When the crowds and hat and Bourbon dynasty descend on Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby , all eye will be on the thoroughbred racehorse — horse that have traveled thousands of knot for the two - minute race . How do elite racehorse vanish ? Well , have us move up into the world of equine air travel .
FedEx is believably the international authority on fly live animals , having shipped whales to Chicago , pandas to China , and Olympic equestrian squad to London . But when it get along to racehorses and the Derby , the Kentucky - based H.E. Sutton Forwarding Company is one of the biggest public figure . Their flight manifest this twelvemonth let in Derby favoriteCalifornia Chrome .
H.E. Sutton flies a Boeing 727 - 200 that ’s been outfitted with stalls to carry horses . Up to 21 of them , traveling two or three wide , can fit onto one flight with their grooms , tack , and equipment . nutrient and beverage service add up in the physical body of hay and piddle . Sniffer panel keep entire and maria from perplex too frantic mid - aviation .
A smooth escape is all the more of import when your passengers are horse . fender use gentle ascents and descents to deflect freak out them out . “ The horse - load flights sometimes take long postponement , or neuter course by 1,000 miles or more , to avoid potential turbulency in the air travel , ” Tim Dutta , owner of the external gymnastic horse shipping companyDutta Corp , told NPR .
And what do Equus caballus intend of flying , given all that ? To be an elite race horse these day is to be a frequent flier , and they emphatically get used to the airport routine after awhile . Still , Dutta says , “ we do have some horse that do not care to travel , that are worrier — that worry about the noise , or the sound , or the pressure . ” Some horses get a sedative to help with the in - flight jitter .
super C lag is also definitely a thing for horses , specially give the commonly regimented lives of elect racer . Most horse cavalry will take flight out several days before the event to get used to a newfangled bit .
The image of a horse packed on a planer may strike us as a scrap queer , but the very idea can seem downright odd when we sit down to consider it . It was only 100 years ago that buck were one of our fast form of transport . Now we measure the engines of our everyday automobile in century of horsepower . Now we have an full transportation connection dedicated to enthral the very creatures we once depended on for transit . Now we put the flying cavalry in the Earth onto jets so they can run around in circles on racetrack — a reenactment of the once awesome , now wholly outdated role of galloping horses . [ New York Times , NPR ]
Photos from the Kentucky Derby via AP Photo / John Flavell , AP Photo / David J. Phillip ,
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