navi mumbai more than 400 horses that tourists have sat astride on in picturesque matheran are on the verge of facing a grim situation due to the lockdownlike curbs imposed in the state with no tourists visiting the hill station due to the second wave of the pandemic horse owners say the equines could face starvation in the days to come they have appealed to the state government to bail them out of the uncertainty that loomsthere are 235 owners who have 460 licensed horses in matheran said rakesh kokale a horse owner the horses that usually transport tourists have been idling around currently and owners claim that they might not be able to provide them food due to loss of income in the absence of touriststhe second lockdown has impacted our income we cannot even afford basic food for our horses said kokaletypically a horses diet comprises hay wheat oats and gram he said adding that horses require a healthy nutritious diet which also includes apples and carrots to feed one horse the average daily expense is around rs 250 kokale saidon behalf of horse owners from matheran he said he has written to the guardian minister of raigad district aditi tatkare on saturday urging her to consider help of rs 1500 for each horse owner for a month similar to what chief minister uddhav thackeray has announced for autorickshaw driversanother horse owner karan jankar said that if the financial help comes in it will help the horses survive this tough time we will at least be able to buy wheat and sugarcane fodder for our horses said jankarthe 26yearold who has three horses said he is worried about what will happen if the restrictions are extended i shudder to think of what could happen it will definitely ruin lives said jankar not just of our horses but of our families too we hope to get some help