SummaryThe breeding tract of Kathiawari horses is the Saurashtra region of Gujrat, comprising of the Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Junagarh and Amreli districts. Kathiawari horses are reared for carting, riding, sports and transportation. The breed is closely related with the Marwari breed of Rajasthan. The most predominant body colour is chestnut in Kathiawari horses and black in Marwari horses. The capital nags of the Kathiawari breed are from 14 to 14.5 HH, sound, sure footed and hardy, fast and decidedly good looking. The herd size at farmer level varied from 1 to 4. In the study an attempt has been made to note the physical characteristics and management practices for rearing these horses in the breeding tract. Body measurement of Kathiawari and Marwari horses were recorded. It was observed that Kathiawari horses had a smaller body, shorter height, smaller heart girth, ears and face than the Marwari horses. The performance of the Kathiawari breed under intensive management was studied. The average age at first fertile service, and at first foaling, herd life, total foals during lifetime, gestation period, service period and foaling interval were 1 658±79 days, 1 989±80 days, 6 499±650 days, 4.93±0.52 foals, 333.58±1.76 days, 257.23±46.49 days and 597.76±49.70 days, respectively.

A participatory field study on nutrient management of buffaloes by resource poor tribal farmers and its correlation with milk production was carried out in Bichhia Block of Mandla District in Central India with 41 buffalo owners in 2015. A 15 point questionnaire was developed to gather information on the feeding management and milk production of buffaloes. The body weight of the buffaloes was calculated by the Schaeffer’s formula. The average body weight of buffaloes was 538 ± 7.5 kg. The average milk production and 4% FCM yield was 5.88 and 8.74 kg, respectively. The total nutrient fed (DCP, TDN) was compared with nutrient requirement. It was found that DCP, TDN, calcium and phosphorus were deficit by 28.00, 19.01, 21.30 and 37.76 %, respectively. It was concluded that the low milk production in buffaloes was due to nutrient deficit ration fed to the lactating buffaloes. Therefore, a massive extension follow up programme for creating awareness on nutrient management of buffaloes should be made.