Do the horses get a medal at the Olympics? All your equestrian questions answered

They are often the forgotten athletes of the Olympics, but competitors wouldn't be winning any medal without them.

And it costs much, much more to get the horses to Paris than the people who will ride them during the Games on the hunt for gold.

If you ever wondered how they get there, how much it costs, and - of course - whether the horses actually get a medal, we have the answers for you.

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Wide World of Sports spoke with Equestrian Australia's high performance manager Will Enzinger ahead of Paris 2024.

HOW DO THE HORSES GET TO PARIS?

Gone are the days when boats were the only mode of transport for people and animals to traverse the globe.

Nowadays all and sundry are able to board a plane in Sydney, have a stopover in Doha, and land in the French capital hours later.

But do the horses travel well?

"To be honest once you're up in the air it's smoother than driving them in a horse float or truck, so they adjust to it quite well," Enzinger says.

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The flight company provides food while there is a team veterinarian who travels with the horses on the flight in case anything goes awry.

Luckily, not all of the 12 horses representing Australia in Paris had to fly from Down Under.

"The athletes are dispersed all over the globe," Enzinger said.

"At the moment most of the guys for dressage and jumping are already based over in the northern hemisphere, and a couple of the eventers are too."

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HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO FLY A HORSE?

While a person can fly from Sydney to Paris for a couple thousand dollars, the cost if much steeper for a larger animal.

"For a horse to travel from Australia, return, you're looking at around $70,000," Enzinger said.

"It depends on the airline, the time you travel - it does vary, but between 70 and $80,000 for a horse return.

"There is hay and stuff on the flight for them - no hostesses though! The companies have a groom that fly with them, and for an Olympic Games we actually send our team veterinarian with them."

WHO PAYS FOR IT?

When you calculate Australia sending 12 horses at prices similar to the above, it certainly adds up.

Luckily Equestrian Australia is not footing the entire bill.

The Australian Olympic Committee does chip in to help out.

"It's contributions from the AOC, but in line with our funding for the high-performance program we have to cover what's not covered by the AOC," Enzinger said.

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SO DO THEY GET A MEDAL?

Aussie rider Chris Burton won a silver medal in equestrian eventing on Monday night.

But does his horse, Shadow Man, get a piece of silverware for his efforts?

The short answer is no.

"The horses are most certainly heroed and well looked after, that's for sure," Enzinger told WWOS.

Maybe a few extra oats in the feed bucket?

HOW DO THEY HANDLE THE HEAT?

The Paris Games were being tipped to be the hottest Olympics on record.

And if humans are struggling in it, the horses must also feel the temperatures.

"Thankfully we had a test run at Tokyo which we were prepared for. This most certainly won't be as hot as Tokyo," Enzinger said.

"And it's a different heat as well - Tokyo was really humid whereas this is more of a dry heat.

"We have done all the pre-mortem scenarios and all the preparations we need to be prepared for any event."

The change in climate also makes it tricky to decide when to fly the horses to Paris.

"Because the horses... when you change hemispheres, animals have coats and those kind of things, so as soon as you change and the light is different, their body goes into changing to the conditions they are in," Enzinger said.

"So you either need to go this short - we do a full preparation in Australia, land and go into the event within the two-week period - or you need to go over months before, because they do actually have a bit of a lull period where their bodies are trying to cope with the change.

"That's proven, we've practiced lots of different things and that's what works for us."