Horses fly 'business class' in the hold of this Boeing

Published 0945 GMT (1745 HKT) April 15, 2015

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Inside each of these boxes -- or stalls -- there is a multi-million-dollar horse, preparing to fly from Amsterdam to Las Vegas. Here's how it works. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

Forty or so horses assembled at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, cared for by 10 assistants, known as grooms. Grey gelding Cornet D'Amour, who won last year's Longines World Cup jumping final with Germany's Daniel Deusser, prepares to board. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

Horses are supervised by a vet while loading takes place. These two are as good as horses get: on the left, showjumping World Cup champion Cornet D'Amour. On the right, dressage Olympic, world, European, and World Cup champion Valegro. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

This is how it looks inside the Qatar Airways Boeing 777 that takes the horses to Vegas. They spend just over 11 hours in the air. All horses carry passports and each stall is security-checked before being loaded. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

Dutch dressage rider Edward Gal's gelding, Glock's Undercover, is introduced to a stall ready for the flight. The full loading process takes around three-and-a-half hours. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

Tim Dutta, whose company organizes air travel for horses, says some are accustomed to flying and others are more wary. Here, Swiss rider Martin Fuchs' horse -- PSG Future -- gets a treat from groom Emma Uusi Simola. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

The flight's 'passengers' wait in line to board their B777. In total, 40 horses representing 17 nations will be on the flight. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic

Just like any flight, sometimes there's a little waiting around. Vanessa Ruiter, groom to gelding Glock's Undercover, updates rider Edward Gal's Facebook page while she waits. FEI/Dirk Caremans/Pool Pic/Livepic