April 19, 2003

Hi there! I am a horse. I’m sure all of you are familiar with me. As I have given most of you a ride on my back. Even though I bring people joy I lead a miserable life.

I was born a few years ago and my mother cared for me and protected me from this evil world as long as she could. That was the best part of my life. The family that owned us was very loving and caring. My mother was a racehorse. She trained very hard everyday in the field along with her master, and had won many titles in horse racing. She was also a source of income for the family.

I was the pet of the daughter of that family. She was very caring and we both loved each other very much. She would feed me regularly and I would give her a ride on my back everyday. We both simply loved each other.

Then disaster struck and my mother died. She was killed by her master’s racing rivals who were jealous of her. They proclaimed that she had died in an accident. As there was no proof that she had been killed, our owner was unable to take action against them.

This was a huge blow for us all. The family had lost its only source of income and I suddenly felt unprotected as I had lost my mother. At that time the family had no choice but to sell me off. The little girl cried bitterly as I was being taken away. My new owner had an evil face and I was scared of him. I felt very sad leaving my house and the little girl.

My new owner wasn’t as bad as I thought. He was very nice but also very poor. He earned a living by giving people rides on my back at the seashore. I enjoyed my job and was happy with my life.

Time passed and I grew up into a strong horse. Little did I know that another huge blow awaited me, when I discovered that my owner, who was extremely poor, was in debt and was unable to pay his dues on time. He owed almost Rs 10,000 to some people who threatened to imprison him if he failed to pay back the amount that he had taken as loan. Now he had no choice but to sell me. Leaving my home and owner yet once again was a heart wrenching experience.

I wasn’t as lucky this time as my new owner mistreated me and used me as a beast of burden. Neither did he feed me properly nor did he look after me. I slowly grew old and weak and unable to carry a lot of weight on my back. But even now my owner continues to use me in the same manner without realizing that I am not as young and strong as I used to be.

Whenever he makes me carry a huge stack on my back, I feel as though I would collapse. Sometimes I also feel that my bones will break. Oh the agony! You can’t imagine. I travel miles and miles carrying this weight on my back amidst heavy traffic.

At times I wish I’d die. My life is such a misery. Nobody cares for me or understands me any more. I am all alone with no help or protection.

Sometimes when I’m alone I think about my mother. How she protected me from this evil world. Whenever I think about her, I start crying. I have missed her dearly all my life. But now I miss her more than I ever did before.

I wish people would stop torturing us animals and understand that we have feelings too. I hope the future generation of this country will learn a lesson from my story and help better the lives of animals.

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