16 February 2010

Into the abyss...

So, Tate and I have met up. He's doing quite well. He had himself a good warm mash (with a side of Succeed and Ulcergard of course!) for dinner, has polished off half a bale of alfalfa in just 24 hours, and had a nice nap in USDA quarantine.


We then proceeded to the cargo area via horse box


where they assembled the cargo stalls, and the "horse pen" which is all portable to allow for easy unloading from the van into the cargo stall.


He is flying business class, so will only be sharing the cargo stall with one other horse instead of 2.

Tate didn't think he should do things quite the way anyone expected (as usual!) and launched  himself in 2 strides from the van onto the "pen" and then into the cargo stall. Great fun! He's a special child!

He then moved on with his buddy to the scales to be weighed, then onto a flatbed and then he'll be hoisted into the airplane, locked into place, and ready for take off.

Check out this video for more details : Olympic Horses fly to Hong Kong on KLM and this one for a diagram of the combined cargo/passenger plane that we will be traveling on : KLM air cargo/passenger plane.

I will sit with him for take off and landing and check on him several times throughout the flight. So far, so good. Tate is definitely the newbie on this flight as the other 7 horses are imported warmbloods (even a pony!) who have flown before. He can tell track stories as they recount their lives in different countries!
So, now we leave JFK for AMS and the internet abyss that awaits. Stay tuned for further updates as the internet is accesible.

Cheers!

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like great fun, we are watching you crossing over Newfoundland right now as you begin your journey over the pond. You're on quite an adventure now and I know we're both eager to read and hear all about it. Safe travels!
    -- Steve & Brandy

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  2. Looks like the camera is working out OK. Can't wait to see some shots of the "Horse-tel" and the accommodations.

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  3. Hopefully Tate will appreciate you a little more after all this. Can't wait to hear about the 9 1/2 hour ferry ride. Hope you brought a good book and can get some sleep going over.

    Debbie

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  4. Leave it to Kim & Tate to even THINK of going on such a wild ride! So neat to see pictures of your travels from the start of it all! Keep us all posted...we love you & miss already! Don't forget to come back! :)

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