Equestrian sport is one of the oldest in the Olympic program: competitions have been held since 1900. In Tokyo, equestrians compete for six sets of awards – in dressage, show jumping and triathlon. Each species is personal and individual. Equestrian sport differs from the others represented at the Olympics by its special traditions and spirit of aristocracy, and you can talk about this – be surprised or admired – for a long time.
There is a more pressing question that everyone who has stumbled upon equestrian sport in the process of switching Olympic TV channels has probably asked himself. How are horses transported from continent to continent? Are they sailing on a ship? Are they flying on an airplane? What does a plane with horses look like? Is it safe for animals? It’s time to figure it out.
Horses do fly to the Olympics and other competitions by plane. Google for the query “horses on the plane” gives out a lot of photos in which each horse is flying in his box in the cabin of the plane. This is considered a fast and safe way of transportation – but, of course, there are many requirements on horse breeding resources: who should accompany the horse, how to feed it before the flight, what temperature to maintain in a personal container.

Equestrian sport is one of the oldest in the Olympic program: competitions have been held since 1900. In Tokyo, equestrians compete for six sets of awards – in dressage, show jumping and triathlon. Each species is a lich “An airplane is the fastest way to get from one point to another, but many do not tolerate the flight very well,” the veterinarian of the Russian national team Evgeny Gorov told Sport-Express. – In particular, this applies to the most difficult maneuvers – takeoff and landing. When the plane has already gained altitude and is just flying, then there is not much shaking or other discomfort. But the rest of the time, ears may be blocked or problems with the vestibular apparatus may arise. This is in humans – horses can tolerate flight differently and adapt faster or easier to life after it.
Horses endure flight in different ways. The most unpleasant are the takeoffs and landings. Usually, during the flight itself, the horses are quite calm, there is no shaking. The only thing is that there is very little space, it is inconvenient to feed and water the horses, it is desirable that there is a person who always watches over them. ”

The insider says that horses traveled to the Tokyo Olympics as dignitaries, although there were difficulties in the coronavirus era. The animals flew in business class with in-flight meals, spent the night at the transfer point in a special hotel at the airport, and in Japan moved to their own Olympic village. They were also given passports, and 19 planes and 185 trailers were reserved for 325 horses.
First, all the Olympic horses that need to be in Tokyo were gathered in the Belgian Liege. For 60 days, veterinarians monitored their health, then a seven-day quarantine. The horses underwent the necessary treatments, examined the blood for infectious anemia, took swabs for influenza and blood parasitic diseases, and injected antihelminthic drugs. In a word, everything was done so that the horses entered Japan completely healthy, individual and individual. Equestrian sport differs from the others represented at the Olympics by its special traditions and spirit of aristocracy, and you can talk about this – be surprised or admired – for a long time.
There is a more pressing question that everyone who has stumbled upon equestrian sport in the process of switching Olympic TV channels has probably asked himself. How are horses transported from continent to continent? Are they sailing on a ship? Are they flying on an airplane? What does a plane with horses look like? Is it safe for animals? It’s time to figure it out.
Horses do fly to the Olympics and other competitions by plane. Google for the query “horses on the plane” gives out a lot of photos in which each horse is flying in his box in the cabin of the plane. This is considered a fast and safe way of transportation – but, of course, there are many requirements on horse breeding resources: who should accompany the horse, how to feed it before the flight, what temperature to maintain in a personal container.

Only then – a 20-hour flight to Japan. The plane stopped in Abu Dhabi for refueling, but the horses did not leave the cabin of the Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777-F. The flight attendants were assisted by grooms and a veterinarian; four-legged passengers were offered bananas, carrots and hay in addition to the main meals. The level of service is top not dreamed of by low-cost airline customers.
“The horses are loaded into special disinfected horse-drawn carriages, in which they are transported to the airport,” says Russian veterinarian Gorin. – It’s in Belgium. There is a stable, special boxes and a loading area. All the horse-drawn carriages come there, the horses are unloaded, they are placed in boxes. ”

AND MAYBE BETTER ON EARTH?

Of course, if the Olympic and other competitions are not held at such long distances, planes are not used. Additional stress for horses is taking off and landing, and when traveling on land in case of force majeure, you can stop a car or even a train.
A special trailer is attached to the car, which is called a batman – it is made specifically for transporting horses and takes into account all the subtleties. For example, shock absorbers are built into the structure so that animals do not shake on a bad road, the floor is covered with straw or sawdust so that the horse does not slip.