61st Cavalry's Mounted Review at Jaipur

[Virendra S Rathore]

On the occasion of Rajasthan Day, the 61st Cavalry Regiment of Indian Army displayed a dashing Risala of 130 fine bred horses during Mounted Review Parade here at Rambagh Polo Ground, Jaipur.

This epoch event's parade was reviewed by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM, GOC-in-C, South Western Command; after the dazzling warriors of the Cavalry gathered on horse backs varying their lance stances at the hint of a command.
Adding to the glamor was the '17th Rajputana Rifles' Band that played its tunes with authenticity and style.
People of the Pink City welcomed the Gallop of 130 Cavalry units with dropping jaws and continuous applause. It was an awesome treat.

A bit of history :-
The same land of Rajputana has produced the two finest native cavalry breeds of India, namely - the 'Marwari' and 'Kathiawadi'.
These strong and apt cavalry breeds went a long way in ensuring that the Rajputs were able to resist the Turkish invasions and the challenges thereafter throughout the medieval centuries.
In later addition, light cavalry was fielded successfully by the Marathas and Sikhs.
In the midst of modern warfare of WWII, the troops of Indian cavalry (like 'Jodhpur Lancers') earned fame deep into MENA and Europe in various campaigns.

The 61st Cavalry of the IA today balances the march of Indian martial tradition into the world of 21st century's technology warfare with unique elan.

[Virendra S Rathore]

[Virendra S Rathore]

[Virendra S Rathore]

[Virendra S Rathore]

Enjoy the pics for now. I will have to compress the videos before I could upload and link them here.
Meanwhile, here's a YouTube video that I found already. Thanks to the enthusiast who posted it.

[wingsoffires66]

The horses in above pictures arent of indigenous breed. good show though. Thankyou for the post.

[AgentDoubleS]

Hi Virendra,

Thanks for the wonderful pictures. The 61st cavalry along with the PBG often perform riding feats and tricks at the polo grounds in Delhi and it is a treat to watch. As wings of fires says my guess is these are army half breds..maybe some of it is Waler blood imported earlier in india. Only a guess though.

I am not an expert but as I understand the kathiawari breed belongs to erstwhile Kathiawar, now Gujarat? The Marwari belongs to this region. I have ridden the Marwari and what a mare she was..wonderful temperament and a stamina matched by few horses I know, however whatever little research I've done on these horses I've not found historical evidence to support their role in war..heard a lot of it through folklore though.

Regards,
SS

[Safarigent]

1. These are thoroughbreds.
2. Half breds not very popular now a days.
3. Trivia: PBG horses are the only horses allowed to play polo without open tails and uncropped manes.
4. PBG doesn't do those displays. Its only 61 Cav.
5. Waler blood lines waning in India. Lovely horses though.
6. Marwari/ Kathiawari horses were pretty much all the Native Indian Cavalry had access to before the arrival of British.
7. Kathi horses are virtually similar to Marwaris. Main differences being:
a. A more dished facial profile as compared to marwaris.
b. lighter in bone.
c. Slightly smaller in stature.
8. Marwari/Kathiawari horses are very successful in endurance races and tent pegging.
9. Being hot blooded horses, both strains have not been successful in polo, dressage, show jumping.
10. Most peculiar case is that of the Halflingers in the India Army. They were imported from Austria 17 odd years ago to breed stronger mules and improve the ASC's bloodstock of transport beasts. A few found their way down to assorted army riding clubs across India in various cantonments. I rode one call Babur in 97 in MHOW. The moment any one near the riding arena said that its 5 P.M, Babur would just stop whatever her was doing and start towards the stables. In a straight line. The boundary was of bamboo and he would plod right through it! You could whatever you wanted, but that ride was going to the stables and there was nothing you could do about it!

Incidentally rode two kathiawaris there, by the name of sultan( chestnut with a dark dorsal stripe) and razia( dark bay). The revaal chaal is something to be experienced.

[prashantsingh]

Virendra,
Lovely photo's. Thanks for posting.

however whatever little research I've done on these horses I've not found historical evidence to support their role in war..heard a lot of it through folklore though.

Regards,
SS

Dear SS,
Go through a post called "Battle of Haifa and the Teen Murti" in the general rambling section.
Unfortunately I Still don't know how to post links.

Those are Tb s
+ to ABM. Our very own horseman and Polo player.
Halflingers are beautiful horses. The first lot came to Saharanpur when my uncle was commanding the farm. As a child I had this poster of a beautiful stallion in my room.

[xl_target]

Beautiful photos, Virendra.
Thanks you for sharing these.

[wingsoffires66]

I will only blame poor handler knowledge and then poor breeding practices to spoil indigenous horses kathiawari of gujrat , marwari of rajhasthan, sindhi of sindh and an emerging 'PUNJAAB' breed of horses[ read heavily fed big horses] .also there are zanskari n spiti but I will write about the bigger horses .Ugly breeding has pretty much mixed up the specifications in the indigenous ,also some traits of TB and what not !The major specification for classification in indigenous breeds is the ear curve and size profile. Kathiawari has smaller ears than marwari and both will have a crown like formation of ears[ curved inwards] the world loves these horses for their majestic face profiles.Sindhis will have less curved ears ( only tips). Kathiawari must have a concave [dished face from eyes to nose] and marwaris must have slightly convex profiles but this spec is seriously mixed , dont be shocked to see a a show winner with a profile not suiting its breed standard. winning shows also depend on the influence of owner over the board.There is a mental pedigree log kept constantly getting updated with the help of other breeders and most in the business know most of the famous lineage horses IHSI is trying to register stallions and mares and keep a proper log but that can be manipulated too.50 to 65 inches being the height span at withers .Since good height fetches good money , stallions mostly Tb blood somewhere above in the pedigree are used. many things are lied even by the most famous breeder families. costs ranges from 20,000INR to 1Cr. Due to all these factors horses are more like a collectors or breeders item of barter than a rider's pleasure. The world is very much interested in these horses since they are gaited[can do rewal chal], very beautiful, strong and low keeping costs. BUT govt. has Banned sale export of these horses to keep the good specimens of whatever left to restore breed standard. The big breeders are protesting against this as this will be huge money for themb anyways they dont sell a horse according to market value but according to breeders value here.
Its never a bad animal, its just bad handling. So its not the hot blood which keeps them angry and stubbornbut the Thorn bits and agressive handling practices to blame.
Lately but the things are improving with the use of generous GOOGLE BABA and FACEBOOK DEVI . we are seeing much better horses and practices in last 3 years and much much much higher prices for same.
FYI I was not blaberring about the cost , I have myself been asked fr 1 cr fr a famous stallion[i didnt even ask for the cost, he was proudly brandishing it to all] and seen a stallion sold fr 65 lacks .I donot wish to call names on a public forum else it would have been fun to spill beans of famous beeders with some solid proofs

Uglier Is the case with other Indigenous animal breeds like dogs, goats, cattle ect.
MERA BHARAT MAHAAN

[essdee1972]

Awesome display!! If only I could afford a horse!! (and the land, etc. required!).

BTW, I assume (or hope, rather) that these horses are only for show and not trained for war??

[Safarigent]

Its a fact that hot blooded animals have certain undeniable traits which when compounded by a lack of knowledge and poor training bordering on cruel, the horses cant reach anywhere near their potential.
Cow hocks is another feature of the kathiawari/ Marwari.
Incidentally, the horse you see on wikipedia when you search for marwari horses is a stallion called humayun, from ahmedabad. A lovely specimen with the 5 white markings which are considered auspicious in india, whereas the rest of the world thinks them the opposite.
TB blood has been used to restore a lot of breeds of horses and to make the existing gene pool stronger. Till sometime back, the kathiawari/marwari breeds were being inter bred and were also losing out on their genetic viability due inbreeding. The introduction of TB blood will be beneficial in the long run. Tht is ofcourse if it is done scientifically and not in a callous manner.

The 61 Cav has an actual role in the army ORBAT. They are tasked with patrolling the western areas during times of unrest and indeed practise for the same too. Thats the reason they are based out if jaipur and not babugarh or meerut.
Cavalry contingents of the patiala, gwalior, mysore and jaipur state forces were amalgamted to form the 61 cav. Only a single squadron is in delhi with the rest of the regt back in jaipur.

[wingsoffires66]

Its a fact that hot blooded animals have certain undeniable traits which when compounded by a lack of knowledge and poor training bordering on cruel, the horses cant reach anywhere near their potential.
.

i

ncidentally, the horse you see on wikipedia when you search for marwari horses is a stallion called humayun, from ahmedabad. A lovely specimen with the 5 white markings which are considered auspicious in india, whereas the rest of the world thinks them the opposite.

that is called the 'panchkalyyan' markings. Humayun in also featured on a postal stamp in gujrat. His owner is the same Mr. Virendra Kankaria who organised "sandstorm" in ambod, gujrat a few days back. The other Rearing horse picture featured on the wikipedia page is the famous stallion Late ALIBABA owned By Late Rao Jodh Singh of Narlai Rajasthan. Rao Sahab was offered 40 Lac INR in exchange for this stallion in 1996 Ka-ma show in Jasdan by owner of Gokul dairy which he refused . The Alibaba died in 2009 and Rao sahab in 2007

TB blood has been used to restore a lot of breeds of horses and to make the existing gene pool stronger

I agree BUT how will the breed remain Pure? We have much potential of the indigenous which can be rather explored by scientific breeding.

[Safarigent]

The late Rao Jodh singhs son is still contuing good work with the horses. Met him a few times.
I have always wondered if they could creat a new breed like the anglo arab! A TB x Marwari strain!
Not a casual crossbreed, but a seperate breed with a register etc!
Would be a very nice animal