2. News & Updates

News & Updates

    • July 31, 2015

    • Horses of the Deccan

    • While people talk about the Bhimtadi, the steed of the Maratha warriors which today is almost extinct, there is another breed of horse found in the Deccan plateau far less spoken about and far less visible. The sturdy horse of the Dhangar women. This breed of horse has traditionally been used as a pack animal carrying the worldly possessions of the women on their stout backs. While the men walk with their sheep, women and children travel along with their chicken, lambs and other material possessions to set up camp in preparation for the night halt. These horses are sturdy and sure footed as they transport several kilos on their backs everyday especially through biting rain and searing sun. They also transport precious cargo ; babies, young lambs, chicken and sometimes sick animals too. Since the horses spend most of the day with women they are mainly taken care of by the women. Veterinary care is not easily available as these families are constantly on the move in fairly remote areas. It has been observed that shepherds are slowly giving up maintaining horses and shifting to motorized transport as managing and tending to these animals is becoming difficult.Should all the shepherds shift to motorized transport these animals would slowly but surely disappear. Anthra has recently started a project to document this breed of horse, it’s features and its cultural significance. Julie Joly a student from the « Ecole Supérieure d’agriculture, D’Angers, France is documenting the specificities of this breed as her internship project under the guidance of Dr. Nitya Ghotge.

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