CHENNAI: A flurried toss of the head, a hurried scuttle of hooves and a neigh fills the salty air as a brown horse quickly halts, sand spilling on the hem of your pants. The horse assesses its new rider, before timidly waiting for them to mount. The coolie grasps the soft brown reins and ambles towards the Marina Beach. Such joy rides are common at the beaches in Chennai, and attract children and adults alike.
Cost and care
Sitting on a black marble ledge, Venila Manibal K looks over the beach, surveying the riders. She owns four horses and gives them to different coolies at the beach to take the visitors on a ride. “I started this business a year ago. I bought a few horses from Andhra Pradesh, and my nephew and I bring them here every day at around 4 pm. We hire some of the local boys to take people around,” she says.
The maintenance and care for horses are expensive, requiring an initial investment of Rs11,000 for bedding, proper riding equipment, vaccination and food. Venila says that a portion of the earnings is always kept aside for the horse’s needs. Any profits are for her and her family of four.
The recommended diet for horses is a mixture of vegetables, wheat and other starches. This, according to her, costs around `500 a day. The riding gears are handmade by one of her coolies, and the horses are kept at a ground near her house in Satya Nagar. “We can tell by looking at them that they are sick, and take them to the doctor. If there is anything we can do to help them at home, we do that,” she says.
Medical attention
However, Dr R Sokkalangy at the Vepery Veterinary College says that many do not provide such care to their animals, the main source of their incomes. “They are kept standing all day. This puts immense strain on the horse’s legs and muscles, which must be massaged properly before they return to work,” he says. Home remedies administered to these horses are inadvisable as certain ailments like cholic, a fatal stomach disease, needs to be treated quickly and by a professional.
Venila, who earns only `200 a day says, “It is expensive to transport the horses. We hire a van to bring them to the beach every day, which costs around `200 per trip. When we don’t have enough money, I borrow money from my oldest son, who runs a fish stall at Marina Beach or some people. I have to make sure the horses are well-fed and healthy before I eat.”
Abysmal living conditions
The breed that Venila has is called the Marwadi breed, a domestic breed raised in Punjab. These horses are sturdy and can withstand the heat and sounds of the city. However, many owners buy horses from the Madras Race Club for `5,000. They are thoroughbreds, usually from champion lines, who have been raised with only the best. Once they are past their prime, they are auctioned off. These horses find it difficult to adapt to life at the beach, having been raised in a quiet environment.
In 2004, animal rights activist Antony Rubin was in charge of a group that was to look into the death of a horse due to a heatstroke. His team found the pathetic living conditions of some of these horses, who were left to stand under bridges and near open drains at night. As per an order by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, a larger investigation was conducted into the condition of the horses.
“The horses had saddle burns and rashes. They use second- and third-hand saddles for the horses, which rub against their back all day. The bits — the metal part in their mouths — were all rusted,” says Rubin. During races, riders use a whip filled with air and sponge to avoid hurting the horse. However, the whips used by the coolies at the beach were twigs and branches picked up from the surrounding area, and caused significant harm to the animal, which led to the banning of the business.
Bread, butter, and alcohol
“I’ve been fascinated by these horses from when I was a child. But now they earn me my bread-and-butter, so I learned that I had to treat them properly, like my own family. I didn’t get an education, so this is the only way I can earn money,” says Suresh Karnan, Venila’s nephew. The 25-year-old manages the horses and coolies while also pitching in as a coolie on some days. Just then, a young man staggers up to them. After sharing a few sharp words, Venila instructs him to bathe. He stumbles away, smelling of alcohol and dung.
Alcoholism is another issue faced by many of the coolies at the beach. Bottles line the walls where the coolies take a break and many of them take surreptitious sips from bottles, using their horse’s body to hide them. According to Dr Sokkalangy, the coolies and owners are repeatedly requested to not drink while handling the animal. Many of the coolies were raised at the shores of Marina beach, and age from 15 to 25 years.
Around three weeks ago, a horse was found dead at the beach, with its throat slit. Dr Sokkalangy suspects that it was a result of infighting among the horse owners at the beach and a way of establishing dominance. On June 28, a horse was attacked by five people who the police claim had bad blood with its caretaker. “They see the horse as a machine that makes them money. They know how to break an animal’s spirit, and make it do what they want it to do,” says Rubin.
Health camp
The Veterinary College recently conducted a free health camp for the horses, and educated coolies and horse owners on the need for regular check-up and proper diet. The doctors recommend that the horses be brought in once every three months, but according to Dr Sokkalangy, many do not come.