CHENNAI: It's easy to shut down academy housing athletes, but what do you do if the facility houses expensive horses! Humans can be barred from training due to the COVID-19 outbreak, not the equines. The ongoing lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease has affected operations of horse stables and equestrian academies across the country.
Spread over 25 acres in the outskirts of the capital of the state, the Madhya Pradesh Equestrian Academy has 35 horses. The state government closed down all sports academies on March 15 till the end of the month. It has been extended further to April 30.
The 38 trainees of the academy stopped coming for practice, but the closure also meant that the state Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare had to put in additional measures in order to keep the horses healthy in the absence of regular workouts.
“We have one groom (who takes care of the animals) for two horses. They take them for walks in the morning and evening every day. They also feed and clean them. Horses tend to develop colic (abdominal pain) in absence of physical activities, which can be fatal. Making them walk helps them keep fit,” said Captain Bhagirath, chief coach of the academy, in a chat with this daily.
“Our polo ground is 1km long and they do three-four rounds of it in around half-an-hour. We also make them do lunging in a 20-metre circle for at least 20-30 minutes. It helps in digesting food and keeps them free from digestive problems like colic,” Captain Bhagirath added.
The academy has four coaches including the chief coach, an assistant veterinarian and more than a dozen of grooms. While Bhagirath is stuck in Jaipur due to the lockdown, others are taking care of the horses in Bhopal.
“We know every horse individually because of our long association with them. There are a few which tend to develop colic. So we make sure they do lunging every day,” said Dr KR Thakre, the assistant veterinarian at the facility.
Dr Thakre has not gone home since Holi and the situation is almost the same with other employees. “We have restricted entry of outsiders. Even the employees have been asked to avoid going out of the academy. Our responsibilities have increased in this situation. Horses used to undergo physical training with the trainees but that has stopped. Now, it’s our responsibility to keep them fit,” he informed.
Horses need de-worming (parasite control) every three months, while shoeing is done once every month. “We have a farrier who shoes the horses. For de-worming, we have stocked up enough medicines. We are not worried about the next quarter. After that, we have to place orders so that the process doesn’t get affected,” said the veterinarian.
Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod, president of Rajasthan Equestrian Association, owns 65 horse (22 for breeding and 43 for sports and tourism). He also admitted that the lockdown has affected supply of fodder for the equines.
“I wrote to DGP Rajasthan, joint secretary of Animal Husbandry Department, Government of India and director of state Animal Husbandry Department. With harvest put on hold due to the pandemic, we struggled for fodder but now that issue has been sorted. Keeping horses fit is another issue and what made the situation trickier was absence of grooms. I only have four grooms at my disposal at the moment making it difficult to keep the horses fit,” Dundlod added.