Blood banks-help please

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ayesha

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I have a lovlely,beautiful 15hh gelding. Owned for just 1 year and I have ridden him about 10 or 15 times in that whole year. Lots of investigations and thousands later (he was sadly for me uninsured) I have discovered he has kissing spines. I do not want to pass him on like everyone else has and considering the pain he's been n he's been rather polite. He is incredibly mannerly to handle, no feeding ises, can live in or out and he is just turning 7.

I was thinking blood bank as my only other alternative is put to sleep. Sadly I already have a field ornament.

I am east midlands so any recommendations please. No judgemental comments as I have looked into it and I am extremely gutted right now. I don't wish to end his life just yet as he is a very happy boy when not ridden andis easy to keep/handle/be around h is very affectionate.
 
Have a look using the search option on here - there's been quite a few threads in the past.
Mrs B on here sent her horse...maybe send her a PM?
Off the top oft head I think there's on near Milton Keynes...?
 
I know of two people who sent their horses to blood banks - not sure where I'm afraid but if you ask your vet they should be able to give you contact details. Also I have a feeling that they tend to want bigger horses (that may be totally wrong though so still worth looking into).
 
I also though the blood banks were limited to bigger horses. Would he be suitable as a companion (obviously if you were happy to go the whole loan route etc.)? Maybe a bit bigger than many people would be thinking for a companion but if he's cheap to run when not ridden and is as good to handle as you say, someone might want him? And - a totally 'out-there' one, but given his nice personality - what about being a therapy horse (non-ridden - not RDA, but for people with mental health problems for example)?
 
I also have a feeling he may be to small

I believe there is a BB in the Bucks/Herts area
 
They do need them to be a certain weight so you would need to check but I rang for one of mine on Monday and I'm afraid to say they are full and not taking any in this year and are not holding a waiting list. They will start taking them again next April.
 
Well I used to have a 12hh welsh mountain pony that came from the animal health trust and when I contacted them about his history they said he had been a blood bank pony for 10 years. So in their case they not only take smaller ones (or at least did) but they also do not PTS wen they have served their purpose. My friend has said pony now as he was very nervous. I am trying to contact a few as ideally I wouldn't want him to leave the blood bank if he no longer served a purpose.
I am in need of urgently sorting this out due to persoal issues. It is a very sad situation for me and very bad timing.
He is lovely to handle the easiest horse to handle I have ever ha and I did think of the therapy route BUT his only issue is he does become upset if his herd mates are taken away. For that reason he isn't an ideal as an 'only' companion and people would want to hack out and he becomes distressed when left alone.
 
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Is he not a suitable candidate for an operation? Although I see you're uninsured :-( A friend's horse had a successful op aged about the same as yours and is now back competing at eventing - about to do advanced! I don't like what I've heard about the blood bank to be honest if it's correct they pts the horses at just 15. That seems no age at all although I appreciate many do have issues hence why they're there
 
PTS, I can't fathom out the thinking behind sending any horse to the BB.

There are much worse things that can and do happen to horses than to be pts peacefully at home.
 
I am thinking PTS now. I don't know how to do it. I have never done it.How horrific is it? WHat will my veteran pony do? I cannot have him shot as they shot a pony on the yard near my veteran pony once (without telling me- heaven knows why!!) this was about 10 years ago but now my veteran is a quivering wreck with anything that resembles shooting and I don't want to reinforce that. I have no support whatsoever I am not on a yard I don't even have moral support I am very much alone. :(
 
Message these people on FB, they will be able to discuss experiences of blood banks with you and put you in contact with one should you decide you want to go down that route :)

Nhttps://www.facebook.com/EponaStars?ref=ts&fref=ts
 
ayesha said:
I am thinking PTS now. I don't know how to do it. I have never done it.How horrific is it? WHat will my veteran pony do? I cannot have him shot as they shot a pony on the yard near my veteran pony once (without telling me- heaven knows why!!) this was about 10 years ago but now my veteran is a quivering wreck with anything that resembles shooting and I don't want to reinforce that. I have no support whatsoever I am not on a yard I don't even have moral support I am very much alone. :(
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I've unfortunately had a few horses pts over the past few years. It's horrendous for us but they don't know.

I had one mare shot and then the other two pts by injection (only method the practice I was with at that time used).

It's not horrific. The horse is sedated, led out to a suitable spot and then injected again. The vet will probably allow you to hold the horse, who will be heavily sedated, up until this point. You will be asked to move out of the way until the horse goes down. It's an OD of anaesthetic so the horse basically just goes to sleep. The horse will continue to "breathe" when it is down and may spasm. The vet will stay and check until the heart has stopped (make sure this happens, someone I know just had their horse pts by a very well respected practice and when the lorry came to collect the body the next day she was still alive... Thankfully unconscious througout it all).

The vets, if you ask them, should arrange for the slaughterhouse to lift the body afterwards. In my experience they stay well out of the way until after the deed is done. Then you should make yourself scarce as it's not nice seeing the horse be loaded.

It's heartbreaking and devastating but the horse is really none the wiser and given the amount of sedation they go peacefully.

If possible I'd try to arrange for a companion for your pony and introduce them before your horse goes.

Other people have views on whether the remaining horses should see the horse be pts/the body afterwards. I never have.

I've been in your exact position where I kept my horses on my own. I've been on my own when all of mine were pts and yes it is hard but at least there's no one else there saying or doing the wrong thing.

I think having a (flexible) plan helps and stockpile the chocolate and wine at home.

It really is the last kindness that we can do for them. Thoughts are with you.
 
Have a look at this OP. I'm not saying this will be the answer or suitable for your horse, but there are alternatives to surgery. I have no idea if there are any physio's that do this kind of therapy where you are but for the sake of a few months it might be worth a try. Good luck with whatever you decide for your horses future.

http://www.scienceofmotion.com/videos/kissing_spine.html
 
TPO, I agree with you but I still sent a horse to the blood bank! :D They don't know they'll be missing out on future years if pts but we do, so surely if we can find them a job to do, even if its "just" donating blood (which I think is a pretty proud job to be doing really) to give them those extra years, its kind of us to do it?

OP, IIRC blood donor horses have to be 16h+, but I have seen it written on here they don't take mares - I sent a mare.
 
ayesha said:
I am thinking PTS now. I don't know how to do it. I have never done it.How horrific is it? WHat will my veteran pony do? I cannot have him shot as they shot a pony on the yard near my veteran pony once (without telling me- heaven knows why!!) this was about 10 years ago but now my veteran is a quivering wreck with anything that resembles shooting and I don't want to reinforce that. I have no support whatsoever I am not on a yard I don't even have moral support I am very much alone. :(
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Hi Ayesha

What a horrible situation you are in. I just wanted to make you aware of our Friends at the End scheme:

http://www.bhs.org.uk/ownership-advice/euthanasia-and-friends-at-the-end

(This is free so I am not advertising if anybody is concerned about that). I am not saying that PTS is necessarily the right route (it might be, I don't know anywhere near enough to judge) but even if you are just slightly thinking about it you might want to let us know so we can put you in touch with your nearest Friend. They will be able to talk you through the various options, including ones that aren't PTS. They are there to help do the best thing by you and your horse, whatever that might be.

I hope this helps, it is an awful decision to have to make.
 
BHS_Lee said:
Hi Ayesha

What a horrible situation you are in. I just wanted to make you aware of our Friends at the End scheme:

http://www.bhs.org.uk/ownership-advice/euthanasia-and-friends-at-the-end

(This is free so I am not advertising if anybody is concerned about that). I am not saying that PTS is necessarily the right route (it might be, I don't know anywhere near enough to judge) but even if you are just slightly thinking about it you might want to let us know so we can put you in touch with your nearest Friend. They will be able to talk you through the various options, including ones that aren't PTS. They are there to help do the best thing by you and your horse, whatever that might be.

I hope this helps, it is an awful decision to have to make.
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Wow thank you that is so kind and just what I need :). I feel really alone in this and that is making it harder. I cannot bear it. I know it is not the same but I did the same with a dog a few months ago and I tried and tried even though my gut said he wouldn't make it. It turned out he was one of the worst cases a vet had seen and after weeks of medication, an operation and bills I said goodbye to him anyway. The vet let him come home over christmas so the kids could say goodbye but we still did it right after christmas. That was hard enough but a big horse that has to be physically removed from the premises? Even the practicalities are against me such as I am a dead end and right onto a lane so vehicles other than cars cannot get down there. I do have horsey neighbours that are always around but we are not close friends in any way and I wouldn't want them watching me in my most vulnerable moments. I feel I have failed him. He is so young and I wish I hadn't cancelled the insurance without reinstating another but we had a disagreement over a seperate policy and I didn't want to deal with them. I then went to a broker and got some quotes and they had to speak to the insurance companies directly over an issue with my other horse and they never got back to me- I should have chased it but I am always so busy and I just left it. I have always needed my insurance so I shouldn't have forgotten like I did. The other problem is I was planning to sell him when he came back from loan anyway as I cannot manage and I am struggling day to day I am ill with it and so I feel like I have an egg timer next to me forcing me to make a quick decision. I wish I had land I could just turn him away on while I get my head straight but I don't. :(

Just bad timing, bad circumstances and a little bad luck. That is horses though isn't it. A huge gamble. What a life he's had up to now though I am sure that's why he was shipped over here and his history is untraceable from before the age of 5.
 
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local hunt can take him in a trailer to the kennel to be PTS .you can follow on or to be with him or not they dont mind- it would be totally up to you. ive done this and it was fine ,it cost me £90
 
Can't edit as on phone. The horses donate blood until no longer viable so they certainly don't put them down when they reach 15. My boy that went there is now 17 and as of a couple a weeks ago was still there. Some carry on donating well into their 20's.
 
ayesha said:
Wow thank you that is so kind and just what I need :). I feel really alone in this and that is making it harder. I cannot bear it. I know it is not the same but I did the same with a dog a few months ago and I tried and tried even though my gut said he wouldn't make it. It turned out he was one of the worst cases a vet had seen and after weeks of medication, an operation and bills I said goodbye to him anyway. The vet let him come home over christmas so the kids could say goodbye but we still did it right after christmas. That was hard enough but a big horse that has to be physically removed from the premises? Even the practicalities are against me such as I am a dead end and right onto a lane so vehicles other than cars cannot get down there. I do have horsey neighbours that are always around but we are not close friends in any way and I wouldn't want them watching me in my most vulnerable moments. I feel I have failed him. He is so young and I wish I hadn't cancelled the insurance without reinstating another but we had a disagreement over a seperate policy and I didn't want to deal with them. I then went to a broker and got some quotes and they had to speak to the insurance companies directly over an issue with my other horse and they never got back to me- I should have chased it but I am always so busy and I just left it. I have always needed my insurance so I shouldn't have forgotten like I did. The other problem is I was planning to sell him when he came back from loan anyway as I cannot manage and I am struggling day to day I am ill with it and so I feel like I have an egg timer next to me forcing me to make a quick decision. I wish I had land I could just turn him away on while I get my head straight but I don't. :(

Just bad timing, bad circumstances and a little bad luck. That is horses though isn't it. A huge gamble. What a life he's had up to now though I am sure that's why he was shipped over here and his history is untraceable from before the age of 5.
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I really feel for you and this is an awful set of circumstances. Please contact us tomorrow on friendsattheend@bhs.org.uk or 02476 840517 and we will do what we can to help. It is never easy but you don't have to go it alone.
 
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