If Mr. Ed could see them now

To the short list of undeniably magnificent horses -- Seabiscuit, Secretariat and Smarty Jones -- add the name Templado.

With his regal bearing, rebellious personality and lustrous 5-foot mane, this 17-year-old white stallion, a Lusitano, trots off with the show nightly in Glendale. Performing in “Cavalia,” the equestrian extravaganza created by Cirque du Soleil co-founder Normand Latourelle, Templado is a star of the first order.

“He’s like Tom Cruise. He knows he’s the star,” says groomer Charlie Tessier, who washes her charge’s locks twice weekly with L’Oreal shampoo, followed by a healthy dose of Mane and Tail’s Avocado Mist, a detangler-conditioner. “He flips his hair around and plays with it onstage to impress the audience. Some think he has hair extensions, but it’s real.”

Of the 10 grooms who care for the 33 “Cavalia” horses, only Tessier is permitted to braid Templado’s hair, a task that takes an hour after each performance.

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Shining moments

He gets star treatment, as do the other 32 steeds, including quarter horses, Percherons and Belgians. Their daily regimen includes pampering and preening, grooming and goodies, as well as supervised frolic time leading up to those brief, shining moments under the big top.

Templado and nearly half the show’s other horses, including brothers Fasto, Guizo and Gracil, hail from the Delgado farm in Avignon, France. There, trainer-rider Magali Delgado and her husband, horse whisperer Frederic Pignon (“Cavalia’s” equestrian co-directors), raised Templado from a young age. The steed turns 18 in July and is expected to have a big soiree with, surely, carrot cake on the menu.

Despite the attention, Templado has horse sense. He stands patiently, as if in a meditative state, while Tessier plaits. “Templado is an angel,” she says. “He waits until I’m done, because if he were moving it would take longer.”

On the other hand, Tessier says, the younger, feistier Fasto is hard to braid. But not to shoe. For that, credit Jerome William Park, the Manolo Blahnik of blacksmiths. Shoeing 10-year-old Fasto with the precision of a surgeon, Park explains that good horseshoes last about a month and that he uses grooved aluminum ones with rubber pads to absorb shock. The heel is elevated; it’s not exactly a stiletto, but it helps give the animals those gorgeous gaits. “I’ve been good with horses,” gushes Park, “so they’re good with me. I’ve never been kicked by one.”

Should they so desire, however, the horses can kick up their heels in the relative opulence of their stables, cooled by fans and misters.

Because Latourelle doesn’t believe in pesticides -- or deodorizers (the horses are showered and massaged daily) -- the 2,500-square-foot area, which takes three hours to clean, makes use of old-fashioned flypaper. As for the horses’ stalls, at 10 by 10 feet, they’re positively spacious compared to the human performers’ dressing rooms -- tiny cubicles measuring 3 by 4 feet.

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‘They don’t ask’

And in their digs, horses can peek through holes drilled into the sides of their stalls. “They like to see what’s happening,” Latourelle says.

“Besides dictating most of the decisions in the company,” he adds cheekily, “they’re more pampered because they don’t ask for it.”

But like other divas, they need their attention. With such charismatic horses as Lusitanos, a bit of envy is not uncommon. “Iman gets jealous when Mandarin plays with Gracil,” Delgado says.

Chalk it up to horseplay, as Mandarin, a buckskin stallion considered the comedian of the group, is also the youngest. But even at 4, he eats like a horse. As do the others: Devouring 40 bales of hay a day, plus 22 90-pound sacks of grain and two 22-pound sacks of carrots a week, these horses dine four times daily. And each equine has his own special nosh: Templado loves yogurt, and 13-year old Chucaro gets the added zip of wheat germ oil for his coat and digestion.

Andrea Shepley, a veterinary technician, says the horses are treated homeopathically and that travel is hard on them. “We change the diets accordingly. If a rider finds a horse tired, we give him more protein. If a horse is nervous, we use a calming tincture.”

All this for the horse who has everything. Well, almost everything. Certain “neighsayers” put the kibosh on any rolls in the hay. “They’re monks,” Latourelle says. “If we brought in any mares, they would be thinking of other things.”

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‘Cavalia’

Where: Colorado Street and Central Avenue, Glendale

When: Wednesday, Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 1 and 5 p.m.; also May 30, 5 p.m., and May 31, 1 p.m.

Ends: May 31

Price: $41-$79

Contact: (866) 999-8111