Horses Used By The Sikhs

[Singh559]

daaaaamn that black horse is huge... not well kept though

How so?

The sunburn appearance in the second picture?

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Is it just me or is there a striking resemblance between the punjabi horse and this straight egyptian/arabian colt (born may 5 2010)

[AvnitK]

hmm the black horse , seems fine to me, its really tall thats for sure, looks beautiful...

[zoltansingh]

The Bidhi Chand stallion is well kept. He has very good height.

A well known politician (Akali Dal) allegedly borrowed him to cover his mares and gave him back in not so good condition.

[dalsingh101]

Found this interesting snippet that might give us an insight into the original breeds that were imported into Panjab under Guru Hargobind's hukam. The work is contemporary to their physical time, written by a traveler and writer who personal met and knew the Guru. It is a Persian manuscript and one gets some sense of the difficulties Sikhs experienced in importing horses through the Muslim regions:

Sadh (or Sada) is another disciple of the Guru. (He is a Sethi Khatri). When he became a Sikh of the Guru he heard that the Guru was telling other Sikhs: "If you can, bring for me horse from the country of Iraq [iran]." Sadh had his residence in Balkh. By the Guru's order he started from Balkh towards Iraq [iran] to bring horses. He had a son, who, upon reaching Balkh, fell ill. People told Sadh: "You are still in Balkh, one stage of journey away from home. Do [go back] and see your son. " He replied: "If he dies there is ample firewood in the house to cremate him. I have started on the Guru's work and will not go back" So the son passed away and he did not return. By much endeavor he brought three Iraqi horses, twenty-five Turki horses and one camel besides many other valuable articles. When he reached Ghorband, belonging to Kabul province, and which by orders of His Just Majesty King Shah Jahan, was under the charge of Khalil Beg, Khalil Beg seized all three Turki horses and the camel. However much Sadh tried, it was of no use. This incident occured in 1643-44 AD. After Guru Hargobind's deathtowards the close of the [next] year, Ali Quli Beg, the son of Khalil, who had been the most forward in seizing the horses, passed away and in the year 1645, Khalil Beg lost repute owing to negligence shown by him in defending the fort of Ghorband against the people of Balkh, whom he had provoked into fighting.

Dabistan i Mazahib - 1645-46. Trans. by Irfan Habib in Persian sources of Sikh history.

[Singh559]

Zoltan veerji, which politician was it? These politicians from Akali Dal with badals are messing up punjab on a massive scale, it's simply ridiculous. They're destroying the poor farmers and the poor are getting even more poor.

Found this interesting snippet that might give us an insight into the original breeds that were imported into Panjab under Guru Hargobind's hukam. The work is contemporary to their physical time, written by a traveler and writer who personal met and knew the Guru. It is a Persian manuscript and one gets some sense of the difficulties Sikhs experienced in importing horses through the Muslim regions:

Great quote. I'm guessing the straight arabian horses are very, very similar to the black horse from Bidhi Chand Dal. In that case, i can find a similar colt here in california (like this straight egyptian/arabian horse, look how built it is already it will be very tall once full grown).

Maybe sometime in the future if we ever get a farm it'd be nice to look into.

[zoltansingh]

Singh559,

Arab horses go to about 15hh whereas good punjabi horses are 16hh+. The Arab influence on some of the Punjabi bloodlines is obvious when you see their gait.

[zoltansingh]

Dalsingh, please continue posting these snippets of history. Unlike the Rajasthanis and Gujratis who claim the Marwari and Kathi were gifts directly given to them by god, we openly acknowledge that Sikh Guru Ji had horses bought for them from Persia and beyond. The more sources we can cite the better.

[Majorsahib]

Zoltan Singh what caused the original demise of the anmol in Punjab? Are the horses pictured the remnants of the extinct Anmol?

[Singh559]

The horse looks 19hh to me, maybe 18?

[zoltansingh]

Zoltan Singh what caused the original demise of the anmol in Punjab? Are the horses pictured the remnants of the extinct Anmol?

Hard to say but if we believe what is written, the anmol breed was from horses left behind by alexendra, so please do not worry too much about this as the breed was not natural to Punjab anyway. We need to be concerned about the horses that were the result of breeding the bloodlines imported by our Guru Ji. Currently Budha Dal still have puratan nasal horses and its essential we preserve these and give them a distinct identity within the equine world. For much of the outside world they only know of the Marwari and Kathi. There are thousands of Marwari but they are promoted as a rare breed, we need to open our eyes and focus on the puratan bloodlines which are truly rare.