Horses Used By The Sikhs

[West London Singh]

I really don't know much about horses per se. Wish I did coz its such an integral part of who I am as a Sikh. Wasn't it Nadir Shah who made the prediction that the Sikhs would rule their own vast empire when he was told of how the horse is the home of the Sikhs.....i.e how we live in the saddle ? Also, when there was a price on the head of every Sikh man, woman and child....simply for being a Sikh....our forefathers lived on horseback, never staying in one location for more than 3 days at a time (coz thats how long it would take the mughal forces to get there once the local Hindus and Muslims had informed on us in order to claim their reward)

(incidentally......would I be right in thinking that may be the true origin of our tradition of akhand paths that last 3 days ?.......seeing as history shows us that families of Sikhs would only show up in an area for 3 days max before riding off again ?)

Anyway, I digress. Really like this thread, Here's an account of the way the Sikhs used their horses to great effect during the anglo-sikh battle at Chillianwala. (incidentally....50 years before that battle Ranjit Singh allowed a British historian into the Sikh Kingdom to do some archialogical research and that historian / archeaologist found that the epic Alexander the great and Porus battle was fought on the very same spot where the Chillianwala sikh battle was eventually fought).

Anyway....This is the account by Sgt. William Forbes Mitchell :

"Our English cavalry with their blunt swords were most unequally matched against the Sikhs with talwars so keen of edge that they would split a hair... I remember reading of a regiment of British cavalry charging a regiment of Sikh cavalry. The latter wore voluminous thick puggries round their heads, which our blunt swords were powerless to cut through, and each horseman had also a buffalo hide shield slung on his back. They evidently knew that the British swords was blunt and useless, so they kept their horses still and met the British charge by laying flat on their horses' necks, with their heads protected by their thick turbans and their backs by the shields; and immediately the British soldiers passed through their ranks, the Sikhs swooped round on them and struck back-handed with their sharp, curved swords, in several instances cutting our cavalry men in two..."

There is one thing, however, that I'm curious to find out about. Did the Khalsa army bang their horses tail (trim the hair) ? I know for sure that the horses used by the British Army on the other side of the Sutlej definately did so......but I'm curious to know if the French generals that were training the Sikhs also had that practice and whether they brought the practice with them to the Sikh Kingdom ?

[zoltansingh]

The British gifted 5 horses to Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji:

(unsure on source as had this saved on HDD).

I have read about the British gifting Suffolk Cart Horses (Suffolk Punch) to Shere-e-Panjab. The British made great use of the Suffolk Punch in India, especially to produce good sturdy mules for the army. The Pak army still has the Suffolk Punch breed at their Equine Farm at Mona. The Indian army also had some but I am unsure about the current situation.

[Singh559]

Ranjit Singh Punjab sikh Lahore Maharaja ranjit Singh bahadur sher-e Punjab a very rare steel engraved print showing maharaja ranjit Singh on horse back at head of this troops entering kashmir with umbrella carrying servant , by alfred dedreux , c 1836 with a rare embossed stamp to base of French ministry of war. This is commonly known as the grand portrait showing the king of Punjab at height of his powers at the pinnacle of the Sikh empire. What makes this print even more scarce is the fact it was produced during ranjit singhs life time by French ministry . At that time the French occupied high rank positions in the army of the Khalsa .

If anyone wants to buy this piece, here's the link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maharaja-Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-Lahore-Kashmir-Punjab-/180837335314?pt=UK_art_prints_GL&hash=item2a1abec112#ht_500wt_1202

(Yep, 1,100 dollars) Expensive, but worth the price if someone has the money.

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[West London Singh]

Fellas, this wonderfull thread is in danger of turning into a horse fetishist's jazz mag page. Please try and do what I've been doing, i.e....keeping all the messages on it Sikhi related.

[chatanga]

horse fetishist's jazz mag page.

dear oh dear.

[Singh559]

http://horseindian.com/activities.htm

Apparently the export ban is lifted on exporting horses from India, but EU countries have banned the import due to no proof of fighting against disease (even though the last case of a disease outbreak was 1950).

Does this mean that it's possible to export a Punjabi horse from India to the USA? It seems the trade ministry stopped giving out licenses to export Marwari breeds, does this apply to Punjabi breeds as well? (like the Nihang Singh stallions or Adam/Naag)

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Edit- The silver art work done by the French during the time of MRS (above) of the white horse seems like a purebred Arabian.

[zoltansingh]

The ban is still in place. There is talk of lifting it but the ban is certainly still in place.

Also the marwari horse it mentions as being in France is apparently now in England.

Interesting prints of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Notice the facial profile and ears of the horses. No marwari ears as found in most horses in Punjab these days.

[S1ngh]

I know a Singh who recently came to California who also happens to be from baba bidhi chand dal family.. If some cali Sikh rancher want to keep history intact then it is much easier considering if import process is easy.

[Singh559]

I know a Singh who recently came to California who also happens to be from baba bidhi chand dal family.. If some cali Sikh rancher want to keep history intact then it is much easier considering if import process is easy.

That's awesome. So this Singh lives in California now? May I ask what city or area?

[S1ngh]

We can call him Singh209 :D

i will pm you...