Talk to me about the blood bank.

Widgeon said:
Just for the sake of clarity for anyone reading this thread in the future, the links in the original post on that thread (above) are relating mainly to the farming of pregnant mares, which is not what UK blood banks do, and none of the links relate to the UK.
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Yes but Wagtails comments in respect if the bloodbank BUckinghamshire is relevant which is what I was referring to.
 
meleeka said:
There is is also nothing wrong in putting to sleep a 4 year horse if he’s only got an uncertain future, with health issues to look forward to.
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Nor did I say there was Meleeka, I really was not saying that. It's obviously dependant on what is wrong with the horse in the first place, but if the person concerned were adamant they had wanted to send the horse to the BB and then had read the comments and were swayed into putting to sleep instead.
 
Gamebird said:
I think that if you are not the sort of person that can wave goodbye to a horse, then don't do it. I would not choose it for a beloved horse that I had owned for 15 years, but then I would also never consider selling that horse. I would happily pick it for a horse that I didn't have such a strong attachment to. If it's going to screw your head up, or if you're the sort of person that can't sleep without monthly updates then you need to look at retirement livery.
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Yes, that's me! 💯
Thanks for your reply, and for your professionalism in this. Hopefully that's put to bed a lot of the rumours.
 
Birker2020 said:
Nor did I say there was Meleeka, I really was not saying that. It's obviously dependant on what is wrong with the horse in the first place, but if the person concerned were adamant they had wanted to send the horse to the BB and then had read the comments and were swayed into putting to sleep instead.
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I just wanted to make the point that if someone was reading this and thinking of sending a horse to a blood bank, that PTS is also ok. How many people try and send horses to blood banks because they worry people will judge them if they PTS, when actually that would sometimes be the kindest thing all round.
 
Birker2020 said:
YCBM how do you actually know this????
I'm really sorry but its this kind of supposition that causes people who are looking at placing a four year old with its whole life in front of it to be pts instead.
For those that have sent horses there I think reading all this codswallop is really unfair and cruel especially as it doesn't bear any resemblance to the truth.

How about asking those that are in the know like me, SC or the bloke himself!
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Errr.... I have seen many, many over-wintered barn kept horses in my life. I have never seen one mucked out daily or even weekly, the horses end up walking around on a mattress of dirty bedding with a clean layer on top of it. Regarding space, nobody can give them the same space in a barn as they have in the field, it isn't practical, whole fields would have to have rooves on.

It's a common way to keep both young stock and retired horses over winter.
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Tiddlypom said:
The fact that the horses are expected to donate blood to earn their keep is not a concern, as long as the horse is not needle phobic.

The concern is about the level of care they get day to day once signed over.
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I don’t think they use a needle, my experience is maybe out of date but I’ve seen it done and it wasn’t using a needle
 
Birker2020 said:
I walked around the place myself and I have never seen happier horses in my life. They were all groomed, shiny and even had their tails brushed and trimmed. I prefer to rely on my own first hand experience of the place and can hand on heart say that those horses have a fantastic and stress free life.
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Did you go on an open day or was this a one off tour? Was it summer or winter?

I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that a commercial blood bank pays staff to brush out the tails of what 50, 100? , horses on any routine basis.

It isn't retirement livery.
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I think a lot of people suffer from the ‘I’m the only person that can look after my horse properly’ mindset. When I retired my horses they lived like farm animals, what on earth is wrong with that? Shelter, grazing, consistent company, hay etc. Feet and so on needs met.
I live by a huge retirement livery. Their horses are basically treated as Gamebird describes, although they are rugged when needed and owners can visit.
Horses do not need an individual stable, a hunter clip and 50 rugs to be happy. They are just fancy cows really!
 
Tiddlypom said:
But there are good retirement liveries, and less good ones.

Prior research is essential whether a retirement livery or a blood bank.
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Agreed but if you had a horse that finances meant pts or blood bank it would be worth considering. I imagine they come under the same rules as farms as regards welfare? (Agreed that’s not always reliable).
 
ycbm said:
I understand that blood banks mostly sell plasma. Does anyone know what's done with it? PRP is made from the horse's own plasma, so I don't think it's that.
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As others have said, the blood can be used for scientific research purposes, many already described in this thread. Folk doing research using animals that need blood in their diet (e.g. mosquitoes), may also feed horse blood to them.
 
Kunoichi73 said:
As others have said, the blood can be used for scientific research purposes, many already described in this thread. Folk doing research using animals that need blood in their diet (e.g. mosquitoes), may also feed horse blood to them.
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No we used to feed the mosquitoes human blood that couldn't be used for blood transfusions anymore because out of date etc as it is free 😅
 
Kunoichi73 said:
We've fed both. It's usually human blood but we can also feed them horse blood.
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What do you research with yours? I used to use Aedes for evolutionary genetics, particularly genes behind host/parasite resistance and meiotic drive. Was strangely attached to my little bitey fiends 🤣
 
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ycbm said:
Did you go on an open day or was this a one off tour? Was it summer or winter?

I find it exceptionally difficult to believe that a commercial blood bank pays staff to brush out the tails of what 50, 100? , horses on any routine basis.

It isn't retirement livery.
.
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this was Wagtails comment (reply 6) from the link I supplied. For some reason it would not let me bold or italic it. I don't know if they have tails brushed, I'd imagine they would be cut though or other horses would be walking on them. That reminds me Lari's is nearly on the floor.

I have never been to the bank but know 3 people who i have had face to face conversations with that have been. One a close friend, one someone who I know casualy and the other my farrier.
 
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bonny said:
That’s one of the problems with blood banks, the secrecy, it must be one of very few things that you can’t find out anything by googling and the whole you can never visit or hear about your horse again is very off putting.
why can’t you say which blood bank you know about ?
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I'm confused as I'm sure you said you had previous experience having worked in one?? so you either did or you didn't.
 
Birker2020 said:
I'd imagine they would be cut though or other horses would be walking on them.
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Horses, IME, don't walk on each others tails. Arzada's tail has never been cut nor those of the little herd and other herds that he has lived with. Free living bonded herd members eat, drink, move, stand, mutually groom and lie very close to each other and they simply don't stand on each other.
 
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