Strategic Reform Blueprint for India’s Equine Industry. By Divya Gurnay.

India’s equine world lives in two parallel universes. On one hand we have the polished circuits of  impeccably bred Thoroughbreds,  global bloodlines, elite owners, and data-driven management,  well applied veterinary science, an auction culture, and performance analytics. Although I must say here that the human workforce is not highly trained, but rural ad-hoc youngsters. All these together do shape an internationally connected industry. Let's call it the formal sector comprising turf authorities and racing clubs in metropolitan centers, and elite breeders and organized studs.

On the other hand, equids in India,  are bred in survival mode  business economies. From brick kilns and construction sites to pilgrim routes, working equids carry burdens that mirror the fragility of their owners’ livelihoods. Informal labour, minimal welfare, and inter-generational poverty define this terrain.  Let's call it the informal & rural sector. Thus, small farms employing low-wage stable workers, breeding marrige ceremony, agricultural, and tourism horses with minimal formal protections is common to both sectors. 

I have designed this blueprint, as I researched the Indian Equine Industry through the lens of governance, human systems, and functional ethics. The plan is structured to be realistic, phased, and culturally grounded, and internally sustainable reforms.

Guiding Philosophy: India requires a governance model that balances:

• Central ethical standards.

• State-level operational autonomy

• Cultural continuity.

• Economic realism.

My  blueprint rests on three pillars:

Pillar 1: Horse Welfare Reforms.

1. National Equine Welfare Code (NEWC)

Establish a statutory code under joint coordination of established breeders, turf authorities, and government bodies. Minimum mandatory standards should include providing comprehensive, evidence-based standards for the care, handling, and management of equines in India. The 'Five Freedoms'  framework should be enforced, focusing on :

1. Feedom from hunger/thirst.

2. Feedom from discomfort.

3.  Feedom from pain/injury/disease.

4.  Feedom from fear/distress. 

5.  Freedom to express normal behavior. 

Owners must provide a suitable environment, healthy diet (including fresh water), appropriate company, and the ability to exhibit normal behavior. This should include:

• Stall size and ventilation benchmarks.

• Daily turnout requirements.

• Regulated training loads.

• Transport duration limits.

• High standards of foot care, shoeing, and the use of proper tack to avoid pain or injury.

• Guidelines for appropriate, non-abusive training and handling methods.

• Mandatory microchipping & traceability.

This code should apply across racing, sport, and breeding sectors.

2. Lifecycle Responsibility Fund.

Introduce a 0.5–1% levy on prize money and stud fees to create:

• Injury rehabilitation pools.

• Retraining programs for retired racehorses.

• State-certified sanctuaries.

This prevents abandonment and shifts responsibility upstream to breeders and owners.

3. Injury Transparency Mandate

All recognized racing clubs and major beeding houses must publish:

• Annual injury statistics.

• Fatality rates.

• Veterinary intervention data.

This transparency shall build data for research, public trust and help protect the industry’s social license.

Pillar 2: Human Systems Reform.

India’s greatest ethical gap lies not in elite equine care — but in the invisible labour system supporting it. They are mostly untrained, part-time adventurers, or truly poor and uneducated labourers..so the first thing required is education. For this some basic courses be designed to empower the workforce with skills and confidence.  To start with we should have a  'National Groom & Stable Worker Certification Program.'

It is advised to create a tiered certification model:

• Level 1: Stable Assistant and  professional groom and supervisor. Sales prep work.

• Level 2: Senior Equine Technician and supervisor with specialist focus on feed, farriery, stud-work, foaling, weaning etc.

• Level 3:  Managerial course, covering both the above along with other operations, trained to oversee all farm operations,  handling passports, transport, quarantine work, office documentation work, liaison work, overseeing all vet work and organising auctions and sales etc. Certification should include:

• Horse handling safety.

• Biosecurity training.

• Basic veterinary awareness.

• Workers’ rights education.

This elevates identity from “cheap labour” to skilled professional class.

Then we need 'Mandatory Labour Contracts & Insurance'. All licensed studs and racing establishments must provide:

• Written employment contracts.

• Minimum wage compliance.

• Workplace accident insurance.

• Access to grievance redressal systems.

This could be enforced via annual licensing renewals.

 Apprentice Protection Framework to be set. Young workers (14–18) must be registered, enrolled in education-linked vocational pathways, and have lmited working hours. This prevents exploitation disguised as apprenticeship.

Pillar 3: Governance Architecture Reform.

1. Independent Equine Ombudsman Authority.

An autonomous oversight body empowered to:

• Investigate welfare violations.

• Address labour exploitation complaints.

• Conduct surprise inspections.

• Publish independent annual reports.

The ombudsman must not be financially dependent on racing clubs, and possibly a master's level qualified lawyer, with certified training in horsemanship..

2.  Digital Traceability & Data Governance.

Develop a centralized digital registry:

• Horse identity & medical history.

• Ownership transfer logs.

• Injury & retirement status.

• Worker certification database.

This will reduce opacity and corruption.

3. Public–Private Partnership Model.

Encourage collaboration between:

• Government ministries.

• Private breeders

• Veterinary institutions.

• Rural development programs.

Equine reforms in India must align with rural employment policy and livestock development frameworks.

3. Regional Strategy for Rajasthan, Punjab and U.P. Stud Farm Clusters, and other similar operations in Rural India.

Regions as mentioned above require locally focused reforms due to:

• Concentration of stud farms.

• Migrant youth labour.

• Limited regulatory oversight.

Pilot programs here should include:

• Worker hostels with sanitation standards.

• Mobile veterinary clinics and mobile healthcare for workforce.

• Legal literacy workshops.

• NGO partnerships.

4. Cultural Integration Strategy.

India’s equine traditions are ancient — from Marwari heritage horses to ceremonial cavalry lines.

Reform must:

• Respect indigenous breeds.

• Protect traditional trainers.

• Avoid imposing purely Western welfare models.

The goal of above reforms is not replacement, but refinement.

Implementation Roadmap (5-Year Plan).

Phase 1 (Year 1).

• Draft National Equine Welfare Code.

• Launch Groom Certification Pilot.

• Establish Ombudsman Office.

Phase 2 (Years 2–3).

• Implement Lifecycle Fund.

• Roll out Digital Registry.

• Mandatory injury reporting begins.

Phase 3 (Years 4–5).

• Full labour contract enforcement.

• National audit cycle.

• International welfare alignment recognition.

Risk Analysis.

- Resistance from elite stakeholders - Incentivize compliance through race eligibility.

- Cost burden on small breeders to be buffered via government help via subsidized transition grants.

- Informal sector evasion - Mobile inspection units to be setup for inspections.

- Political inertia can be taken care of by aligning reform with naturally Indian rural development agenda.

Strategic Outcome Vision.

If implemented, India could:

• Become a model for ethical reform in emerging equine economies.

• Improve international credibility in racing and sport.

• Reduce labour exploitation.

• Increase long-term economic sustainability.

Most importantly, it would redefine the moral architecture of the industry from hierarchical patronage to structured stewardship, fom invisible labour to recognized professionalism, from performance at any cost to performance with dignity.

India stands at a rare moment of opportunity. Its equine industry is not yet so over-commercialized that reform is impossible — nor so informal that structure cannot be introduced. With calibrated governance, ethical clarity, and systemic discipline, India can build an equine ecosystem where, horses are treated as respected athletes, grooms treated as skilled professionals, owners and managers are held accountable, thereby setting in a culture of true stewardship,  making the governance truly transparent and credible.

@ ©️ 🧘DG.🐎

Advocate at Indian High Courts. 

Academics:- LL.M, LL.B., PG Human Rights, MA. Mass Communication and Journalism, B.A. Honours Psychology.

Special Skills Certifications :-

1. Film-direction and audio-visual story-telling certification from FTII, Pune, 

2. MOI. Qualified Mountaineering instructor from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, India.

Equine Education and Skill sets:-

- 'Stud Management and Sales Consignment Graduate with honours' from National Stud England.

Certifications from the online campus of International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Switzerland (FEI): -

1. Handling Horses.

2. Handling horses in challenging situations. 

3. Equine Behaviour.

4. How Horses Learn.

5. General Conformation.

Certifications from the online campus of Michigan State University (USA): -

1. Normal Horse Behaviour.

2. Horse Handling.

3. Horse Manners.

4. Horse Hygiene/ Grooming.

5. Basic Horse Keeping.

6. Training and Exercising horses.

7. Machinery and Chemical Safety

8. Traveling with Horses.

9. Biosecurity for Horse Farms.

10. Healthy Horses.

11. Employer/ Employee Relations.      

        (in Equine Industry)