The Marwari or Malani[4] is a rare breed of horse from the Marwar (or Jodhpur) region of Rajasthan, in north-west India.

It is closely related to the Kathiawari breed of the Kathiawar peninsula of Gujarat,[5] with which it shares an unusual inward-curving shape of the ears.

[6]: 328  It is thought to descend from the warhorses of the Rajput warriors of the Marwar and Mewar regions of Rajasthan,[7]: 54  with subsequent influence of horses of Turkoman type brought to the area by Mughal invaders in the sixteenth century.

[3]: 485  In the late sixteenth century Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, in his Ain-i-Akbari, says that the finest horses in India were those of Kutch, and recounts a myth that an Arab ship carrying seven fine Arab horses was shipwrecked on the shore of that district;[10]: 133 [11] Kutch is in modern Gujarat, while Marwar is in Rajasthan.

The Marwari was vital to their survival, and during the 12th century they followed strict selective breeding processes, keeping the finest stallions for the use of their subjects.

[14] When the Mughals captured northern India in the early 16th century, they brought Turkoman horses that were probably used to supplement the breeding of the Marwari.

During the late 16th century, the Rajputs of Marwar region, who were under the suzerainty of Mughal emperor Akbar, formed a cavalry force over 50,000 strong.

[13] The Rathores believed that the Marwari horse could only leave a battlefield under one of three conditions – victory, death, or carrying a wounded master to safety.

[13] The period of British colonial rule hastened the Marwari's fall from dominance, as did the eventual independence of India.

[16][17] Britons living in India instead preferred thoroughbreds and polo ponies, and reduced the reputation of the Marwari to the point where even the inward-turning ears of the breed were mocked as the "mark of a native horse".

This ban was partially lifted in 1999, when a small number of indigenous horses could be exported after receiving a special license.

[22] In 2008, the Indian government began granting licenses for "temporary exports" of up to one year, to allow horses to be exhibited in other countries.

[21] In late 2007 plans were announced to create a stud book for the breed, a collaborative venture between the Marwari Horse Society of India and the Indian government.

The registration process includes an evaluation of the horse against the breed standards, during which unique identification marks and physical dimensions are recorded.

The neck is arched and carried high, running into pronounced withers, with a deep chest and muscular, broad, and angular shoulders.

Kathiawaris have inward-slanting ears, a short back, and a straight, slender neck and are more similar to Arabians, but they are pure in breed.

[29] The Marwari horse often exhibits a natural ambling gait, close to a pace, called the revaal,[13] aphcal,[15] or rehwal.

Despite the fact that the breed is indigenous to the country, cavalry units of the Indian military make little use of the horses, although they are popular in the Jodhpur and Jaipur areas of Rajasthan, India.

Decorated in silver, jewels, and bells, these horses were trained to perform complex prancing and leaping movements at many ceremonies, including weddings.