Health camps, microchipping: Tamil Nadu to take special care of Marina beach joy ride horses

By Pramod Madhav: Following several complaints about poor maintenance of horses used for joy rides on Marina beach, Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNWAB) has decided to conduct regular camps for the animals and to microchip them to monitor their health.

Shruti Vinothraj, member of TNAWB, said that the major issue joyride horses face are the bridles that go through their mouth, causing discomfort and infection. "The bridles and bits that go into their mouth get rusted after a period of time and they need to be changed regularly. These horses also need nutritious foods and can’t be tethered in a confined space for a long time. They need regular exercise and regular colic medication needs to be given. There is a whole lot of care that a horse requires," said Shruti.

She also claimed that microchipping has been initiated to monitor the horse population. "Currently, we are not aware of the number of horses. Sometimes, an owner will have 10 horses and, in a six-month period, he will have the same number of horses but six of them will be replaced. We need to know what happened and so we decided to microchip to monitor their health and to know what is happening to them," Shruti added.

Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Radhakrishnan said that the Corporation itself runs animal clinics but the horses used for joyrides are left uncared for and so have taken the initiative. "All of us together are doing a proper survey of these animals, giving them required vaccination, deworming and so a general health checkup is being done. Joyride horses also have the right to live a life," said the commissioner of the city's civic body.

Dayashankar, Assistant Director for Animal Husbandry said that the microchip will contain a unique number which can be read using a reader machine. "Using a sterile syringe, it will be inserted into the subcutaneous layer. With the help of a reader, the unique number can be read and will also be uploaded to the software. The chip will provide the owner’s name, vaccination, and treatment history of the horse.

Film Director and Animal Welfare activist Krithika Udhayanidhi, who inaugurated the event, stated that two years back the team came to know about horses suffering during the Covid lockdown. "They had no food due to loss of business and a foundation provided food and assisted with replacing bridles and bits. That's when the idea of concentrating on welfare of joyride horses began. The majestic animals are part of Marina beach and they need care, which is actually high maintenance," said Krithika.