It originates in the Kathiawar peninsula of Gujarat in western India, and is associated with the Kathi people of that area.

It was originally bred as a desert war horse for use over long distances, in rough terrain, on minimal rations.

There were indigenous horses on the western coast of India before the arrival in the early sixteenth century of the Turco-Mongol invaders who later established the Mughal Empire.

[7]: 160  During the Mughal period, and later under the British Raj, Arab horses were imported to India and crossed with native stock, creating the ancestors of the modern Kathiawari breed.

[citation needed] Some noble families bred their own line or strain, twenty-eight[8]: 117  or thirty-six[6]: 479  of which still exist.

[7] The government of Gujarat maintains a conservation herd at Junagadh, and has a number of stallions standing at stud in other parts of the state.

[6]: 479  In 2010 the Gujarati government commissioned Saurashtra University to research the options for recovery of the Kathiawari breed, and also the extent to which it is related to the Marwari.

[9] At some points in the breed's history, breeders focused on the preservation of these curving ears, to the detriment of some other, more important, physical characteristics.

As well as the usual gaits, the Kathiawari also performs a swift, lateral pace, called the revaal[what language is this?].

[9] The Kathiawari is closely related to the Marwari breed from the Marwar region of Rajasthan, which borders with northern Gujarat.