Horses clock up frequent flyer miles

Chariot racers took their horses to the ancient Olympics by boat. Today's equine frequent-fliers think nothing of jetting around the globe.

Dozens of the 250 Olympic horses arrived at Athens airport late on Tuesday and dozens more were due by dawn as teams such as Britain and Germany picked cooler hours to fly horses in. Their airborne journeys are less risky now but still costly.

"Horses are much more used to travelling nowadays," said Jenny Hall, veterinarian for the British team's eventing horses.

"To be successful, they have to travel a lot more than in the past. The travel conditions and arrangements are much better."

Gone are the days when horses were sedated and put into bulky wooden boxes. Long gone are the days when the occasional panic-stricken horse broke through the containers and had to be put down as they threatened to puncture the fuselage.

FLYING SAFER

Sturdy aluminium containers, constant monitoring by grooms and vets who can administer sedatives if needed, and specially coached pilots who avoid steep take-offs or landings -- and reverse-thrust braking -- have made flying safer.

"There's nothing to it for horses with air travel experience,"

said Rainhard Went, chef de mission for the German equestrian team. "They fly to so many tournaments so it's no big deal any more. But for first timers it can still be an ordeal."

One British horse with no flight experience is travelling by lorry and ferries as a precaution -- a three-day journey. Italy, Switzerland, Croatia are bringing horses by land and sea.

Even though they travel in cargo hulls and bring their own food, horse air fare can exceed a first-class passenger ticket. Britain paid 4,750 pounds ($8,740) for each of its 13 horses. Tickets from Australia can be many times as much.

Even at the ancient Olympics, the transport of horses for the chariot races was expensive and arduous. Some arrived on ships from as far away as Egypt, Sicily, Crete, Libya and Asia Minor, according to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Now horses, which weigh around 500 kg, are not fed for hours before their flights so they will focus on eating and will not be distracted by frightening noises as they ride, clad in padded travel boots, in planes cooled to around 18 degrees Celsius.

"The feed gives them something to take their minds off it," said Hall. "It's jolly loud. But most cope very well. Most don't need a sedative. They can keep their balance better. These days, there's no possibility of a horse jumping out."