Olympic Horses Expected to Show Real Strength at Fanless Games

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)--The Tokyo Olympics being held without spectators in the stands is believed by experts to be creating a favorable competing environment for Olympic horses, which were transported by air to the Japanese capital with careful consideration to their health. "As horses are sensitive to the stimuli of sound or light, transporting them requires extreme caution, even in handling the doors of horse trucks," Ryo Kusunose, a doctor of agriculture who specializes in horse behavior, explained. Kusunose said, "While the spectatorless Games are said to possibly lower athletes' motivation to compete, an environment where the effects of cheers or camera flashes are small is expected to allow horses to show their real strength." Besides humans, horses are the only living creature competing in the Tokyo Games. There are two Olympic sports in which horses participate--equestrian and modern pentathlon. Horses in Japan are allotted to modern pentathlon athletes by lottery, but for equestrian, which has three different disciplines--jumping, eventing and dressage, horses that have had a lot of practice with their riders fly to Japan from around the globe. According to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, or FEI, the number of horses transported or to be transported by air to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics stands at some 320. Such horses have their own passports, which show their addresses, hair colors and other detailed information. For their flight, 40 liters of water and dry grass per horse, as well as on-board meals of their choice are prepared. The equine passengers are being flown in a safe and comfortable environment equivalent to business class, according to an FEI official. Amid the scorching summer heat in Tokyo, the competing horses are facing the risk of suffering heatstroke or getting into panics because of not being able to understand the changes in their physical conditions. "Horses try to obey the instructions of humans even when their bodies are reaching a limit," Kusunose said. "There is a need to make sure the horses' temperatures are being managed properly, including by showering them with cold water during intervals." Measures to prevent infectious diseases are needed for horses, just like for humans. In Japan in the past, the horse coronavirus became widespread and a horse racing event was canceled due to a horse influenza outbreak. According to Manabu Nemoto, a researcher at the Equine Research Institute (JRA) in Japan, chances are low that the horses competing in the Tokyo Games will bring viruses into Japan because they have to pass a quarantine before their flight and are being tested after arriving in Japan if they have fever. During the Games, the horses have their temperatures taken twice a day and thorough sanitary precautions are taken for them, Nemoto added. END