Horse an “integral part of the soldier’s identity” in the President’s Bodyguard

India’s elite mounted troopers, the President’s Bodyguard (PBG) and their equine warriors, who enactment successful astir 70 mounted parades and rehearsals each year, person started their yearly rhythm of grooming for India’s astir prestigious ceremonial events — Republic Day, Beating Retreat, and the opening time of Parliament. 

Inside the archetypal citizen’s home, aided by modernisation — successful presumption of covered and self-sustaining grooming arenas and a intimately monitored feeding regular assisted with supplements — the last enactment of horses is pending. About 50 oregon 60 retired of the 100-odd horses of the regiment volition beryllium chosen. This year’s parade volition spot a premix of veterans and young horses showcasing the discipline, training, and contented that goes into making the Household Cavalry of the President’s House.

The PBG is the seniormost regiment of the Indian Army and has the dual mandate of some operational capableness successful warfare and serving arsenic the Household Cavalry of the President of India successful times of peace.

Steady temperament needed

“Every equine (typically lasting astatine 157 cm oregon more) undergoes rigorous valuation earlier induction,” said PBG commandant Amit Berwal told journalists during a circuit of Rashtrapati Bhavan’s stables. “Horses indispensable grounds a dependable temperament nether noise, crowds and they should person a powerful, fluid gait, quality to accommodate to ceremonial equipment, and wide dependable wellness and build. The regiment present chiefly employs Indian horses bred by the Indian Army,’ helium added.’

He explained that each PBG equine undergoes deliberate and continuous training, being taught to walk, trot, and canter with discipline, and past gradually being desensitised to drums, crowds, and adjacent gunfire, ensuring their composure nether pressure. The horses are trained to execute for extended periods, support precise spacing, and respond to subtle cues.

Discipline, tradition, and spectacle

The caller covered grooming arena and parade grounds alteration regular mounted training, ensuring that the horses stay successful highest condition. “For us, each quality of these horses is simply a blend of discipline, contented and a spectacle witnessed by millions crossed India and the world,’’ Colonel Berwal said.

A PBG horse’s regular daily begins with aboriginal grooming, followed by exercise, a mid-day rest, and an evening grooming session. Horses are provided with a cautiously balanced fare of grains, concentrates, and greenish fodder, tailored to their metabolism, temperament, and workload. Regular wellness checkups, farrier care, and rigorous unchangeable attraction support them healthy.

A beingness of service

When a PBG equine reaches status age, typically betwixt 18 and 22 years, it is relocated to an Army Remount and Veterinary Corps Depot.

Some horses, however, are commemorated wrong the regiment for their unsocial service. Viraat, for instance, who was awarded the Chief of Army Staff commendation paper successful 2022 and patted by the President and Prime Minister during that year’s Republic Day parade, has been adopted by the PBG post-retirement.

A trooper often partners with the aforesaid equine for extended periods, said Col. Berwal, fostering communal trust, a predictable effect during precocious unit ceremonies, and heightened discipline. “For us, the equine becomes an integral portion of the soldier’s identity,’’ helium said.