Road

Land transport of the horse may have had its origins in the eighteenth century. There are various reports of the carriage of horses in custom-built horseboxes. During the reign of Queen Anne in England (1702–1714), a horse may have been carried in this way, either for a bet or to transport it to a race meeting without “tiring it.” This development was accelerated by the transport of Elis, the subsequent winner of the English St. Leger, by road in 1836 (Leaden, 1973). This horse was transported several hundred miles from his home stabling to the racecourse faster than he could have traveled by being led or ridden, which was the usual custom. Massive gambling wagers were undertaken as a result of this innovation. Rail transportation became the vogue from the 1850s till the 1950s, particularly for long-distance movements. Motor vehicles were used between the 1920s and the 1950s for short-distance journeys. This form of transportation replaced rail carriage in the 1950s with the progressive evolution of sophisticated vehicles over the decades (Creiger, 1989).

Air

The first known shipment of a racehorse by air is thought to have occurred on a biplane in the 1920s (Leaden, 1973). The first trans-Atlantic cargo flight that carried horses is believed to be one that originated, in 1947, from Shannon in Ireland bound for New York (Leaden, 1973).

Road

There are limited statistics that reflect the traveling activities of the competition horse industry. In excess of 250 events that represent the elite sector of the equestrian disciplines, are held in Europe each year under the auspices of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI, 2012). Worldwide, the FEI sanctions more than 1200 events on all continents. Thus, on the basis of an average of at least 100 horses entered in the elite FEI-sanctioned events in Europe, this would involve more than 250,000 movements of horses for these purposes alone. It is hard to estimate the number of horse movements related to all shows or competitions for horses on an annual basis, but it appears likely that this number could be in the millions. These estimates reflect the overall extent of these activities, which, by definition, must be accompanied by the movement of horses. The racing industry in the United Kingdom documents over 9500 races per annum with approximately 92,000 starters in these races. Similar figures for Ireland show about 2400 races annually with approximately 30,000 runners. Again, this will represent a very substantial number of horse movements in this sector (Racing Post, 2012).

Air

The true size of involvement of the air transport industry in the shipment of horses is also impossible to quantify with certainty, but many horses are transported by air. Common routes for horses to travel are from the United States to Europe, the United Kingdom, or Ireland; from South America to the United States or Europe; from the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, or South America to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Antipodes. In the period of the massive increase in investment that occurred in the bloodstock industry in the 1980s, the activities of one Irish-based cargo airline, Aer Turas, were devoted almost entirely to the transport of more than 8000 horses by air annually. These 8000 horses were mostly those traveling between the “tripartite countries,” that is, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France. Currently, major international carriers, such as KLM, Lufthansa, and Polar, to name but three, are carrying more than 10,000 horses each year. For example, KLM cargo has 85 dedicated horse stalls for the transportation of horses in the cargo bay of their “heavy” jets (KLM, 2012). Market forces greatly influence these totals, as may be evidenced by the profound decrease in the importation of horses by air from Europe into Australia totaling more than 800 in the mid-1980s to less than 100 in 1991 (Wallace, personal communication). Similar changes have accompanied the global financial crisis of 2007 with a resultant dramatic change in the profile of horse transportation by air. However, with the progressive increase in sport horses being transported over long distances by air, the effect of the downturn has not been as profound as occurred in the early 1990s.

Road

Athletic horses may be carried either in trailers (floats) or in modified vans. In Europe, trailers, or “floats,” are usually designed to carry two or three horses, but in the United States, similar trailers can carry six, nine, or even more horses. The chassis of heavy-goods trucks are often combined with purpose-built coachwork to provide individual stall accommodations for valuable athletic horses (Figure 10-1). These vehicles may vary considerably in appearance, internal volume, and layout. They are usually designed to carry four, six, or nine horses. There is accommodation for “grooms” (trained professional horse handlers) to travel with these horses, usually in the ratio of one groom to up to nine horses. The individual access to horses that is afforded by the vehicle design allows for the provision of food and water for the horses while the vehicle is moving. Food, in the form of hay and water, is often provided at least every 4 hours, with many variations, depending on individual cases. Journey durations can vary from a few hours to several days. The usual practice within this elite sector of the horse transport industry is for overnight rest in stables to be provided after every 24 hours of transport.

Air

Air transport of horses utilizes either a jet-stall system, in which horses travel in a fully enclosed “air stable,” or an open-stall system (Figure 10-2), in which there is a lesser degree of enclosure. The open stall system is usually utilized when the entire aircraft (which would be a freighter type in configuration) or a considerable section of it has been chartered by a horse transport agency. Today, nearly all commercial transportation involves use of jet stalls, as these restrict the movement of horses and also minimize the amount of space taken by each animal in the cargo bay. These stalls measure 294 cm (117”) long, 234 cm (93.6”) wide, and 232 cm (92.8”) high, with the horse floor space being 188 cm (75.2”) by 234 cm (93.6”). In a three-horse configuration, each horse has 75 cm (30”), with this being approximately 50% in a two-horse configuration. The numbers of horses that are carried in open-stall systems is determined by the type of aircraft in which they are carried and the sizes of the horses to be transported. Three horses can be accommodated across the width of a narrow-bodied airplane (e.g., a Boeing 727-200) in triple stalls. This number can be extended to four horses, provided they are relatively narrow in conformation, in quad stalls. Wide-bodied jets (e.g., a Douglas MD-11 and Boeing 747, the latter being the most common vehicle for carrying horses by air) can accommodate up to seven horses across their width.

Jet stalls can carry up to three horses, separated by partitions. There is a groom entry door and space for these personnel at the front of the stall. Over the past two decades, an insect-proof jet stall, for the proposed transport of horses through areas of the world in which insect-borne equine diseases are endemic, is in use. Jet stalls are also used in charter arrangements by airlines, but they also can be used in “combi systems,” in which passengers are carried in the front of the aircraft, with the freight and the horses in the jet stalls carried in the rear. Passengers are separated from the freight section by a partition. Some transport companies will alter the configuration of the partitions in jet stalls such that their configuration may house three horses (economy class), two horses (business class), or one horse (first class). Naturally, the cost increases substantially with each elevation in class.

The normal practice of the horse air transport industry is that the ideal personnel-to-animal ratio should be one groom for every three horses on the airplane. However, this ideal is not always attainable because of the restricted number of seats available on some aircraft. Horses are usually offered hay ad libitum while the aircraft is in flight, and water is usually offered regularly (maximally every 6 hours) and following landing and during refueling stops (Leadon 1999; Marlin, 2004).

Most horses are transported without being accompanied by a veterinarian. A minority of bloodstock shipping agencies arrange for an experienced equine clinician to travel with valuable horses, for long-haul flights. The authors attest that this practice has much to be recommended. Treatment of clinical disturbances as and when they occur will generally minimize the severity of the problems that many clinicians confront when sick or traumatized horses arrive at their final destinations. Provision of veterinary care is infinitely easier in the aircraft that uses an open-stall system. In contrast, the now almost ubiquitous jet-stall systems are often too restrictive to allow anything other than the most cursory of clinical examinations. However, jet-stall systems are popular with airlines because they fit in well with modern palletized freight loading and unloading practices, thus minimizing aircraft turnaround times at airports and because they provide a rigid structure from which horses cannot escape. Jet stalls are also advantageous, as horses can be moved rapidly around the world without having to wait for specialized horse charters to be organized. Jet-stall movements are now the most common method of horse transport by air that are becoming significantly more popular than charter arrangements. As is so often the case, commercial pressures are ultimately to the detriment of animal welfare. It is usually only in the case of charter shipments of horses that provision of clinical care during transport is a viable financial proposition.