E-Paper
Maha’s Bhimthadi horses to soon get official tag as separate breed
Bhimthadi Horses, also known as “Deccan Horses”, originated from the Bhima river valley in Pune district in the 17th and 18th century
Native to Maharashtra, the indigenous breed of Bhimthadi horses that are facing extinction will soon gallop on the road to recovery. Horse lovers Ranjeet Pawar, Sachin Jagtap and Keshav Joshi are taking steps to revive the equine, known for their stamina and strength and was the favourite mount of the Maratha Army.
Pawar said, “We have been taking efforts for the revival of Bhimthadi breed of horses through the Agricultural Development Trust, Baramati, since past five-six years. We identified these horses, collected 1,000 blood samples for DNA testing and submitted to the Centre. The central government wants to make sure that the DNA of these horses does not match with any other horses to be recognised as a separate breed. We have received support from the faculty and doctors of the National Research Centre (NRC) on Equines, Bikaner.”
He said that the government will provide assistance once the breed gets formal recognition.
“We are expecting the official letter from the Centre in six months. After getting the letter, these horses can be used for Endurance and Polo sport,” Pawar said.
Bhimthadi Horses, also known as “Deccan Horses”, originated from the Bhima river valley in Pune district in the 17th and 18th century and got the name “Bhimthadi”. As part of the revival efforts, two ponies of the breed were presented during the 7th Marwari Horse Show on Sunday.
Joshi said, “The breed belonged to Maharashtra and primarily came from districts like Ahmednagar, Pune, Satara and Solapur. However, traders from northern part of India bought these horses and used it at Vaishno Devi shrine and tourist spots in Himachal Pradesh.”
“A fully grown horse attains the height up to 56-58 inches. The horses were easily used by soldiers in hilly terrain. One of the characteristics of Bhimthadi horse is that its food intake is less, but has strong stamina and strength,” Joshi said.
