Kisna Horse Riding Club: Inside the World of Stud's Farms

HFM is proud in having talked about so many cute little pets and their care. Our next stop, though is not some cute pet, but a royal and proud animal, the dashing studs of the stud farm, horses!

Kisna Horse Riding Club

At Kisna Horse Riding Club, we caught hold of vijendrasingh Vaghela, who learned horse riding in 2004, trained for games, and is now a national showman jumping player and management head of the club. He talked to us about everything horses!

It was decided that there was no point keeping such dashing animals idle, and hence the farm opened itself for people to learn horse riding, and pursue their hand in related games like Polo, Barrel race, Tent Pegging, and Show Jumping. Each rider has to train on horses for three months, and then they are good to go for specialized training.

Horse Care

Horse care initially begins with what purpose one needs the horse for. One can use it for commercial purposes like in surat’s famous Chowpati or Dumas beach, or for training and playing games!

Horses live for around 25-30 years, where the initial 3 years are spent on their care and nourishment. (Though with proper diet and exercise, one can have their horses live up to 40 too!) Then after attaining the age of 3, the rider mounts the horse and tries to understand its expertise. Horses, like humans, have different skills. Some can be fast runners and some can be high jumpers. So according to their expertise and skills, they are selected for the games.

And hence, from morning 5 am, their grooming begins! It involves a proper diet chart consisting of hay, grass, and chickpeas. They eat around 30kg a day, the amount of which differs as per their activities too, whether they are on their rest period or if they are training for the games. Next comes in schedule is their massage! Oh yes, the royal animals want royal treatment to maintain their athletic body. Though riders choose to feed and massage their horses themselves to create the much-needed bond with the horses!

Human Bonding with Horses

Talking about the bond, did you know what important role it plays, especially if you are training for the games? Animals, as smart as they already are with their senses, horses too tend to understand the feelings and energies of their rider once the rider mounts the horse. So it becomes very crucial for the rider to continuously work on his relationship with the horse, with constant talking and physical touch, to get the much-needed synchronization for participating in the game.

It is also essential for a rider to be well disciplined because only then a horse can be disciplined too! Horse riding, like any other sport, keeps the rider fit as well! It improves the core strength and posture of the rider. It burns calories too! It is said that an hour of horse riding is equivalent to 10 km of running. Horse riding also improves coordination, reduces stress, makes him more focused and attentive, and most importantly, boosts confidence!

Horse Health

The next step in horse health is their regular vaccination. Regular vaccinations of Tetanus, Encephalitis, Rabies, Rotavirus, etc are to be provided. Their stools are checked on a regular basis, for that’s where the signs of any disease are seen. Their way of walking too says a lot about their mood and health. Next, horses inherently cease eating if they are going through something, which can be seen as another symptom of any illness. Flu is one of the very common illnesses among horses, that can be turned lethal for them if not properly attended to.

Their shoes are changed almost every month. And contrast to the popular belief that it's painful, putting shoes on horses is not painful, for the experts drill the nails into the dead skin of the horse’s paw. The equipment of horses should also be cleaned and of good quality, which doesn’t harm them in any manner.

The mares go from an estrous cycle of 21 days, marked by the mating period of horses, which gets a little difficult for the stud managers, as the smell of female horses arouses the males. Interbreeding is avoided, for it may hamper the health of the offspring. And so is inbreeding.

Facts About Horses: Mood Swings, Sitting, and Dreaming

Our conversation with Mr. Vaghela brought many fascinating facts about horses to light. “These proud animals have a good amount of mood swings too. If they decide that today they won’t let a rider sit on them, then they just won’t. Contrasting to another popular belief that horses don’t sit, well they do sit, and also dream! One could hear them wailing at night in their dreams. And if one of them is ill, or dies, the other horses go silent, as if praying for the dead.”

Hence all of this makes it quite imperative for every horse owner to understand their pets, and invest time to create bonds with these gorgeous animals, taking special care of their diets, and getting them sure exercise!