From UP to Kerala: Ezhimala Naval Academy expands horse training fleet

Kannur: A horse arrived at Kannur in a special wagon of the train a week back and was taken to Ezhimala by a special truck with special trainers.

The horse, which was brought from Hempur in Uttar Pradesh, will now reside at the Naval Academy. The horses are brought for riding for the officer cadets training at the academy. There are currently 37 horses including the newly arrived ones. Five more horses will arrive in October.

The horses are being brought from Hempur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Hisar in Haryana. There are males and females. Most of them have reached Kannur by train. From there, they will be taken to the Naval base in the academy's truck.

15 teams of the Army working within the Navy teach horse riding. Horse riding is done to reduce the fear of the cadets and increase their confidence. The naval training is for four years. There are also women cadets who are ready to perform brilliantly. Horse training is done in the remaining years except the first year. Those who do well in this will go on to compete in various games. The Ezhimala team won four medals at the Delhi Horse Show held in Delhi in April.

The horses started arriving here in 2011. At that time, there were 12 horses. Now there are 37. Five more horses will arrive in October. Different breeds of horses are used for jumping, running and going to games.

The main Adjutant will ride on the horse in the passing out parade. All the horses are housed in the Ezhimala Academy. There are special staff to bathe and feed them. The old ones are taken back to Hisar. The life span of the horses is up to 21 years.