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NO worldwide totals are available on their annual movement by air, but horses are definitely the most well-travelled animals.

  As such, rules have to be clearly laid out on acceptable ways to transport them around the world.

  The horse has, for years, been travelling by air but there continues to be lingering problems in this specialised business.

   The biggest of these is the issue of grooms (attendants), who travel with airborne shipments of horses.

  The Australian and Singapore standard of one groom for every six horses has been deemed nominally satisfactory by the Animal Air Transportation Association (AATA), an international body concerned with the safe and humane handling of animals during air haulage.

  AATA, which is affiliated to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), also serves as a clearing house for animal transport information, promotes research and encourages uniform and effective global regulations, and the humane handling of animal cargo.

  At the 19th annual meeting of the AATA in New Orleans in May, questions were raised about the safety training of grooms to handle in-flight emergencies.

  AATA members expressed concern that, while grooms might be well-versed with the ways of the animals, they had little or no knowledge about aircraft safety procedures.

  The issue, already a sore point with regulators, has been further compounded by the introduction of a new generation of freighters with two-man cockpit crews.

   The crew of these aircraft essentially have no time to assist grooms during normal in-flight routine, let alone during emergencies.

  There is also concern that some government regulatory authorities now dictate that a groom cannot ride in cargo compartments during landings and take-offs - periods when horses are likely to need attendant care.

  Reports say that there is also little uniformity within the industry on a method for putting down horses during flights.

  The European Community (EC) regulations mandate that an ''instrument of death'' be carried on all live animal flights.

  Lethal injection devices are carried on board such flights, for the rare occasions when horses have to be put down.

  As such, industry sources question the wisdom of having any groom inject a lethal dose in cases such as severe turbulence. The use of firearms, of course, has been ruled out as an alternative.

  The issue was debated at the New Orleans meeting, where one veteran groom suggested that horses should be accompanied by an experienced groom, who could tie the horse down and deal with the situation once the aircraft had safely landed.

   After a lively discussion, however, the AATA agreed it needed to settle the issue both to protect business interests and to develop a workable set of standards to present to national-level regulatory agencies.

   In the interim, an AATA committee will examine the issues to achieve a workable set of recommendations.

  Another subject discussed at the AATA meeting - one which is causing considerable concern among shippers and handlers of live animal shipments - is the type of aircraft used to transport these animals.

  Such consignments are, more often than not, hauled on older cargo aircraft or converted passenger aircraft that do not have adequate cargo compartment ventilation, heating or cooling.

   Specialised ventilation is available to meet the needs of live animal transport aircraft, but, as one aviation specialist said: ''It is up to the individual airlines whether they order these options or not.''   Despite the challenges faced, the animal air transport market is said to be booming throughout the world.

   Already airport authorities in the United States have begun looking to develop value-added facilities, which will assist in attracting new, or at least retaining carriers specialising in the air movement of live animals.



Well-travelled horses still waiting to come under starter's orders