Military horses, mules that stole the show

IN the Army, horses and mules were generally retained in service for 18-20 years, after which they were disposed of. Those who had exceptionally good health survived longer. But the longest survivors had unique qualities which made them indispensable.

There was this pure black horse, Zorawar, whom we retained way past his productive life so that we had a steady supply of black horseshoes, which were in great demand for their ‘occult powers’. And our clientele included senior officers!

A mare, who was a work animal (she pulled a cart), was a surrogate mother for a whole lot of orphan foals. Her milk never dried and you could often see her breast-feeding two or three of these poor little things. She used to get agitated if any of her adopted children had a problem. The syces named her Jagatmata.

Young horses and foals don’t allow a halter to be put on their head. So, when they are to be moved from one place to other, a mare is led in the front and they will follow her. Such a mare is called an ‘engine’ and you can see 3-4 ‘bogies’ following her to the treatment area for their shots.

Then there was the famous Pedongi, a Spanish mule who had phenomenal health and vigour. His longevity ensured him an extended term and he made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as “the longest serving military mule”. He passed away at the ripe age of 37.

Bholu, a mule in the Animal Transport Company, was the ultimate thespian. He was our star attraction during trick riding shows in ‘Pagal Gymkhana’ type events. A couple of jokers would enter the arena riding Bholu and do all kind of acrobatics while simultaneously cracking wild jokes on and off the poker-faced mule. In the end, Bholu was told that his girlfriend had eloped with a donkey! At this, Bholu would start shaking violently and suddenly drop on the ground. After that, no amount of pushing and pulling or noise would rouse Bholu. He would then be pronounced ‘dead’ due to shock. There would appear four jawans with a stringed khat (cot) and Bholu was put on it and taken away.

Once out of sight, he used to leave the khat and reappear with the jokers to a spontaneous applause by spectators. He lived till 25 and died in his sleep!