The grace of a horse is unmatched. Rescued and rehabilitated, these wonderful horses are living it up today bringing joy to everyone around them. Some were overbred and others thrown out from stud farms and polo grounds. They came in one by one over the years malnourished, with abcesses and even lame.
A few wore their first saddle after coming to Beejom and have been trained with just loving word commands; not whips. Their best friend is Halla the dog who clearly thinks he is a horse.
A horse is a powerful intelligent sensitive animal; yet delicate too. They need work and exercise. They make deep friendships even outside their own species. They especially love routine. So they are groomed and bathed and fed and allowed a lot of free play and then they also do their share of work. Mind you it's not easy. They require intense daily care and veterinary care too. What would we do without a wonderful team of
Grooms led by Goverdhan and our lovely Vet ( Dr Vikram Malhotra; a very senior equine specialist). I often joke that if I took care of myself like we take care of them I would be Miss India.
Billo the Shetland pony brings the hay for the others. Kaveri is from Kedarnath. She is a tonga horse and pulls a cart. Kaveri also starts all the fights and then watches the hullabaloo from afar. Both have the best hairstyles on the farm.
Ganga, Yamuna and Narmada are part of the riding school. Ganga, Yamuna and Narmada dependable and kind. Narmada doesn't like girls at all. Sundari has had multiple surgeries and is therefore only allowed the free run. Jwala the baby horse thinks she is a donkey and is friends with Jhakaas the Jackass.
Jhakaas cannot understand why jwala is growing taller by the day. He lost his family on a highway three years ago and that's where we found him. Injured and lame.
Rakhi is a beautiful Sindhi Horse, indigenous to the Indian sub- continent. Indian horses like Kathiawadi, Sindhi and Malani are fast disappearing from the landscape. With motorised vehicles the horse itself has lost its glory as a vehicle and been relegated to racing and polo. Rakhi is under training.
These glorious animals deserve better.
Now their home is called Ashwagandha Istabal ; (The Scent of a Horse) @ Beejom.
Do some riding on the lovely Beejom horses. We have a beautiful small riding school too. Come and learn about horses and how to ride them. All the horses are rescued and rehabilitated and enjoying a second
lease of life. Vaccinated and fed the choicest food they are in excellent health and beautiful to see. Only the ones that are fit are allowed to be ridden.
