Horses Used By The Sikhs

chatanga · March 12, 2012

do you know how the horse went from their possession? and who to?

zoltansingh · March 13, 2012

do you know how the horse went from their possession? and who to?

Veer-ji, i guess they did not care for it and sold him. I think we should not dwell to much on this but look at the positives from this. He is in much better condition and being cared for. I posted a video on this thread where baba maghar singh radiates. About this bloodline and also mentions that not many horses from this bloodline are about because they were not looked after.

So kudos to those who have taken on this great stallion with his interests and welfare at heart.

zoltansingh · March 13, 2012

I know of people who have bought horses that were once with nihangs. Not sure what the ins and outs are but I guess some nihangs have horses they own so can sell them.

Every year many horses are gifted for Guru Ji at Sri Hazur Sahib, far too many to be looked after so some are sold on.

Singh559 · March 13, 2012

Also @ZoltanSingh, do you know whether the bits that Sikhs used were all spiked and whether they hurt the horse considerably or not? I know control is a necessity but is there an alternative to the spiked bit that may cause less pain to the horse.

zoltansingh · March 13, 2012

Thorn bits can be painful for horses and there are campaigns to get people to switch away from using them.

zoltansingh · March 13, 2012

Caroline from the UK chapter of the Friends of Marwari was at Muktsar this year giving advice on bits and exchanginging thorn bits for more acceptable bits. They have undertaken several such campaigns in the past few years.

Singh559 · March 13, 2012

Caroline from the UK chapter of the Friends of Marwari was at Muktsar this year giving advice on bits and exchanginging thorn bits for more acceptable bits. They have undertaken several such campaigns in the past few years.

That's good to hear.

chatanga · March 13, 2012

idealy should a horse have a bit at all, i think they are quite frowned upon in the western world.

Veer-ji, i guess they did not care for it and sold him.

That is quite unusual though isnt it.

zoltansingh · March 13, 2012

idealy should a horse have a bit at all, i think they are quite frowned upon in the western world.

That is quite unusual though isnt it.

They are only frowned upon by those into natural horsemanship. Take the bit away and the bridle that replaces it will also exert pressure somewhere to get the control.

I am not too sure if it is unusual. I have seen the fauj of the Bidhi Chand Dal and they are well looked after. Maybe others who have seen the fauj of other Dals can comment about them. I know that the Bageecha Baag faction of the Budha Dal does not have the same emphasis on the welfare of horses as they did under previous Jathedar. I am not sure about the Nihangs with Baba Surjit Singh Ji at Raqba as I have never visited.

Singh559 · March 15, 2012

We should compile an unofficial book list for all historical accounts of horses associated with Sikhs. (preferably ones that we have read and can vouch for).

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In the mean time:

Anyone interested in buying/searching for some books: do a search on Amazon with keywords "Sikh horse".

Some hits I got that I thought were interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Society-Modern-1740-1849-Empires/dp/0415587670/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813660&sr=8-34

http://www.amazon.com/Leader-Light-Horse-Hodson-Hodsons/dp/1445517299/ref=sr_1_35?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813660&sr=8-35

http://www.amazon.com/Incidents-Sepoy-War-1857-58-Compiled/dp/1402189826/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813660&sr=8-36

http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Power-Punjab-Political-Muha-Raja/dp/0554863901/ref=sr_1_37?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813660&sr=8-37

http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Mughal-Dynasty-Vintage/dp/1400078334/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813484&sr=8-19

http://www.amazon.com/Arrogant-Armies-Military-Disasters-Generals/dp/0471119768/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813484&sr=8-22

http://www.amazon.com/Mughal-Empire-Cambridge-History-India/dp/0521566037/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813484&sr=8-24

http://www.amazon.com/The-Opium-Wars-Addiction-Corruption/dp/1402201494/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1331813484&sr=8-25