HONG KONG, April 1: Hong Kong showed off its new Olympic stable on Tuesday as sports officials sought to reassure participants that horses taking part in the equestrian event in August will be well taken care of.

This racing-mad city took on the Olympic equestrian event after Beijing was unable to guarantee a disease-free zone for horses on the mainland, but some industry experts had still voiced concerns about summer temperatures in August in Hong Kong.

The four stable compounds, adjacent to the existing Shatin racecourse in the New Territories, can accommodate 200 horses and are fitted with air conditioning, a clinic, sterilisation equipment and security cameras.

“We are fully confident. We have handled horses for so many years. We have air-cons, fans and all of these [features] are enough for the horses. If they are fit, there should be no problems,” said Tony Shea, manager of the Olympic Stables.

“We have set the temperature in the stables at 23 degrees Celsius. We think that’s the best temperature and that’s agreed to even by the technical delegates [of the Federation Equestre Internationale].”

Athletes and coaches from Mexico, the United States,

Netherlands, Italy and Britain have flown in to see the facility and Shea said they were impressed.

To ensure a disease-free environment, the stables will be emptied of resident horses by May 12 and sterilised. The first batch of competition horses will arrive on July 26.

“Twice a day, their temperatures will be taken,” Shea said, adding that sick horses would be quarantined at the Happy Valley racecourse on Hong Kong island if vets recommended it.

The stables are free of faucets and door handles that could injure the animals. Each stable compound also has a sandbox for horses to relax and roll in.

“Horses like to bite and play and they could dislodge their jaws [biting onto hard objects],” Shea said, showing off faucets that fit snug into walls.—Reuters