One of Mumbai’s favourite getaways — Matheran, known for its red mud, monkeys, many scenic views of valleys below, and its lifeblood, which is horses and riding — has a crumbling clinic and no veterinarian for more than 450 horses stationed there.

Hundreds of ghodawallas making their living in Matheran by giving horse rides to tourists. Matheran’s horse clinic, “if one can even call it that,” said Matheran regular and ace horseman Adil Gandhy, is in shambles. Besides the crumbling physical infrastructure, there is no veterinarian. Locals said the ghodawallahs manage when their animals are ill by trying to get help through vets in areas close by. The fact that a hill station whose lifeblood is horse riding has no clinic or vet is abysmal.