Many moons ago I held a ridiculously fun job- Flight Operations Administration Assistant– for an international horse transport company. Reading between the lines, I really was just the person who arranged for horses to get from here to there. And all the fun stuff in between. Organizing the farrier, vaccinations and government required vet visits and inspections. Not to mention the fun arranging transport from quarantine farms to airport and off at the other end. A truly bizarre but very enjoyable job for the most of it.
Now most of the time I was a desk jockey, just typing out the orders and getting stuff done. Yet one of the perks was traveling with the horses as an extra set of hands.
Patiently waiting for transport- Malaysia
Which to this day is still one of the most thrilling and terrifying experience of my life. Now I’m not revealing any secret trade tricks here. Firstly the horses need to get into their little boxes. As a general rule 3 to a box. These boxes are incredibly sturdy and flat pack at the end of the journey.
The horses walk into and at the other end walk out of these boxes. There is no reversing, thankfully. Once everyone is safely in the box and the box put on a trolley it’s time to get on the plane. I can’t remember how many times I did this part and wasn’t scared. Oh that’s right, never. In the front of the boxes there is a little space for a person and horse head room. To provide comfort for the nervous nellies you would be in the box as it is bumped onto a scissor style lift and up you go to the cargo plan. A bit more bumping along and your in! A few buttons are clicked by a helpful attendant and everyone is secure for a nice plane ride.
Inside the box waiting at the airport for transport to the quarantine farm.
What do the horses do whilst your flying? Much like you and I they hang around, have a chat, bit of a snooze and eat some hay. Every few hours a groom goes down from the cabin, into the cargo bay and offers the horses water. The regularity of this depends on the groom, the horses and length of trip. Some horses enjoy the company, others tell you right where to go. The boxes are fully enclosed, sometimes with a side door open for airflow. These are no different to the horse traveling in a truck long distance. In fact it’s more pleasant as there isn’t all the bumps and humps of road transport.
The joy of flying with these horses was the cabin you as a groom travel in. Generally there are older styled business seats. There is no entertainment or helpful staff to serve you meals. Instead you are expected to DIY it all. As long as you don’t touch the Captain’s meals its pretty much a free for all. Most of the time the pilots are happy to come and say hello and help you find the hidden stash of KitKats. It provides you with a realistic impression and profound respect for what pilots actually do.
Precious cargo on board. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
Once you’ve landed, it’s back into a box and bump bump, scissor lift down to the ground. This is still terrifying. At the other end your taken to a secure area, because no one likes the idea of chasing a loose horse around an airport. Kinda a great way to ruin everyone’s day. At this end you hope and pray that all your organization and the travel gods are paying off, and that the trucks to collect the horses and take them to quarantine arrive on time. Some trips you were lucky enough to find trucks, grooms and handlers waiting for you. With a smile and some elbow grease it’s time to get the horses safely off the boxes and into the trucks. As you wave goodbye to the last equine friend it’s time to go through all the normal customs processes and procedures. At this point it’s a good time to throw away any needles and pocket knives that you may have on you. It’s really hard to explain otherwise.
Moving any animal across international borders takes a lot of hard work and dedication from all involved. Each country has it’s own little quirks and government enforced requirements. During my time I sent a variety of horses, goats and low-line cows from Australia to- China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, America, Europe, UK, South Korea, India. The animals that were sent were a variety of business purchases, race horses, school horses and valued family members. Without the generous owners and the support of the airlines I could not have had the great experiences that I had. A big thank you to the staff at Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific to name a few who went above and beyond in making owners dreams a reality and provided me with great assistance. And safely returned me to Australia.
Have you traveled in a unique way? Something out of the ordinary. Let us know in the comments below.
