Tokyo is a very long haul flight for anyone from Europe or the Americas, and athletes from all around the world have made the trip for the Olympic Games, which officially opened on 23 July. But how do the equine athletes make the long trip to Japan?
The Horse magazine reports that the first of the 300+ horses arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda waterfront airport on 14 July, as the options for getting horses to the island nation are limited to two modes of transport, and planes are easier and faster than boats.
Will Connell, the director of sport for the US Equestrian Federation explained the process to Yahoo! News: “What you do is you take the horse, and you put two horses in a box, and you put the box on the plane.”
As simple as that then.
However, the horseboxes used to transport the equine athletes are built o to carry three horses, but they are afforded more space for the long haul flight by only transporting two per box.
Without a doubt, it can be a stressful environment for the animals, however, British Eventing Team vet Liz Brown explained to the Radio Times that measures are taken to make the flight easier for the horses.
“The pilots will control a more gradual take-off and a slower landing to a typical flight,” she said.
“When you’re on a passenger plane you’ll experience a positive landing where they brake quite hard, but with horses, they do a longer landing… so they don’t feel that sudden deceleration.”
Accompanying the horse on the flight will be grooms and vets to ensure their welfare, as well as all the food and kit required for the long journey. The extent of the journey is so much that the US team stops off in Europe for a week, which allows the riders some pre-Olympic training.
It won’t be a surprise to anyone that these specialist flights for horses do not come cheap, with a round-trip to Tokyo from America costing around $55,000 (£39,700) per horse.
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