Horses Used By The Sikhs

[chatanga]

have been reading a book on Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and in it there is a report by a british Captain Mathews, who stays a while at Maharaja's Drabar. (probably to spy). He sends a report about the horses of the Sikh king saying:

They are mainly from persia and central asia, and the king has a very fine breeding program going on. The king devotes much time to this program, and the horses are large and strong, very much like english horses.

[Singh559]

have been reading a book on Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and in it there is a report by a british Captain Mathews, who stays a while at Maharaja's Drabar. (probably to spy). He sends a report about the horses of the Sikh king saying:

They are mainly from persia and central asia, and the king has a very fine breeding program going on. The king devotes much time to this program, and the horses are large and strong, very much like english horses.

That's amazing, can you share the book's name please?

In a couple days I will post some pictures of horses that I saw in Punjab.

[zoltansingh]

Singh 559,

>>So ZoltanSingh the Sikh horses were probably around 15-16 hh and bred for endurance rather than speed (like the thoroughbred)?

Yes endurance was needed, the Topre breed is said to have been able to gallop for stretches up to 100km+ at a time.

Endurance and speed in battle can be combined in a breed. The Akal Teke is known for its endurance, speed and agility. Perfect for battle especially if we think of the old sardars and their battle strategies. One such strategy was the planned withdrawl from a battlefield at pace, this would suck the enemy in to a planned horseshoe type formation with the Sikhs then attacking from either side and the front.

I look forward to the photos you took in Punjab.

[samosasingh]

What about the: Trai Chakra breed or the Padmanish breed.....both very popular arabian horses which were introduced to the Punjab in the late 1700's.

[Singh559]

Singh 559,

>>So ZoltanSingh the Sikh horses were probably around 15-16 hh and bred for endurance rather than speed (like the thoroughbred)?

Yes endurance was needed, the Topre breed is said to have been able to gallop for stretches up to 100km+ at a time.

Endurance and speed in battle can be combined in a breed. The Akal Teke is known for its endurance, speed and agility. Perfect for battle especially if we think of the old sardars and their battle strategies. One such strategy was the planned withdrawl from a battlefield at pace, this would suck the enemy in to a planned horseshoe type formation with the Sikhs then attacking from either side and the front.

I look forward to the photos you took in Punjab.

Is the topre breed still around today?

-----===============-------------------==============-------------

^ She's in bad shape but supposedly she produces great offspring.

Meeee + the 17+hh horse. @ZoltanSIngh the owner of this horse knew of the Bidhi Chand stallion you posted. He said it died and the Baba jis came to try to get this horse. The owner said he's got offers of 1.25 crores for the horse.

This was the second time i saw these horses, the first time I forgot my camera, this time we missed one of the bagha horses (with blue eyes) that was still teething (almost 2 years old) and 17hh and supposedly she was still growing.

[Singh559]

I want to get a straight Arabian or a thoroughbred after I finish medical school . It'd be great to see the ban lifted from exporting horses so we can enjoy some of the Punjabi breeds abroad. I hear the ban may be lifted in 1-3 years, have you heard of this?

[Guest KopSingh]

@Singh559 the first horse in your photo list (White horse) is absolutly BEAUTIFUL, i very rarely used that word. BTW wat are those white horses called (breed name)? id like to search more on google.

i kno nothing of horses, but it wud b nice if sikhs cud get bak into archery like the king of kings did, and with that do horse riding. i recently heard on bbc asian network that muslims want to "revive part of their history", by copying muhammeds practise of horseriding etc if those jokers can set up such a thing, then surely we can too. unfortunate thing is horses r expensive, whether that be buying one outright or jus taking lessons.

hw much do these horses cost in panjab, in english money £? especially the white horse, how much would that cost outright in english pounds?

[Singh559]

@Singh559 the first horse in your photo list (White horse) is absolutly BEAUTIFUL, i very rarely used that word. i kno nothing of horses, but it wud b nice if sikhs cud get bak into archery like the king of kings did, and with that do horse riding. i recently heard on bbc asian network that muslims want to "revive part of their history", by copying muhammeds practise of horseriding etc if those jokers can set up such a thing, then surely we can too. unfortunate thing is horses r expensive, whether that be buying one outright or jus taking lessons.

hw much do these horses cost in panjab, in english money £? especially the white horse, how much would that cost outright in english pounds?

If I remember correctly the foals can go for 4-10,000 USD (divided by 1.5 to convert to british pounds) or around 3-5 laks. The neela ghora is beautiful indeed, she was pregnant when I took the picture. She's probably due anytime now. The black 17++hh horse is worth 200,000 USD.

Really missing Punjab and seeing horses..

[Guest KopSingh]

If I remember correctly the foals can go for 4-10,000 USD (divided by 1.5 to convert to british pounds) or around 3-5 laks. The neela ghora is beautiful indeed, she was pregnant when I took the picture. She's probably due anytime now. The black 17++hh horse is worth 200,000 USD.

Really missing Punjab and seeing horses..

neela? i thort its white, anyways, thanks, so if it would cost 4-10k dollars, thats 2-5k pounds? i think, wow thats kinda cheaper than i thort. so how come the black costs so much more, is it purely coz of the sex? Power? age? etc.

also, which area of panjab is this, i may have a look quick nose around in the future.

[zoltansingh]

True white horses are rare, that's a dapple grey mare or neela as we say.

Thanks for posting the pics.

I was at Sur Singh in December and have some photos of the new main stallion.

Never trust owners when it comes to height and prices.Some measure to tops of head etc instead of withers. 68inch horses are rare, also they all tell you these super prices. Top price currently was 22lakh for Naag in Punjab.

The white horses someone wants to know about are Nukra.

The biggest stallion currently in Punjab is probably Budha Dal puratan bloodline Karamati who is 65"+ to withers. I have some photos that I will post.