SRINAGAR: In a landmark scientific achievement for Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmir Pony has been officially recognised and registered as a distinct indigenous horse breed by the ICAR–National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBAGR), Karnal.
The recognition was accorded by the ICAR Breed Registration Committee at its 14th meeting held on August 7, 2026, with Jammu and Kashmir designated as the home tract of the breed. The Kashmir Pony has been assigned the accession number INDIA_HORSE_0700_KASHMIRI_07009.
The registration follows research and scientific documentation undertaken by scientists of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), marking a significant step towards establishing the pony as part of India’s officially documented indigenous animal genetic resources.
The research team was led by Dr Syed Shanaz, Professor and Head of the Division of Animal Genetics & Breeding. It included Dr Muzamil Abdullah, Assistant Professor, MRCSG; Dr Akeel Yousuf Wani, MVSc Scholar, LPM; Dr Nazish Rizwan, MVSc Scholar, LPM; and Dr Khushboo Javaid, MVSc Scholar, AGB.
The study was undertaken in scientific collaboration with ICAR-NBAGR, Karnal, under the guidance of Dr A.K. Mishra, Principal Scientist and In-charge of the project. Officers of the Animal Husbandry Department also provided support and cooperation during the groundwork for the study.
The official registration gives national scientific recognition to a horse breed that has long been associated with the landscape and rural life of Kashmir. More importantly, it provides a formal basis for its scientific conservation, genetic characterisation and sustainable utilisation.
Scientists say the recognition could also create opportunities to explore the Kashmir Pony’s future livelihood potential, including through improved breeding programmes and sustainable utilisation, while safeguarding its indigenous genetic characteristics.
The achievement places Kashmir’s equine genetic heritage within India’s national framework for the documentation and conservation of indigenous livestock and animal breeds.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the registration is therefore more than a scientific classification: it creates an institutional framework for conserving the Kashmir Pony as a distinct genetic resource and potentially developing it as an economic asset for communities associated with its breeding and use.
