This is an interesting video about the huge transport of horses from Europe to the USA for the upcoming World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. The process looks fairly benign and I love that someone is actually inside each "box" with the horse at all times. Of course, I'd want that person to be me if it was one of my horses!
I think the only way I'd ever ship my horses by air is if we moved and needed to transport the entire herd with us. I would probably need to be sedated myself for such an undertaking.
Salina came from Germany so she has flown, and I can't help but wonder if that contributes to her general anxiety when she thinks someone is getting ready to be loaded/transported.
Note to daughter who says she is moving to England when she gets older: could you put the Little Man in one of those box stalls and watch him go up and into the plane? I am not sure I can stand it if you do!
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Billie, I would willingly take one of those flying boxes south at any time, especially if it has adequate food storage. I would definitely not allow the woman to travel in there with me - she's bad enough in a large space.
ReplyDeleteSheaffer, I am not surprised - you are a very avant garde equine!!
ReplyDeletea fellow blogger recently moved her horse from cambridge, england to boulder, colorado, and he was perfectly fine, lost not an ounce of condition, and generally coped fine...i think there's very few have a bad time with air transport..
ReplyDeleteIt's not as bad as you might think. My daughter took Nate to Scotland a few years ago. She was in charge of all the horses on the plane, including a pregnant mare, she was a little nervous about her. But she was able to go back and check on them and do what needed to be done for them.
ReplyDeleteAnother plus was that on the plane they had only two giant recliners, a microwave and it was all very comfortable. It was only her and the pilots and I'm not sure but I think one other girl. They landed in Germany and she vanned through England, over the English Channel, Belgium, Holland etc. until they arrived in Scotland. Nate looked great and the trip was very nice for both of them. Although she did wind up sleeping in a tack room in England one night because she wouldn't leave her horse.
I think air travel is probably mch kinder than many of the experiences horses have in boxes with sloppy drivers.
ReplyDeleteDennis came over from the States as a yearling & he is perfectly chilled about any sort of travel.
The last ex-racehorse came on a boat from Ireland & he hated trailers for the rest of his life, but was very happy about travelling in lorries.
I am very taken with the notion of accompanying my horses in a recliner with a microwave sitting by for food snacks. LOL!
Claire, that is good to hear!
ReplyDeleteArlene, I'd ship fearlessly and without stress if I knew j was the one in the plane with my horses!
ReplyDeleteDD, good point about a good flight versus a bad haul... I'm anal about hauling too, so it's all in the same category as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between a trailer and a lorry?
Fascinating !! I had heard several years ago that Oprah had "FedX'd her horses to her new home in Hawaii and I was wondering about the details, the cost. And, at that cost, Cookie has no worries about flying LOL :) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBeth, it was fascinating to me too. Helpful to actually see how they load them, etc.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Oprah has horses!
Do you know if Fedex will transport from New York state to Washington state?
ReplyDeleteAnon, I think they will.
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