warns in the book not to buy a horse that showed examples of the bad signs from having a horn on his forehead, mottled testes, blue teeth and a variety of negative patters including whorls in the coat.

Today, however, white markings are permitted in the horses. Some of the Kathiawariihastar are born with primitive colours and characters that could indicate ancestry related to the Tarpan or probably the Mongolian wild horse, or the Przewalski’s Horse.

There were indications as early as 1500 that this breed existed in India and had recognized their originating in the desert and steppes and were owned by many of the Moguls at that time.

During the British colonial period from the 1600 the British imported many Arab thoroughbreds from countries around the Persian Gulf, which were later crossed with the domestic Indian horses, which already had oriental blood.

These horses are bred selectively and systematically, usually by major princely houses in the country. All farmers who breed stick to their own breed line without any interference, from others regarding confirmation and type.

The breed lines are usually named after the originators who started the line. Today there are 28 recognized lines, among the prominent Indian families who breed the animals.
The animals are bred for pleasure animals rather than for any specific work and the breed is regarding in high esteem amongst noble families all over India.

However, some animal’s conformation suffered when too much emphasis was placed on breeding the perfect ears, and this made the breed vulnerable.

During the 1800s the horses were used by the cavalry and were used as general military mounts, and the breed was considered the most superior military re mount in the world. The horses were used by both the Maratta and British cavalry.

Today the Kathiawariihastar is popular as a police horse, and is often used in special sports like tent pegging. Tent pegging is a sport executed at a full gallop where a peg in the ground must be pierced with a sword or lance. The horse is also used in religious ceremonies; a white horse carries the groom to his wedding in India.

The breed has its own breed association in India which holds annual exhibitions of the breed and there is also a festival for the breed.

Attributes

The Kathiawari are very similar to desert horses.

The head of this breed has some noble features, and in some specimens the Arabic influence is evident. The horses are known for their highly mobile ears, which are curved inwards and meet at the tips, tulip ears or cycle ears.

They have a high resistance to heat, drought and the shortage of feed which is a legacy from their desert horse’s ancestry. The Kathiawari is a healthy and strong horse that is easy to breed.

However, the lack of an overall breed strategy has led to some of the lines developing undesirable traits which can lead to poor confirmation and weak hind legs. Their hooves are hard and lameness is rare in the Kathiawari.

Today the Kathiawari is used as police horse and for general riding. They have a pleasant temperament, are intelligent and friendly, but can sometimes be erratic.

Some of the Kathiawari are born with natural talents, which are referred to in India as “revaal”.