Horses Used By The Sikhs

[Majorsahib]

:rolleyes2: Sat Siri Akal

I was reading some old threads about the horses used by the sikhs. Does anyone have any further information on the Unmol breed, apparently extinct now. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh kept over a thousand, he even went to war over a horse call leilla.

thanx

[Singh559]

I wish there were pictures depicting this horse, from what you said it seems like an amazing horse. Apparently this horse is a descendant to Guru Gobind Singh Ji's horse, therefore it might be the closest thing to pure bred unmol we have now?

I did a google search and found these:

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Unmol_Horse

The Unmol Horse is a rare breed of horse from Asia. It is extremely rare and is verging on extinction, if not already extinct.

In spite of all the efforts made some years ago by the Army Remount Department to save this breed, it is doubtful that any purebreds are left. Some breeders in the Punjab states have horses referred to as Unmol, but it is believed that today all of them have blood of imported Arabians.

The various families of the Unmol breed are known as Harna, Hazziz, Morna, and Sheehan, all of which are referred to as Unmol. Unmolmeans "priceless" and indicates the great value and preference put upon this breed.

The Unmol is described as very strong, elegant, and "shapely", possessing a long mane and tail and compact body. Predominant colour aregray and bay, and stands around 15.1 hands high. Tradition has it that the ancestors of the breed were brought by Alexander the Great when he invaded India. If that is the case the Unmol was originally from Turkmenian blood.

http://tackandtalk.w...he-unmol-horse/

An incredibly rare breed of horse, the Unmol, comes from the northwest Punjab in India. Their name translates to "priceless" which makes it clear how important these animals were to the local people.

Unmol Horse

This breed is extremely rare and verging on extinction, if not already extinct. In spite of efforts made some years ago by the Army Remount Department to save the Unmol, it is doubtful that any purebreds are left. Some breeders in the Punjab states have horses referred to an Unmol, but it is believed that today all of them have Arabian blood. There are 4 different families of the Unmol breed, the Harna, The Hazziz, the Morna and the Sheehan.

The average height of the Unmol is 15.1 hands. They are predominately grey or bay in color. The Unmol is described as a very strong, elegant and shapely horse, possessing a long mane and tail with a compact body. Legend has it that Unmol horses were brought to the Punjab by Alexander the Great which means the Unmol probably has Turkoman roots.

[Pyara]

Interesting stuff! Does this mean the horses in Punjab today, which I assume are mainly of the Arabian breed, are smaller than the horses during the times of the Gurus?

The horses we see with modern day Nihang Singhs in Punjab seem smaller and less muscular than the military horses we see in the west and I often wondered whether they qualify for warfare.

[zoltansingh]

There are many horses at Sri Hazur Sahib which have been gifted by devotees for Guru Ji. The horse that has the gaddi currently is Anmol (photo posted above), he has no link to Guru Ji's horse. He was sired by a Sindhi stallion that was with someone near Jodhpur but is now in poor condition in Punjab.

I do not have much time now but will post more information on Sikh horses later today,

[zoltansingh]

Guru Ji used to have horses bought over from Persia, so more than likely arabi, Akhal-Teke, turkoman inspired the breeds used by the Sikhs. Old european paintings of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji show horses of arabi appearance.

The Budha Dal used to have 80 mares at Raqba at one time for breeding and still have some puratan nasal horses from the famed lineage of Mundra, Raju Baba aka Karamati etc etc. These lines have good size (16hh+)and ears smaller than the marwari etc. If you ever chat with old Nihangs like Baba Maghar Singh then he can give you lots of information on this great bloodline. Sadly one of the stallions from this great puratan line was in very poor shape last I heard. The Bidhi Chand have a stallion in their fauj named Sawai which no one rides as he is reserved for Guru Ji, he is a bit old now but also a fantastic looking horse with good height and some say he has arabi type looks. It is important that these bloodlines are preserved and hopefully horse lovers in Punjab will come together to do this before it is to late.

There are also other bloodlines in Punjab (usually these distinct bloodlines are ignored as the Marwari's from rajasthan get promoted as some sort of super war horse, reality is that the rajasthani horses are nothing when lined next to the punjabi bloodlines). There is also the famous Chuner Wala Ghora who has good height and some of his offspring are amongst the most highly sort after horses in India.

Due to the craze for the Nukra (so called Albino) horses across Punjab we have lost some of our traditional colours due to breeding but you can gauge the size etc of Punjabi horses from good Nukras. They will have better height and be heavier than the rajasthani marwari etc.

[Singh559]

Interesting stuff! Does this mean the horses in Punjab today, which I assume are mainly of the Arabian breed, are smaller than the horses during the times of the Gurus?

The horses we see with modern day Nihang Singhs in Punjab seem smaller and less muscular than the military horses we see in the west and I often wondered whether they qualify for warfare.

I have noticed this as well, they seem a lot smaller and less muscular than war horses/racing horses.

Guru Ji used to have horses bought over from Persia, so more than likely arabi, Akhal-Teke, turkoman inspired the breeds used by the Sikhs. Old european paintings of the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji show horses of arabi appearance.

The Budha Dal used to have 80 mares at Raqba at one time for breeding and still have some puratan nasal horses from the famed lineage of Mundra, Raju Baba aka Karamati etc etc. These lines have good size (16hh+)and ears smaller than the marwari etc. If you ever chat with old Nihangs like Baba Maghar Singh then he can give you lots of information on this great bloodline. Sadly one of the stallions from this great puratan line was in very poor shape last I heard. The Bidhi Chand have a stallion in their fauj named Sawai which no one rides as he is reserved for Guru Ji, he is a bit old now but also a fantastic looking horse with good height and some say he has arabi type looks. It is important that these bloodlines are preserved and hopefully horse lovers in Punjab will come together to do this before it is to late.

There are also other bloodlines in Punjab (usually these distinct bloodlines are ignored as the Marwari's from rajasthan get promoted as some sort of super war horse, reality is that the rajasthani horses are nothing when lined next to the punjabi bloodlines). There is also the famous Chuner Wala Ghora who has good height and some of his offspring are amongst the most highly sort after horses in India.

Due to the craze for the Nukra (so called Albino) horses across Punjab we have lost some of our traditional colours due to breeding but you can gauge the size etc of Punjabi horses from good Nukras. They will have better height and be heavier than the rajasthani marwari etc.

Wow, thanks for that information. Sadly the bagga color is too sought after in Punjab, over anything i think the love and respect for the animal should be there.

If my fam still lived in Punjab i would want to get horses right now and probably would have easily been able to get...

So are you saying that there are pure breed anmol horses (the one i posted)? I know some people name their horse anmol but it is not of the breed Anmol.

[zoltansingh]

Singh559,

The Sri Hazur Sahib horse in the photo is named Anmol. He has Sindhi breed lineage and not the anmol breed.

The arabi breed does not have height of the thoroughbred you see used for racing in most the world. True Punjabi horses can be 64" to the withers. I have seen many mares of 64" in Punjab.

The Budha Dal and Bidh Chand still have stallions which are big by Indian standards and what can be termed war horses.

We still have distinct bloodlines in Punjab. As to whether they are the anmol breed who knows as I have not seen any real photos of the anmol. Punjabis in Pakistan claim their kaka line is linked to Lalli of Maharaja Ranjit Singh but the horses they pass off as this lineage do not have good height etc.

[dalsingh101]

Interesting to read some old European observations about Sikh horses.

They and their horses are mainly of indifferent height, but robust, as is usual for people who live in the mountains or close to them. There is something fierce in their manner; a brown complexion, black beard and hair, often untidy and hanging on the shoulders, together with clothes all in indigo and often neglected, which gives them the overall appearance of barbarians and savages.

Francis Xavier Wendel 1768

To say the truth they are indefatigable, mounted on the best horses that India can afford, each carries a matchlock of large bore, which they handle dexterously enough, and with they annoy considerably, avoiding at the same time, going in large bodies or approaching too near.

In their military capacity the Siques are far from being so formidable as they are generally represented, or as they might be. It is true they are generally exceedingly well mounted, that their horses and themselves will undergo much fatigue, and perform very expeditious marches, and that they have excellent matchlocks which carry a good way and which they manage on horseback with tolerable execution; All that must be allowed them...

Antoine Henri Polier 1776 - 1802

Here is a contemporary picture of Maharajah Ranjit Singh's famous horse Laila, maybe someone can identify the breed?

[Singh559]

Singh559,

The Sri Hazur Sahib horse in the photo is named Anmol. He has Sindhi breed lineage and not the anmol breed.

The arabi breed does not have height of the thoroughbred you see used for racing in most the world. True Punjabi horses can be 64" to the withers. I have seen many mares of 64" in Punjab.

The Budha Dal and Bidh Chand still have stallions which are big by Indian standards and what can be termed war horses.

We still have distinct bloodlines in Punjab. As to whether they are the anmol breed who knows as I have not seen any real photos of the anmol. Punjabis in Pakistan claim their kaka line is linked to Lalli of Maharaja Ranjit Singh but the horses they pass off as this lineage do not have good height etc.

Bummer that this rare breed seems to have been lost. So there's no actual rule book for what kind of characteristics the Anmol breed would have?

Interesting to read some old European observations about Sikh horses.

Here is a contemporary picture of Maharajah Ranjit Singh's famous horse Laila, maybe someone can identify the breed?

Awesome picture.

[zoltansingh]

Bummer that this rare breed seems to have been lost. So there's no actual rule book for what kind of characteristics the Anmol breed would have?

No real rule book. A Society to promote Punjabi bloodlines and horse sports in Punjab has recently been setup. I am sure the people involved will do their best to promote and protect our bloodlines. Maybe all the interbreeding has resulted in the anmol breed being lost. However the horse breeds that were with Guru Ji and later the Sikh misals could easily be bred again as they were just interbreeding turkoman origin, arabi and desi horses. All these breeds still exist but sadly no one has any arab or turkoman horses currently in India to experiment with.

Lailla was turkoman in origin according to people I have spoken with. Very little desi look about him if you look at his ears.

Raju Baba with Budha Dal is a very heavy horse and when he galloped the ground shook all around, sadly today he is in poor condition. He was the closest you will get to the old heavy war horses that people are referring to. Hopefully he can be saved and used as a sire again.

Dalsingh,

Thanks for those quotes. Please can you post any more sources which make reference to the Sikh horses.

I have attached some horses which are the stars of the Punjabi horse scene. The grey (neela) stallion called Adam is currently standing in Ludhiana and more than 20 years old, his offspring are highly prized. The bay stallion (Naag) was sired by Adam and offers of RS50lakh+ have reported to have been made to buy him.