Australia’s four-legged athletes touch down in Rio

The first of Australia’s four-legged athletes arrived in Rio overnight on the first of nine shipments delivering more than 200 horses to Rio

EQUESTRIAN: The first of Australia’s four-legged athletes arrived in Rio overnight on the first of nine shipments delivering more than 200 horses to Rio International Airport, en route to the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Deodoro Olympic Park.

34 horse from 10 nations were on board the flight, including five Australian eventing horses (four team and one travelling reserve horse). The flight out of London Stanstead airport took approximately 12 hours.

Horses made the journey on a chartered cargo plane but prior to departure were loaded into customised pallets known as air stalls. Each air stall can carry two horses.

Australian team vet Dr Nathan Anthony accompanied the horses on their journey.

“Horses do much better than humans on long haul flights,” Dr Anthony said.

“They travel extremely well when they’re in the air, it’s less bumpy than the road. We can control the temperature in the plane and we get access to the stalls so we can access the horses regularly. During the flight we’ll feed them and give them water and make sure they stay well for the journey,” he said.

Transporting horses to the Olympic Games is a highly complex operation which involves three hubs in Europe and America: Stansted (GBR), Liege (BEL) and Miami (USA).

The competing horses and their riders will represent 43 nations from around the globe in the Olympic disciplines of Dressage, Jumping and Eventing.

Australia’s dressage and jumping horses will join their eventing teammates next week.

Stansted flight facts:

Estimated flight time Stansted – Rio: 11 hours 40 mins
Aircraft detail: Boeing 777-F
17,500 kgs of horses flying from Stansted
515kg is the average weight of an Eventing horse (630kg is the average weight of a Dressage horse and 610kg for Jumping horses)
9,900kg of horse equipment
6,000 kg of feed (doesn’t include feed they’ll eat on the flight)
40 litres of water per horse
34 Eventing horses – representing Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Japan, Italy and China

Did you know:

Baggage allowance: Just like human flights, each equine passenger has an allocated baggage allowance, by weight – however this includes the horse itself! Plus water, hay, 30kg shavings as bedding, water buckets, feed buckets, tack bags (for saddles and bridles), rugs and any spare equipment.

Each horse is also allowed: 1 large haynet, water and his or her own personal bucket, and a small overnight bag with a spare headcollar (halter) and rug, in case it gets chilly.

In-flight meals and drinks – bran mash (a bit like porridge) before they get on the flight, then hay and water throughout the flight.

Passports: Every horse has a passport but, unlike human athletes, they must be microchipped to travel. They all also have an export health certificate.

In-flight wear: Horses, like people, like to travel in comfort. Some may wear a light rug but generally wear as little as possible to stay cool and comfortable. Most will wear protective leg gear – a bit like flight socks!

First Class/Business/Economy: All Olympic horses travel in style, in 112cm wide stalls, with two horses per pallet – the human equivalent of business class. This gives them plenty of room to feel comfortable, but there is the option to upgrade to first class.

Cabin crew: Specially trained staff fly with the horses, looking after their welfare, comfort and safety. They are known as Flying Grooms.

Stallions at the front: Stallions travel at the front of the plane so they aren’t distracted on-flight by the mares.

Is there a doctor on board? This is never an issue if you’re a flying horse, there are always vets on board to ensure happiness and comfort throughout.

Aircraft facts: The horses fly on a SkyCargo Boeing 777-F aircraft – this is a freight plane, and one especially equipped for the safe and comfortable transport of horses. It has custom-designed horse stalls and controlled temperature zones to ensure maximum comfort and minimal stress for the horses and comes complete with trained and experienced expert personnel who know how to handle horses to safeguard their welfare.