[estcrh]

Originally Posted by ariel

Jens,
Sorry for my mistake: the original photo was not very detailed. This was NOT a Marvari horse, this was indeed Nilgai.

Ariel, somehow I have never seen the marvari before, a very beautiful horse.

The Marwari horse of today is descended from the splendid war horses that have served the ruling families and warriors of feudal India. Then, and throughout most of India's history, their status was unparalleled. They were declared divine, and superior to all men, including those of royal blood. Accordingly, only the Rajput families and the Kshatriyas, the warrior caste, were permitted to mount these exalted animals.

It is thanks to the surviving Rajput families and horse lovers from all communities that the resilient and beautiful Marwari has emerged from a period of neglect and the threat of extinction during the years of the British Empire and the early days of Indian democracy.

The Marwari horse is native to the Marwar region of India, its origins entwined with local folklore. According to Shri Mahant Baba Balak Dasji Maharaj, the head Priest of the Monastery at Kalabar, the breed can be traced to a period, "when the ocean was churned to extract nectar for the Gods, a period when horses had wings."

The Rathores, a warrior clan of the Raiputs, were driven from their kingdom of Kannaju around the 12th century. The harsh and desolate land in which they resettled was known as "Maru Pradesh," the land of death, and it required a rugged horse. The native Marwari horse proved well suited for both the desert and its role in battle for the Rathore cavalry.


During the Middle Ages, the principal occupation of the Rathores of Marwar was breeding Marwari horses. Under the reign of the Mogul Emperor Akbar, the Raiputs fielded a force of 50,000 men and horses, and the Marwari horse began famous for bringing back riders who became lost in the desert.

The Marwari breed has long been noted for its exceptional hearing: allowing both horse and rider early warning of impending danger. The brave Raiput went to battle believing there was no better way to die than on the field. And the Marwari became one with their masters. There were only three ways a Marwari cavalry horse left a battlefield: one was when he was victorious; another was when he carried his wounded master to safety; and the last was when he lay down his life for his master.