Major Ashish Malik: From patrolling in Imphal to silver lining in Jakarta

In the famous 19th century novel 'Black Beauty' by Englishwoman Anna Sewell, the protagonist was a horse telling her life story in the Victorian England.

But that was imagination because in reality, the relationship between a human and animal is a complex one, says Major Ashish Malik, the captain of the Indian Equestrian team, which won silver in the eventing category at the recently-concluded Asian Games.

"You need to understand your horse well. It cannot express its feelings. There are days when it will be cranky, may be sad and doesn't co-operate. You need to have that understanding of your horse's feeling," Malik told PTI.

"The relationship between a horse and human is like two bodies and one soul. You can't succeed if that connect is not there," Major said during an interaction on the sidelines of Indian Army's felicitation function for its Asiad medallists.

Major Malik rode German horse Seigner Medicot while the other horse was of Swiss breed Frimeur Du Record.

"My horse is a ...