Ideta

Oct 27, 2023

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Save articles for later Got it Advertisement As the multimillion-dollar racehorse shimmies it way down the airport tarmac after arriving in Sydney to compete in one of the world’s richest races, there is one vital task for its handlers that requires a delicate hand: collecting every last bit of its poop from the plane so it can be burned or buried deep in the ground. Disposing of the champion galloper’s droppings after a long-haul flight is a serious business when it comes to safeguarding Australia’s horse population. “On arrival, that all needs to be cleaned and gathered, the faeces and shavings [from the horse stall],” says International Racehorse Transport’s Lachlan Ford. “It’s put into quarantine bins and they get deep buried or incinerated. It might sound a lot, but it’s a very important biosecurity measure.” Next Saturday, a cast of overseas-trained horses will compete in Australia’s second-richest race, the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill. Japan’s Obamburumai and New Zealand’s Legarto will be among the favoured runners. For their connections, it has been months of planning and wondering if the horse adapt to international travel. But what’s actually involved in flying horses from all parts of the world to win mega money races in Australia? Obamburumai at Canterbury Park on Friday morning. Credit: Louise Kennerley No horsing around IRT is a specialist company that freights hundreds of racehorses and breeding stock around the world each year. Ford admits that the task of handling horses like $100 million shuttle stallion Justify can be a testing one. Advertisement This year’s Sydney spring carnival has been highlighted by Obamburumai’s visit, and the process to bring the Keiji Yoshimura-trained horse to Australia started months before he boarded a Nippon Cargo Airlines Flight out of Narita Airport. There are two sets of protocols that must be adhered to: the first is a series of veterinary checks and X-rays to ensure the horse fits the racing regulatory protocol, and the second is the government rules for importing livestock. Obamburumai needed to have his flu vaccinations up to date and then have an equine influenza booster 28 days before travelling. He started quarantine 14 days before heading to Australia. The Japan Racing Association allowed Obamburumai to be isolated at one of their training facilities, but he needed to exercise or gallop in the afternoon by himself. “Moving the horse is the easy bit, the hard bit is the protocols,” Ford says. “Every single horse from around the world is on a separate type of feed. Is that feed allowed to be imported to Australia? Do we need to get a permit? If we do, do we need to radiate because the oats aren’t to Australian standards? There’s all the gear that needs to be cleaned and disinfected.” Fasten your seatbelts So how long does it take to move a horse? From the moment Obamburumai left his training facility in Japan to when he arrived at the Canterbury Park quarantine centre in Sydney, it was about 18 hours. Obamburumai’s trip came with a stopover in Hong Kong, where the horse remained in its stall before being taken to a loader that lifts it onto a Cathay Pacific plane for the final leg into Sydney. It’s a minimum of 90 minutes on the ground, usually two hours. It’s at this point when a travelling horse is often at its most vulnerable. “It was just that transit at Hong Kong when he got a bit scared and agitated, but that’s to be expected, especially when it’s your first time flying,” Obamburumai’s groom, Katsushi Ideta, said. “But departing Hong Kong, he did not show any signs of causing trouble.” In-flight service Legarto (far left) wins the Australian Guineas under Michael Dee. Credit: Racing Photos Ideta and an IRT groom employed to travel on long-haul flights kept watch on Obamburumai throughout the flight. The captain is asked to keep the temperature cool where the horse is stalled. It is usually 13 degrees, a tad uncomfortable for humans but essential to ensure the health of the horse. “When a horse starts heating up, that’s when there’s issues and the increased risk of potential infections in the lungs,” Ford says. “The trick to travelling horses is keeping them nice and hydrated. A good flight from Japan, you want to give a horse about 20 litres of water. It’s a lot. We’re very specific with our guys and we tell them: ‘Overwater them. You can always fix the feed later on, but you can’t fix dehydration quickly’. That can cause a myriad of problems. “Horses can get agitated on flights, but it’s staggering how many horses we move and how few we sedate.” Obamburumai’s feed during the flight is mainly composed of hay and haylage. The hard feed is generally kept to a minimum to reduce the threat of colic. And then there’s the horse’s waste... Hitting the ground running When the flight hits the ground in Sydney, a military-like operation to disembark the horse begins. Border Force authorities will arrive at the plane to allow the human handlers to clear customs without reaching the terminal. The horse is loaded off the plane into a corral and then onto a truck at a quiet location at Sydney Airport. The horse’s gear must be cleaned and disinfected, humans must shower once they enter the quarantine facility where the horse is stabled at Canterbury, and any faeces and shavings from the horse’s stall from the flight placed in quarantine bags for burial or burned. Loading Surprisingly, Obamburumai lost little weight on the flight (some horses can lose more than 10kg on long-haul journeys). “I think the big part of the success in this transit this time was the climate in Japan and here are quite similar at this time of the year. It made the transition that much easier for the horse and plus, there’s not much time difference between the two countries,” Ideta says. “And on top of that he’s a smart learner, so he knew what he had to do to get accustomed to the new surroundings.”