Do you plan on watching the summer
Olympics beginning this weekend? I
definitely want to tune-in; I just need to convince my humans to add a HD flat
screen TV to my run in shed!
 |
| Flying horses?? Not exactly! |
As you know, athletes (including
horses!) from all over the world travel to the location of the games to compete
for Olympic medals. It may not seem like
such a big deal for you to transport yourself to the host city, but for us (and
our human friends), this is a crucial part of the festivities and is our first
step towards winning Olympic gold!
If riding a trailer to the Olympic
arena is not an option - which for a majority of the equine athletes it is not,
since it’s too far to travel - horses will have to hop on a flight and take a
plane ride! Let the adventure begin!
 |
| What? No window seat?? |
Yes, we get a boarding pass, have to share a seat with
a stranger and take a long, long flight.
Luckily for humans, at least you get to sit; horses have to stand the
whole time! Instead of seatbelts, we have “stand-belts” where two ropes are
attached on either side of our halter and then attached to the stall were we
are kept. Sometimes the pilot dismisses
the “fasten your stand-belt” sign and the cabin crew allows us to move freely around
in our stall. All of this is to help horses be as comfortable as possible on
the flight (because let’s face it, we really were meant to stay on the ground!).
Personally, I am always curious about the inflight movie options; Secretariat,
Seabiscuit, or Black Beauty.
 |
| Special delivery! |
Preparing for a flight is a tricky
process because it is important to make sure that horses don’t get too stressed
out causing them to become sick. Some tips are to practice loading onto
different platforms and trailers, which will help a horse gain confidence and
decrease its uncertainty when presented with a new situation... like an MD-11
Federal Express jet! Stocking up on lot
of treats, like apples, carrots, hay… and doughnuts, are also a must to stay
horse-happy!
Usually horses will decide not to
drink under stress or when being transported, but when it is a six-hour (or
longer!) flight to the London Olympics, handlers encourage them to drink more
by adding apple juice to the water. In my last
post I mentioned the importance of electrolytes to balance a horse’s salt
and water content. Another way some handlers make sure we are up on our
electrolytes is by offering us a complementary inflight beverage service of a Gatorade
sports drink.
 |
| Jet-set horse! |
A horse’s journey to Olympic gold
does not end upon landing at the destination (that would be way too easy!).
Like humans, horses also may experience jetlag upon arrival in a new country.
For optimal acclimation to the time change, owners will chose to fly their
horses out four-five days before the games, or they will completely readjust
the horse’s routine and live in the country for a few weeks prior to the game’s
start.
So the countdown is on! The Olympic
equestrian games begin Saturday July 28th and will be covered on TV
throughout the three events: dressage, jumping and eventing. Which reminds me…I have to go stock up on
cookies and popcorn too! Keep an eye for my next post where I’ll recap the
latest from the events! In the meantime “like” our Equine Science Center
Facebook page (esc.rutgers.edu/fb),
and check for more of the latest news in the horse world!
For more info on transportation, stress, and the athletic/performance horse, check out these fact sheets prepared by my buddies at the Equine Science Center:
- FS 656 Are You "Stressing Out" Your Horse
- FS 716 Stress Management for Equine Athletes
- FS 752 Performance Horse Nutrition and Notes on Conditioning
- FS 934 Feeding Horses for Competition: From Racing to Dressage
Safe summer travels everyone!
Lord Nelson
No comments:
Post a Comment