Equus equations

There is one place among the venues for the Olympic Games where the human athletes take a back seat and their horses take the limelight. Chen Xiangfeng files this report from London.

Photo/Agencies

At Bryan Elliott's Equine World at Greenwich Park, horses are top priority, and the deputy manager for the equestrian events at the Olympic Games makes sure all his charges are in tip-top condition.

"Horses come first. That's our priority. Whether rider, coach or stable hand - we are all working for the animals."

The equestrian competition may be unique in the entire Games, given that it combines teamwork between human and animal athletes.

According to Elliott, the horse is like that crucial pair of running shoes for a track-and-field star, only it is "far more complicated than the spikes Usain Bolt wears."

Celebrity athletes such as Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, makes equestrian sports an attention grabber at the London Olympics. [Photo/Agencies]

Preparing the horse for competition takes a much deeper, stronger commitment.

Elliott, who has more than 10 years' experience of stable management at international horse events and 14 years in the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, feels he must be one of the busiest persons during the London Games. He's on duty 12 hours a day to make sure the horses are properly taken care of.

Two hundred stables house up to 145 horses at any one time.

"It is our aim to look after the horses and the grooms in a relaxed, quiet environment. If they are happy, the riders are happy, the crowds are happy and then the event is a success."

Elliott and his team operate facilities that amount to a five-star equine hotel.

Every aspect of comfort and security has been addressed, from dust-free bedding to non-slip rubber flooring throughout the complex,

More than 3,000 bales of shavings and 500 bales of straw were brought in to give the horses comfortable beds, and another 22 tons of hay to feed the horses.

And the equine dinners will cater to an international diet. There is British meadow hay, American Timothy hay and American alfalfa hay. For variety, the horses will also eat up to two kilos of carrots each day.

"Every horse is treated the way Olympian athletes are treated. We make them relaxed, quiet and comfortable and then they will perform better. We must run a special diet plan, keep their correct weights, fuel their power of performance through their diets so they can deliver."

Vitamin supplements are added to the feed or administered through injections.

Specific requirements are also catered for. For example, end-of-block stalls are given to nervous horses and "sniffer boards" prevent stallions from getting too friendly with their female neighbors.

The current hot and sunny weather in London also merits extra care for the horses. Fans cool down the stables and keep them at ideal temperatures, and there are wash-down and hand-grazing areas, an equine laundry and a state-of-the-art forge on site.

Elliott knows he is shouldering much responsibility in looking after these expensive "athletes", and all of them, no matter their material worth, are priceless to him.

Contact the writer at chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn.