Equestrian Fouaad Mirza faces horse dilemma

India`s Equestrian stalwart Fouaad Mirza

India's Olympic-bound Equestrian, Fouaad Mirza, 29, is faced with a dilemma over which horse to choose for the Tokyo Olympics, but believes the form and shape of the horse will be an important aspect going into the Games [July 23 to August 8, 2021].

Bangalore-born Mirza became the first Indian rider to qualify for the Olympics in 20 years after completing the minimum eligibility requirement for the Games in the CCI 4' - Long Eventing competition in Poland on Sunday. He finished second on the experienced gelding, Seigneur Medicott and third with the young mare, Dajara.

Mirza, a 2018 Asian Games silver medallist, has time till June end to submit his entries.

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"I will choose the horse that is carrying the best form leading up to submitting the entries. Currently, both horses are in very good shape and it will be difficult to select now," said Mirza during a virtual interaction.

Elaborating on his dilemma, Mirza, who is based in Germany, said he will have to make a choice between experience and potential.

"Medicott helped me win the medal at the Asian Games. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury which put him out of the spot for two years. He is a horse who really wants to work and compete and we managed to get him back in form and he is in great shape now. The other horse, Dajara, is less experienced as compared to Medicott, but has far more potential and is an exciting horse for the future. So, these two horses have helped me get the qualification and they are the two best horses," explained Mirza, son of a veterinarian.

Mirza highlighted the factors that are crucial in selecting a horse for a major event and said how they cope with travelling matters too.

"Medicott is a horse who doesn't take well to changes in his surroundings. He might stop eating and these sort of things are quite difficult especially when you travel so far. You can't have an athlete not eating and expect them to perform well. So small things like this matter. Ultimately, the horse which is in the best shape will get my nod," the Arjuna awardee said.

With Covid-19 raging across the globe, quarantine is the buzzword for athletes before any event. And in Equestrian, even horses too need to follow health protocols.

Mirza said: "Every horse travelling to Tokyo has to have a very high health status. We have to monitor their temperatures and movement and they are checked regularly by vets and government health officials. They [his horses] will be quarantined in Germany for seven days before they are brought into Japan and there they will follow the same protocol where their temperatures will be monitored. Once they enter Japan, they will move into a [bio-secure] bubble where you have horses from all over the world with the same high health status. It will also be a quarantine zone which will ensure that there are no animals around in a certain radius of the venue," Mirza said.

For an Equestrian stalwart, it all comes down to his relationship with his horse, Mirza said the hours spent together helps in enhancing the bond.

"It's all about understanding. Over the years when you spend nearly 10 hours a day, training and grooming, the bond between the animal and the human grows. And, it is difficult to explain. You have to take the horses for training drills, feed them and at the end of the session do icing for recovery like elite athletes do," he said.