Pune: Bhimthadi Horses Will Be Soon Recognized As A Separate Breed; Will Help In Their Revival

Pune, 27th February 2023: Native to Maharashtra, the Bhimthadi Horses known for their stamina and strength, who were used by the Maratha Army, were on the verge of extinction, but due to efforts spearheaded by horse lovers Ranjeet Pawar, Sachin Jagtap and supported by Keshav Joshi, they will soon be recognized as a separate breed, which will substantially help in their revival.

The breed of Bhimthadi Horses, also known as ‘Deccan Horses’, were developed in the Pune district in the 17th and 18th century. It originates from the Bhima river valley and hence got the name ‘Bhimthadi’. Efforts for their revival have already started and a glimpse of it was presented during the 7th Marwari Horse Show held at Japalaqque Equestrian Center, Talegaon Dabhade, Pune. The Marwari Horse Show was organized by Indigenous Horse Owners Association. Two Ponies of the Bhimthadi breed were presented in show on Sunday.

Horse lover Ranjeet Pawar said, “We have been taking efforts for the revival of Bhimthadi breed of horses through the Agricultural Development Trust, Baramati from the past five-six years “

“We identified these horses and then collected 1,000 blood samples for DNA testing of such horses, which was submitted to the Centre. The Central government wants to make sure that the DNA of these horses does not match with any other horse breed. Then only these horses will get recognized as a separate breed. We got tremendous support from the faculty and doctors of the National Research Centre (NRC) on Equines, Bikaner,” Ranjeet Pawar elaborated.

“Currently these horses are not recognized, but once the Bhimthadi breed gets recognized, they will get government support, which will be instrumental in their revival. We are optimistic that the Centre will recognize Bhimthadi as a separate breed in six months. Once recognized, the revived horses can be used for Endurance as well as for Polo sport,” Ranjeet Pawar said.

Keshav Joshi informed, “This breed belonged to Maharashtra and the horse breed primarily came from districts like Ahmedanagar, Pune, Satara, Solapur, Satara. However, these horses were bought by the traders from the northern part of India and then used at Vaishno Devi shrine and tourist spots in Himachal Pradesh.”

“When fully grown these horses attain height upto 56-58 inches. The horses were easily used by the soldiers in hilly terrain. One of the characteristics is that the horse takes fewer intake, but has a strong stamina and strength,” Keshav Joshi said.