How to Ship Olympic Horses

How do you get horses for the Olympic equestrian events to London? Believe it or not, you ship them by Fed Ex!
Getting the animals overseas wasn't as big a task as you might think. All it took was a little help from Federal Express and a few talented people who specialize in transporting animals.

The horses, which come from all over the United States, converged on Newark International Airport in New Jersey, where they were loaded onto specialized jet stalls, which look like the horse trailers you see driving down the road but which are designed for air travel. Two horses go into each stall, which is then loaded on a palette and onto the pressurized upper deck of a FedEx cargo plane. "They have hay and water and someone stays with them the whole time to make sure they have everything they need," Morris tells MNN.

The horses are accompanied by a veterinarian and groomers who know the animals well. "These horses are all older animals who are used to travel," Morris explains. "Horses in general are pretty good travelers, so they don't mind their overseas adventure."

The horses even have their own passports! Read more about Olympic equestrian steeds and how they got to London at HuffPo. Link

(Image credit: nickage via Wikipedia)

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The container is like a large stable stall. They get food, water and usually a trainer is in the container with them. They are in the door position so they are the first off and last on the plane and are transported immediately to a holding area with HVAC to keep them comfortable until they are loaded into a trailer or onto their second flight. The upper deck of the planes are also climate controlled just like a passenger plane.

I worked at Fedex years ago. I've loaded and unloaded a number of horses, expensive cars...and a couple pandas.
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