The
equestrian events at Deodoro, Rio de Janeiro, in August 2016 took place in
conditions described as resembling “a cross between Fort Knox and a sterile
surgery”.
The reason behind such secure measures was the fear of the spread of disease
among equids, most notably glanders. Glanders is an ancient disease that has
been eradicated in the developed world but is still present in a number of
South American countries and other developing countries including India. While
the threat of the Zika virus resulted in a number of high profile athletes
withdrawing from the Games, no horses were withdrawn. This may be due to the
fact that there were assurances given that the Deodoro equestrian centre was
free from glanders and no horses had resided in the centre for months preceding
the equestrian events as a precautionary measure. With animal welfare issues
aside, horses would have been withdrawn had glanders posed a real risk. Horses
competing at elite level can be worth between approximately €300,000 and €10.6
million