Naveen Jindal has a soft spot for horses

Nov 10, 2014, 06:31 IST2 min

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Like for any other sport, warming up is a must. Jindal jogs for a few hundred metres and goes through a routine of stretching exercises. His Spanish trainer Marc Gastin takes him through each step. Jindal met Gastin in Bolivia, where JSPL had mining interests. For about two years now, Gastin has accompanied Jindal everywhere

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After his first round of exercises, Jindal returns to the villa for a set of exercises to strengthen his back (two years ago, he had fractured his back during the Ambassador’s Cup in Argentina). He now takes extra care as riding horses puts immense pressure on the bones and muscles of his back

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It’s time to saddle-up. As Jindal puts on his boots, he remembers to also strap on the watch and arm band that are synchronised to record his vital statistics. Gastin will later transfer the data to his laptop and inform Jindal about how his body is faring

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Jindal with his horse Fortuna. Though a busy man, Jindal prefers to buy his horses himself and travels across the world, mainly to the UK and Australia, to choose them

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Polo is a sport fraught with risks and danger while chasing the ball, it is common for the horses, running full-tilt, to come too close for comfort. “Polo is inherently a hazardous and dangerous sport,” says Jindal

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While making the rounds of his stables, Jindal often stops to discuss his horses, including the quality of grass they are fed, with his staff

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Jindal with Falabella, a miniature horse (one of the world’s smallest breeds) from Argentina

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