390 
THE BREEDING STUD OE AN INDIAN PRINCE. 
city to withstand the annihilating effects of the encroachments of 
civilisation. 
The Maharajah possesses a breeding stnd with paddocks, sheds and 
boxes; the brood mares number about 100, and are of all breeds; 
English, Australian, Arab, New Zealand, and country-bred. Hitherto 
the mares have not been selected on any principle, but it is probable 
that in the future approved mares only will be admitted to the stud. 
Of stallions there is the English horse “ Reputation,” imported by Lord 
William Beresford—probably the best miler of his day ; an Australian, 
several Arabs and country-breds. The stallions, mares and young 
stock are all in excellent condition, and the youngsters perfectly 
quiet and tractable. Colonel Humfrey writes : “ In the Bhavnagar 
stud, where the young stock have every care and kindness lavished on 
them, the youngsters, though quite unbroken, are so confident and fear¬ 
less that on a stranger entering the yard they crowd round him in a 
most inquisitive manner, allowing themselves to be stroked, handled, 
or led about, in a way that is pleasant to witness, and which speaks 
volumes for the treatment they receive, and, in after life, I have noticed 
that those who come from these paddocks display the same gentle 
manners.” 1 
The object of the Maharajah is to improve the breed of horses through¬ 
out his territories ; and there are interesting particulars regarding 
the Khatiawar horse to which, as they may not be generally known, I 
will briefly refer. For many generations the Khatiawar horse has 
been much sought after, on account of his speed and endurance; the 
various chiefs vied with each other in keeping up the distinctive charac¬ 
teristics of the different castes, and until the last twenty years it was 
no more possible to procure a high-bred “Khatty,” out of his own 
country, than it is to get a true Jersey or Guernsey cow out of the 
Channel Islands. Owing to facilities of communication by railways, 
the distinctions are not so sharp as they were, but still the people cling 
to the old traditions and cherish the old breeds, and you must go to 
Khatiawar to see them at their best. It is believed that the favourite 
and prevailing colour is dun, with a dark stripe down the back, but 
Colonel Humfrey writes : “ My intimate knowledge of the breed leads 
me to disbelieve the theory. There are not more dun horses in 
Khatiawar than in any other part of the country.” A mark of the 
breed which is greatly prized is the peculiar pointing of the ears, which 
arch inwards, so that when pricked the points nearly meet. I have 
nowhere seen such beautiful heads as those of the high-caste “ Khatty ” 
horses; indeed, the model the native breeder takes as his ideal is the 
form of the antelope. “ Where,” he says “ do you find such swiftness, 
endurance, and beauty as in the antelope;” when you object to the want 
of bone in his horse, he replies that the antelope also has small bones; if 
you remind him that the antelope is not called upon to carry eighteen 
stone on his back, he scornfully retorts : “ You mount your horse, I 
will mount mine; we will race, and I shall win.” The arrangement of 
the terms of such a match would present some difficulties, and I am not 
1 “ Horse Breeding and Bearing in India.” By Major John Humfrey, Bengal Staff Corps, 
F.Z.S. 1887. 
