Then the
stallion Yelo - also a cross bred. He is 7 years old and was not
going to come with us to Australia, Jean-Marc explains. "My black
horse did not pass the Veterinary inspection to travel, his blood
test was not right. This was in late July and with just 7 weeks to
prepare, Yelo has stepped in to the act and I have been able keep our
Australian performances as we had planned".
Yelo - took up the job at short
notice ...
The third horse
is the chestnut trotting bred gelding named Javari De Lamothe. "He
has not raced" said Jean-Marc. "You can see they are all very
different types ... and all very good horses!"
Javari De Lamothe strides from
the container to the truck.
The
horses had their Identification papers checked by Inspector John
Durasavic (right) from the Air Cargo Unit of the Australian
Quarantine Department.
As part of the
routine arrival procedure, the horses had their temperatures checked
before they were trucked to the Spotswood Quarantine station for a
two week stay.
In quarantine,
their health and wellbeing will be very carefully monitored and any sign
of an elevated temperature or a 'snotty' nose, loss of appetite or failure
to drink is noted. These symptoms can be critical signs of
early travel sickness or other infections which could cause problems if
not detected and treated early - in a worst case scenario, the horse/s
could have some serious illness which could potentially affect horses in
Australia. Authorities do not take any risks when it comes to
protecting our equine population.
The
horses were in the capable hands of
IRT (International Racehorse Transport)
an Australian company established over 30 years ago and specialising
in the travel arrangements for some of the world's most famous equines.
IRT are very
busy at this time of the year bringing the International contenders
to the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. The IRT Operations Manager,
Chris Burke and Operations Assistant Michael Panagakis (above) were
very familiar with the procedures and got the job done in a friendly and
professional manner.
Jean-Marc said
"We will settle in and allow the horses to rest after their long trip and
then we begin rehearsals for the show. "I am sure Australian
audiences will love what we have for them, we travel all over Europe and
our performances are very popular."
Thankyou for
making the weather so lovely for us" said Jean-Marc and Sophie agreed that
they were looking forward to our lovely warm Spring weather.
