Equine Bloodbank experiences/contact details, South west

bonny said:
I think some people are looking at things with rose tinted glasses, which in the case of blood banks is easy as visits are not allowed and you rarely get to know what happens to the horse. Still you can send your horse away, get a few hundred pounds and imagine he has a happy ever after life !
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I have been there, and have never seen such large numbers of happy horses. You don't get a penny. When they come in in the winter they still have outdoor areas as well as the barns. They are very clean, and groomed and trimmed regularly. All the horses I saw were shiny and had neat manes and tails. They were in massive fields as far as the eye could see. Horses that would not be suitable are those who can't be on grass, or who don't mix well with others, or dislike vets.
 
bonny said:
Yes, I have experience although it is from a few years ago and certainly then they paid for the horses and so owned them and you had no more say. They accepted any horse over a certain height when clearly they didn't need that many and so only kept the quiet ones that fitted in with the way of life. The rest went to Potters. The way they are kept is ok, the blood letting is not for the squeamish and for a few horses it's an alternative to being pts. If horses really all stayed until a fine old age then there wouldn't be much demand for any new ones. I also think a lot less blood is needed nowadays and owners should be careful that they are not just giving their horse away to a dealer !
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Oh what rubbish!
 
bonny said:
I used to work there !!
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It can't be the same one as I went to then. They don't pay for horses and don't use potters. Horses are shot on the premises. They do not accept any horse over a certain height, It is extremely difficult to get your horse in there and you have to be very persistent to even get to talk to the man in charge if you have a horse you want to send. Which if they were selling to dealers would not be the case. I know happy contented horses when I see them and we spent a couple of hours there looking around and not once was I concerned by anything I saw. They take blood by needle/cannula just like people who give blood. You make it sound like they slash their throats.
 
Pigeon said:
People have quite a romanticised view of equine blood banks for some reason. They're kept like cattle really so I guess you need to decide if your horse would cope.
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I have experience of the Bonniebridge bloodbank, albeit some years ago, and the horses were kept in a manner appropriate to horses. In the winter, they were together in large barn with adlib haylage. So in that sense, they were kept like cattle, although this "free range" system for horses is practised elsewhere and is arguably more compatible with their behavioural needs than individual stabling. Horses that weren't happy with this arrangement had separate accommodation in adjacent pens, so they still had contact with other horses. Over the summer months, they were all outside on grass. They were monitored by someone experienced with horses (I believe the woman who ran the place used to hunt), and there were weekly vet visits. My impression was favourable overall.
 
bonny said:
I think some people are looking at things with rose tinted glasses, which in the case of blood banks is easy as visits are not allowed and you rarely get to know what happens to the horse. Still you can send your horse away, get a few hundred pounds and imagine he has a happy ever after life !
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I was in the unusual position of being allowed to visit my horse, who spent 9 months at the Bonnybridge BB. I was able to observe him and the other horses over this period and didn't see anything that made me think I had made a mistake to allow him to go there. The one thing I definitely didn't like, although I guess it was inevitable, was that many of the horses had scarred veins due to the regular taking of blood. (My horse was okay thank goodness.)
 
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As you know I have responded to you by PM. My friends horse has gone to a blood bank, the one in Milton Keynes. She said she could hear a pin drop when she was there, it was so quiet and peaceful. All you could see for miles was horses in fields. She unloaded her horse and he went out with another two, one who was new like him, and another who had been there sometime. Within a few minutes, after a couple of sniffs at the others, her horse had his head down grazing.

There is no 'blood letting'. For some reason Bonny likes to dramatise blood banks. SHe has done this before to my friend whose horse I describe. It really upset my friend and she left this forum. Like Carefree Girl says, the horses are out from April - Oct at grass and then from Oct-April in large indoor barns where they have access to ad lib forage. They come in to give blood (not sure how often) and they are often excited about coming in, because as a reward they are given a small feed. Its only like us giving blood at the blood transfusion centre. Once they have given blood they return to the herd and their mates.

I know that there is some concern about what happens when the horse turns 15, apparently I was told that they have to notifiy you if your horse has been pts or will be pts, and at aged 15 they are too old to give blood. But I am not sure if this is totally correct. Even if your horse does go off to slaughter, which is not acceptable to me by the way, then its only a few minutes of his life, whereas he may have had a good many years of happy retirement at the blood bank, which he would not have had if he had been pts and not gone there.

If it were my horse that was going there I would say to them,in an ideal world I would say "look I will pay you £100 or £200 pounds now, for you to ring me and tell me when my horse is going to be pts and I will see that a vet is sent to do the job there and then, rather than it be sent for slaughter" (if that is really what happens to them).

LaurenJane21 your horse needs to be roughed off before hand. No rugs, no shoes and no hard feed. You need to prepare him for this over a period of a few weeks, in order for this to be kinder for him. Horses adapt quickly once they are in a routine, and there is no need to thing that your horse wont be happy at such a place.

PM me if I can be of further help to you.


This is a link to the Bonnybridge Lab, in Scotland http://www.eolabs.com/profile/company-facilities
 
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Wagtail said:
It can't be the same one as I went to then. They don't pay for horses and don't use potters. Horses are shot on the premises. They do not accept any horse over a certain height, It is extremely difficult to get your horse in there and you have to be very persistent to even get to talk to the man in charge if you have a horse you want to send. Which if they were selling to dealers would not be the case. I know happy contented horses when I see them and we spent a couple of hours there looking around and not once was I concerned by anything I saw. They take blood by needle/cannula just like people who give blood. You make it sound like they slash their throats.
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Thank you Wagtail for some common sense. You are right - it is very hard to get your horse in there - my friend was very persistent. She didn't know they were shot on the premises, she believed because of what Bonny had said that they were sent to Potters and has lived with this for years after leaving this forum. this is Bonny's posion being spouted again on this link way back in 2009 http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...SE-LIVES-AT-THE-BLOOD-BANK&highlight=nelson11
 
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bonny said:
I used to work there !!
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Yes but you have only worked at one and I assume that these are private ventures run by individuals - therefore your experience isn't necessarily true for all BB's and the 'information' you are sharing doesn't apply across the board.
 
madlady said:
Yes but you have only worked at one and I assume that these are private ventures run by individuals - therefore your experience isn't necessarily true for all BB's and the 'information' you are sharing doesn't apply across the board.
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Sorry but I don't believe she worked at one, or if she did it wasn't the one that Wagtail and my friend Nelson 11 are talking about.
 
Just to put another couple of things straight. Horses are accepted up to the age 15. The manager explained to me how it takes him a good year to train every horse to the routine, so that they know where to go and what happens etc. It makes no sense for him to slaughter them age 15. Most horses there are over 20 with some even in their 30s. The criteria they use to PTS is when they see a horse is no longer enjoying life or slipping down the rankings if they've previously been quite high ranking, or they are not keeping condition (they are fed ad lib and so dropping condition only happens due to illness or age). They usually make the decision on such horses during winter and they are then given one more summer before being PTS ON THE PREMISES. No horse ever leaves the place, They are not shipped off to Potters. To me these horses have a much more natural and happy life than most ridden horses.
 
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All of this information has been so helpful, I am currently hounding to get my boy a spot. The lifestyle sounds like it will suit him as he is a big strong boy who loves living in a herd and had no problem with needs or anything like that. Thank you all once again for your advise
 
Laurenjane21 said:
All of this information has been so helpful, I am currently hounding to get my boy a spot. The lifestyle sounds like it will suit him as he is a big strong boy who loves living in a herd and had no problem with needs or anything like that. Thank you all once again for your advise
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Don't forget to start roughing him off as soon as you hear about a space. H&H have done an article about it here, tips for roughing off a hunter. Not quite the same as your horse, but some good advice nevertheless. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horse-care/horse-care-tips/roughing-off-dos-and-donts-36508
 
Hello, would someone be able to send me the details? Vet is doubting laminitis for my boy now, and he has lived roughed off for two years. His winter coat is a bit pathetic, but as they live in a barn with ad lib haylege I don't think it would be an issue(thats more idea then what he gets now! He flourishes on ad lib, but can't in current herd..). Not a 100% it's on the cards, but always wanted the details just in case, as if I can't get him rideable it sounds perfect (I'd happily keep him till they had space!). Me and mum have been exploring options for if he's not rideable again.

Many Thanks
 
I live 15 minutes drive away and a couple a time a year I'll drive over and park up and watch them as the fields come up as far as the road. No exaggeration there are 100's of horses, I have never seen any argy bargy (OK 30 minutes twice a year looking over a gate isn't exactly scientific) When you first drop them off they are put on a small herd of newbies and given time to settle.

A couple of years ago *my* horse was 100yds from the road, I called him and wolf whistled which is how I used to call him. He looked up, stared at me for a few seconds then turned and walked away as if to say get lost :biggrin3:


Your vet will be able to give you the contact details, the owners are not happy for contact details to be shared publicly.

You do have to pester them a bit I'm afraid. I have absolutely no regrets sending mine there.
 
Ah kk, will get her on it! :) It's just a back up plan atm but it's good to have it all to hand, and everyone involved know what we're willing to do etc., thank you! :)
 
Carefreegirl said:
A couple of years ago *my* horse was 100yds from the road, I called him and wolf whistled which is how I used to call him. He looked up, stared at me for a few seconds then turned and walked away as if to say get lost :biggrin3:

.
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I think we would miss them much more than they would miss us despite what we think. What a lovely ending, glad your horse is settled and happy
 
applecart14 said:
I think we would miss them much more than they would miss us despite what we think. What a lovely ending, glad your horse is settled and happy
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Thank you, I'm very greatful that I managed to get them in. Sadly I'm not in the position to keep a horse as a field ornament and I'm not a happy hacker, I hack to get fit for competing. I'm not getting another one, well not for the foreseeable future as I'm lucky enough to have a lovely horse to ride and compete.

When I dropped T off last year I asked about Boxer (he's been there 10 yrs) and jokingly said can I book a space for next horse in ten years. Poor man went ashen :biggrin3:


Edited to add Boxer will be 21 this year so they don't pts once they reach a certain age.
 
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madlady said:
Yes but you have only worked at one and I assume that these are private ventures run by individuals - therefore your experience isn't necessarily true for all BB's and the 'information' you are sharing doesn't apply across the board.
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I'm think that there are just the 2, one on England and one in Scotland ?
 
Carefreegirl said:
Thank you, I'm very greatful that I managed to get them in. Sadly I'm not in the position to keep a horse as a field ornament and I'm not a happy hacker, I hack to get fit for competing. I'm not getting another one, well not for the foreseeable future as I'm lucky enough to have a lovely horse to ride and compete.

When I dropped T off last year I asked about Boxer (he's been there 10 yrs) and jokingly said can I book a space for next horse in ten years. Poor man went ashen :biggrin3:


Edited to add Boxer will be 21 this year so they don't pts once they reach a certain age.
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Poor T and Boxer having their throats slit for blood letting every day! Shame on you.:D :)
 
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