Inside Rashtrapati Bhavan’s ‘Equine Warriors’: Meet horses who lead India’s grandest ceremonies

From leading the Republic Day parade to escorting visiting heads of state, horses of the President’s Bodyguard (PBG), the senior most regiment of the Indian Army, form the majestic heart of India’s most iconic ceremonial displays. Performing nearly 70 parades each year, these equine soldiers blend precision, discipline and centuries-old cavalry tradition inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Typically serving until the age of 18-22, PBG horses are retired to the Army Remount and Veterinary Corps Depot once they are no longer fit for long ceremonial duties. All of them belong to Indian bloodlines, developed through a mix of warmblood heritage. However, a few exceptional horses, like the iconic Viraat, continue to live in the President’s Estate even after retirement. Now 25, Viraat was adopted by the PBG in recognition of his distinguished service. The dark bay stallion, who took part in 13 Republic Day parades, was awarded the Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card in 2022. That year, then President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally patted and bid him farewell after his final parade.

Among those currently serving is Glorious, the horse Colonel Amit Berwal, Commandant of the PBG, fondly calls the “master of the Republic Day parade.”

Standing at a striking 165-166 cm, Glorious is one of the regiment’s elite chargers, horses that move alongside the President’s buggy during ceremonial rides. The 10-year-old bay stallion has already participated in four national parades.

On the opposite end of the age spectrum is Vikrant, a five-year-old bay who has yet to make his parade debut. “Vikrant is healthy and promising, but still very sensitive and playful. He needs time to mature. We expect him to be parade-ready by 2027,” Col. Berwal said during a special media interaction and tour of the stables housing the stallions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The regiment also honours remarkable horses from its past. One such equine icon is Fariyaad, after whom the PBG parade pavilion is named. In 2004, Fariyaad set a national record by clearing a Puissance jump of 195 cm at the age of nine.

Lt Col Angand Singh Thind, second-in-command, explained that the PBG maintains horses of three colours - bay (brown), dark bay (black) and grey. “Most people mistake the grey ones for white, but they’re actually grey,” he said, adding that each horse is fed five times a day, consuming 4-5 kg of grains, including gram, barley and other seeds, along with green and dry grass.

Training begins at dawn. “Their day starts around 4-4:30 am. They train for no more than 25-30 minutes because of the intense physical demand,” Berwal said as select journalists were granted access to chargers like Glorious and Sultan, who walk on the opposite flank of the President’s buggy and undergo especially rigorous conditioning for their special role.

“Horses are prey animals with almost 360-degree vision. They get spooked easily. Chargers walk alone, without another horse on their side, so they must be the calmest, strongest and best trained,” he explained.

The PBG, raised in 1773 in Benaras as the Governor’s Bodyguard, is the oldest regiment of the Indian Army. Its legacy runs through battlefield reconnaissance, wartime protection of the sovereign and, since 1950, ceremonial duties for the President of India. Today, around 100 horses serve in the regiment, each selected for size, temperament, movement and composure under pressure.

Their training includes basic schooling, mastering walk, trot and canter, desensitisation to drums, gunfire and crowds and acclimatisation to heavy ceremonial tack. Stables in the President’s Estate are among the finest in the country, with ventilated stalls, grooming bays, exercise paddocks and an on-site veterinary unit.

Col. Berwal calls the PBG a “living museum,” where troopers still carry the “ballam”, the lance symbolic of Yudhishthira and righteousness, and wear the traditional safa or lungi during parades. “Where the horse is, there is the Bodyguard; and where the Bodyguard is, the horse is,” he said, summarising the regiment’s enduring bond.