by Cynthia McFarland

For most stallions standing at stud in North America, the arrival of July means the end of breeding season. For others, the seventh month of the year simply means a change of scenery and the anticipation of still more mares.

Stallions that pull double duty by shuttling to the Southern Hemisphere for a second breeding season will be boarding a plane in July. Plans, however, must be made months in advance to ensure that horses meet all requirements for entry into their destination country. To find out what is involved in such an undertaking, farm managers and a major equine transportation company were interviewed about how they approach this long-distance activity.

International Racehorse Transport (IRT), based in Chicago, handles a large number of United States stallions shipping to Australia and New Zealand as well as some going to Argentina and Chile. Depending on the country to which a stallion is shuttling, requirements can vary greatly. To ensure that stallions have everything in place to meet the health requirements of their destination country, IRT sets up a veterinary schedule based on the target country's protocol. The farm relies on the shipping company to let it know what has to be done and when so that stallions can depart on time.

"You have to plan well in advance. Australia is the strictest country in the world to get a horse into," said IRT President Simon Glennie, who noted that Europe—a common destination for both North American racehorses and breeding stock—is probably the easiest as far as requirements go. "With Australia, you need four to five months' notice. If you are sending a horse to Argentina, you can do the whole thing in two to three weeks just because their requirements are not as strict."

Strict requirements

Because of last year's influenza outbreak in Australia, the protocol for shipping horses into that country has changed markedly. A horse must have proof of a primary course of influenza vaccination followed by annual boosters. In addition to equine influenza, other required vaccinations include Eastern and Western encephalomyelitis and West Nile virus.

Glennie said that for horses leaving the U.S. on July 17 bound for Australia, the cutoff date for influenza vaccination was April 4, which is why planning ahead is essential.

Blood is also drawn and horses must test negative for several other diseases. These include equine viral arteritis (EVA), equine infectious anemia (Coggins test), piroplasmosis, vesicular stomatitis, leptospirosis, and contagious equine metritis (CEM).

Horses heading to Australia must be quarantined in the U.S. for 21 days before departure and for an additional 21 days upon arrival in Australia. In the U.S., that quarantine can take place at a private farm as long as it is capable of maintaining quarantine measures. Ashford Stud, for example, quarantines shuttle stallions at its Versailles, Kentucky, farm before they leave for Australia.

"At the end of quarantine, we ultimately have to show the [United States Department of Agriculture] all test results and proof of vaccinations," Glennie said. "We draw up a health certificate, which is much like a visa, and the USDA has to endorse this to give the horse clearance to enter the destination country."

In Australia, horses entering the country are quarantined at the port of entry in a government facility. After the 21-day quarantine, they are able to depart for their destination farm in that country.

At the end of Southern Hemisphere breeding season when stallions ship back to the U.S., requirements are not nearly as stringent. A negative Coggins may be necessary, depending on the country. From Australia or New Zealand, there is no pre-export quarantine, Glennie said.

Upon arrival in the U.S., there is a standard three-day quarantine for horses entering from Australia or New Zealand. Horses returning from South America have a seven-day quarantine. It is a different story for a horse shipping from South Africa, however. To prevent African horse sickness from entering the country, something that has never happened to date, horses shipping from South Africa have a 60-day quarantine period.

Actual travel

After all health requirements are met and quarantine has been completed, the actual travel from country to country is quite routine. IRT typically charters a plane out of Louisville for Kentucky stallions shuttling to Australia. The plane flies nonstop to Honolulu, a trip of about 11 hours. After a two-hour layover for refueling and changing flight crews, the plane again takes off and lands in Sydney ten to 11 hours later. When departing from Chicago, the plane often stops in Los Angeles before flying on to Honolulu, making this a journey of about 32 hours.

When horses ship on large cargo planes instead of a chartered plane, they typically share the space with other cargo, but not with other livestock. On a charter flight, horses are usually the only cargo on board.

Each horse travels in an "air stable" or "jet stall," which fits securely into a pallet system that is locked down on the floor of the plane. Stalls are placed in the pallet system according to strict weight and balance requirements. Horses are cross-tied in the stalls.

"We prefer the horses to ship 'naked.' The less on them, the better," Glennie said. This means nothing other than a halter. The reason for this is that bandages or leg wraps can become loose, and it is difficult—not to mention unsafe—for a groom to get in with the horse and remove or rewrap them. A loose bandage can make a horse fret or start to panic, definitely not something you want to happen on a intercontinental flight.

The farm shipping the stallion typically sends a groom to travel with him. IRT also has its own grooms, known as "sky jockeys," on board, and at least one U.S. veterinarian is on the flight. The grooms look after the horses, see that they have hay and water in flight, and calm them if the horses get upset for any reason. Horses are not tranquilized unless absolutely necessary. Horses are watered and fed only hay while en route.

Just like humans, horses going on a flight of this duration can be expected to have some jet lag once they arrive at their destination.  "It takes them a few days to recover," Glennie said. "Horses on a journey of this length can lose up to 80 pounds, so you want them carrying a little extra body weight before leaving."

Horses should be in prime health and physical condition before undertaking the trip, he added.

Down to business

Magali Farm in Santa Ynez, California, owned by Rich and Gaby Sulpizio, has partnered with Lindsay Park Stud in Angaston, Australia, to shuttle the Nureyev stallion Good Journey between California and Australia.

Good Journey won the 2002 Atto Mile Stakes (Can-G1), and earned $1,733,058. He began his breeding career in 2003 and is already the sire of Australian Group 1 winner Grand Journey and Australian Group 2 winner Sound Journey.

He was purchased in 2006 by Magali Farms, GM Thoroughbreds, and Leatherman Racing.

"Good Journey is really hot in Australia and has some good two-year-olds running there," said Tom Hudson, Magali's general manager.

The farm is making efforts to be able to quarantine Good Journey at its own facility so he is under its control and with people who know him well until the moment he leaves in July. Other than ensuring the stallion has all the required vaccinations, Hudson said the long-distance shipping is really nothing out of the ordinary. Because the horse came from Australia when he was purchased in 2006, farm personnel know he handles long-distance travel well.

"Shuttling probably would not work well with a sensitive horse that doesn't like change of habit," Hudson said. "It needs to be a sensible, easygoing horse that doesn't mind the change."

Good Journey will return to California by December 30 to be ready for the Northern Hemisphere season. Hudson has no doubt that the horse will be able to handle back-to-back breeding seasons, but he cautioned that not all stallions are able to breed year-round.

"You need to have an enthusiastic and extremely fertile stallion to breed all year long," he said.

Good Journey will be bred to 80 to 100 mares in Australia and to 70 to 85 in California. The plan is for Good Journey to shuttle between the two farms as long as he is fit and fertile.

Ashford routinely shuttles several stallions to Coolmore Australia each year. Horses that will be on the roster in Australia this year are Fusaichi Pegasus, Tale of the Cat, Lion Heart, and Dehere.

Dermot Ryan, manager of Ashford, said Fusaichi Pegasus and Tale of the Cat have made the journey for several years and are well-suited to the travel and breeding requirements.

"Horses will get used to anything; it's a matter of how they're introduced to it by the management and the people who take care of them. Their routine in Australia is pretty much the same as it is here," he said. "They have the same grooms taking care of them in Australia every year."

Ashford sends personnel who are familiar with the stallions along on the flight. "IRT is a key factor in shipping these horses," Ryan said. "They are very experienced and have been at it a long time; they have top-class people working for them."

Cynthia McFarland is a Florida-based freelance writer