Gwalior: Horse with Severe Osteoarthritis Forced to Haul Marriage Wagon Rescued Following PETA India Complaint

For Immediate Release:

23 January 2026

Contact:
Meet Ashar; [email protected]

Anushka Yadav; [email protected]

Gwalior – After receiving videos showing an unfit horse with visible osteoarthritis being forced to haul a marriage wagon near Clarks Inn Suites, Gwalior, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) filed a complaint with the Madhavganj Police Station to get the horse rescued. A medical examination of the horse revealed that he was suffering from the permanent and painful condition. Following police intervention, the owner voluntarily handed over the horse to PETA India, who was then safely transported to a reputable sanctuary for permanent rehabilitation and care.

Despite being aware of the horse’s serious medical condition, the owner continued to force the animal to work. It was also found that the owner subjected the horse to firing, an outdated and cruel practice in which a horse’s joints are burned using hot irons or chemicals, wrongly believed to treat lameness or arthritis. Modern veterinary science has proven that firing has no medical benefit and instead causes severe pain, burns, infections, and permanent damage. This practice was done on both hock joints, further increasing the horse’s pain and suffering.

Photographs of the animal before and after the rescue are available upon request.

“Forcing horses to work on hard roads often leads to painful and irreversible conditions like osteoarthritis. PETA India encourages the use of luxury cars or other non-animal vehicles instead for weddings,” says PETA India Senior Cruelty Response Coordinator Mohit Trivedi. “PETA India is grateful to Gwalior Police, particularly Shri Arvind Saxena, IPS, Inspector General of Police, Gwalior Range, who ensured the horse was rescued from a life of suffering and exploitation.”

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA India’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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