Horses and Horse Trade in Inter-Regional Circ...

Horses and Horse Trade in Inter-Regional Circuits of Trade in Kabul during the Mughal Period

Author Name : Dr. Farah Saif Abidin

During 16^th and 17^th centuries the horse claimed the first notice of all domestic animals. A considerable number of horses were bred in Afghan dominions. Babur tells us that good meadows were found on all the four sides of Kabul, which had grass suitable of horses.[1]

The environmental condition of Central Asia with plenty of pasturage and grasses was very favourable to the development of the equine-race. The fodder produced there was sweeter and more nutritious than that of Indian moister and more temperate climate. It produced in the horses of this region a higher temperature and better condition of blood, as well as a peculiar elasticity and strength of nerve and muscle perfectly wonderful.[2] Although it was possible to raise horses in India, these were of inferior quality and insufficient in number. When compared with Persia and Turkistan, India had a shortage of good and extensive pastures. In India the facilities for horse-breeding were relatively meagre. There was a shortage of extensive pastures in India, since the best soil was mostly reserved for cultivation. Apart from the shortage of space, the greatest drawback was the want of appropriate fodder grasses. The best Indian breeding grounds for horses were on the north-western fringe of the subcontinent.[3] But the country bred horses from this region had consistently been regarded as inferior to those brought down from the highlands of Afghanistan or from Central Asia.[4] The main breeding center in the region was Balkh and it was from here and the Turkoman country lower down the Oxus that the bulk of those exported were bred.[5]