From Cincinnati News (dated 15 September)

The employee parking lot at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport will be a busy place for the next few weeks.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is fast approaching and a portion of the lot has been turned into a makeshift quarantine facility.

More than 500 horses from around the world are expected to arrive at the airport in the next two weeks.

• Guide to the Equestrian Games

The facility will be used to confirm the good health of the horses before they are sent to the Kentucky Horse Park. and extra precautions are being taken to ensure the horses remain safe and healthy.

There will be 24-hour security and access to the grounds will be restricted once the horses begin to arrive.

"I don't know that there will be a safer place in the world to have a horse," said Rusty Ford, equine program manager for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will take place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington from Sept. 25 to Oct. 10. It is the first time the games will be held in the United States and the local airport was chosen for the quarantine site because of its international designation and its proximity to the event site.

About 75 percent of the international horses will come from Europe and more than 20 percent from Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The remaining horses will come from Central and South America.

The European horses will come through Belgium on non-stop flights with approximately 50 horses to a plane. The airport has been classified as a temporary port of entry for international horses.

The quarantine process is a joint effort of the World Games 2010 Foundation, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

"This is truly a team effort," Ford said. "It's gratifying to be a part of it."

The facility includes five 52-stall barns, a smaller 14-stall barn and a four-stall isolation barn.

Ideally, only three of the barns will be in use at any one time.

After the equine athletes arrive, they will be isolated in a barn with other horses from the same flight for a minimum of 42 hours.

Three vials of blood will be drawn from each horse and two will be sent to Ames, Iowa, for testing, which takes about 24 hours. The remaining vial will be stored at the facility to be used for comparison if the initial test indicates a cause for concern.

Tests for several potential diseases, including dourine, glanders and equine piroplasmosis will be conducted. Any imported horses suspected of having a communicable disease will be kept in quarantine until the issue is resolved.

Handlers that are permitted access to the horses will be required to wear a protective suit when entering the facility and are only allowed to bring enough food to sustain the horses through the quarantine period. Any leftover food will be destroyed.

There are a total of 12 flights scheduled and horses will routinely arrive about 10 days before they are expected to compete.