The herd goes to the sky: how horses are transported on airplanes

Racehorses travel all over the world to participate in horse racing. Have you ever wondered how they are transported? Thoroughbred horses require special treatment, so they fly on airplanes with built-in stables, costing 50 million pounds (about 5 billion rubles). They are accompanied by personal assistants, and trainers and owners do not spare money to make their pets feel as comfortable as possible during flights. Find out how the air transportation of horses is organized from our material.

Horses, like people, travel by plane. Noble horses fly, of course, in the first class.

One of the most famous companies that deals with the transportation of horses is The Ark, located at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The place for receiving long-legged maned passengers on board is located in the cargo transportation department. Everything is equipped here for safe loading and disembarking of thoroughbred horses.

The company's goal is to provide the horses with a comfortable flight, and the employees do everything necessary for this.

Before loading on board, the horses are placed in special containers. Every horse must have a passport.

Horse owners can choose the class in which their pets will travel: economy, business or first. But for long-legged horses, only business class is suitable, because they simply will not fit in the economy.

After the animals are loaded into containers, they are sent to the luggage compartment of the aircraft. Usually, a Boeing 747 is used for air transportation of horses, because it has a large compartment at the bottom.

The flight of horses is not cheap. The owners are laying out thousands of dollars so that their pets will fly safely.

There are guides on board who are near the containers with horses during the flight. Assistants specially trained to interact with horses constantly monitor the animals. They feed them, soothe them and help them fall asleep. Since the horses doze standing up, their feet are wrapped in a warm cloth.

During the flight, the horses are treated to fresh hay, carrots and water.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Transportation has allowed the transportation of mini-horses on board conventional aircraft. They were classified as pets that provide emotional support to their owners during the flight.