Talk to me about the blood bank.

ycbm said:
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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I’ve also seen many over wintered horses in barns. Well mucked out am, and skipped out during the day. With fresh straw daily.
 
Amymay in a manger said:
I’ve also seen many over wintered horses in barns. Well mucked out am, and skipped out during the day. With fresh straw daily.
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I don't know if you saw that in commercial units breeding youngstock in volume or retirement livery, which is where I've seen them.

I've only seen horses deep littered, standing on an increasingly high bank of wet straw until a full bed removal is done either at intervals of several weeks or at the end of winter. But even clean straw of a decent depth for a bed isn’t easy for a horse to walk around in or play or run away from another horse that's snapped at it in a bad mood one day. And they are in there for months at a time

When I was looking for retirement livery last year I rejected any that over wintered in barns as I did not believe the lack of availability for movement was the way to keep a horse which retired young, which is the very reason horses go to blood banks.

I'm sorry if that upsets anyone who has chosen it, but that's my personal choice.
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ycbm said:
I don't know if you saw that in commercial units breeding youngstock in volume or retirement livery, which is where I've seen them.

I've only seen horses deep littered, standing on an increasingly high bank of wet straw until a full bed removal is done either at intervals of several weeks or at the end of winter. But even clean straw of a decent depth for a bed isn’t easy for a horse to walk around in or play or run away from another horse that's snapped at it in a bad mood one day. And they are in there for months at a time

When I was looking for retirement livery last year I rejected any that over wintered in barns as I did not believe the lack of availability for movement was the way to keep a horse which retired young, which is the very reason horses go to blood banks.

I'm sorry if that upsets anyone who has chosen it, but that's my personal choice.
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I don't like it either it can't be good for there feet because a degree of wet will come to the top and it can't be good for the breathing either.

I kept Arabi at a yard when he was 2 he was out most of the time but came in for short periods during the day, the stables were in an internal barn and all on deep litter with shavings.

I remember the vet coming to do his jabs and she said his breathing was bad for a 2 year old, she told me not to put him in the barn as she thought that was the cause, I actually moved him shortly after anyway and his breathing went back to normal.
 
KittenInTheTree said:
I didn't give any sort of an opinion on it. Perhaps you're confusing me with other posters who did, and who you didn't snark at in reply.
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Sorry @KittenInTheTree i wasn’t meaning to sound snarky.
I just wanted details from anyone who knew what it was like/what the deal is rather than peoples own opinions, of which there are a lot.

To be perfectly honest, obviously without seeing the place I’m still not really getting what’s so awful about it IF the place is well run and the above better replies are true.

It’s not something I’m doing but I’ve seen a hell of a lot worse sounding livery and or retirement places.

I feel like the blood bank, as any option would need proper in person research.
When you sell a horse you also have no say in its future. You also may never see it or visit again.
I can’t see it’s all that much different.
At this point I’d feel more guilty if I sold him to someone who kept him at livery with rare turnout in a postage stamp paddock.
 
Arzada said:
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
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Okay then, cutting to a length where they won't get dragged through the mud, caught up in brambles, or branches 🙄 it's part and parcel of routine care. The reason why near everyone apart from you do cut their horses tails so they are not touching the ground.
Sheep said:
Not to be pedantic but Wagtail hasn’t been online in almost 3 years?
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Please re read reply 54. Wagtail made a reply to the original OP on the thread I attached from 2017 saying she had been to the bloodbank and spoken to, presumably David Tombs who appears to run it. I attached Wagtails comment because its a first hand account unlike so many on here that are supposition.

And the same first hand experience my farrier, my friend, my acquaintance, and now Gamebird have all confirmed.
 

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Unless someone comes on with actual first hand up to date knowledge I think we should accept this debate always goes round in circles and should be left in the past where it belongs. I don’t think the demand is what it was anyway but as it’s all so secret it’s impossible to find out and going by what Wagtail said seven years ago seems a bit foolish.
 
bonny said:
Unless someone comes on with actual first hand up to date knowledge I think we should accept this debate always goes round in circles and should be left in the past where it belongs. I don’t think the demand is what it was anyway but as it’s all so secret it’s impossible to find out and going by what Wagtail said seven years ago seems a bit foolish.
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I'm going to try and see if one of the equestrian publications would be interested in doing an article about this. But I could well understand with the snowflake yoke brigade and animal rights activists that Manager of Preston Farms might not wish to comment.
 
Arzada said:
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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This.

I've only trimmed the length of one tail in the last 35 years, a mini shetland that has a tail like rapunzel and I lop it off about 2 inches from the ground as otherwise it drags like a train behind her.
Never had to scissor or clip-cut others.
 
poiuytrewq said:
Sorry @KittenInTheTree i wasn’t meaning to sound snarky.
I just wanted details from anyone who knew what it was like/what the deal is rather than peoples own opinions, of which there are a lot.

To be perfectly honest, obviously without seeing the place I’m still not really getting what’s so awful about it IF the place is well run and the above better replies are true.

It’s not something I’m doing but I’ve seen a hell of a lot worse sounding livery and or retirement places.

I feel like the blood bank, as any option would need proper in person research.
When you sell a horse you also have no say in its future. You also may never see it or visit again.
I can’t see it’s all that much different.
At this point I’d feel more guilty if I sold him to someone who kept him at livery with rare turnout in a postage stamp paddock.
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There are certainly worse retirement liveries P, and one huge benefit of the blood bank is you know they are healthy enough to donate sellable blood products. They aren't going to be mistreated, they are safe from being passed on, and for a young horse that simply can't be ridden for no reason that could really do with some medication, I can totally see why people would choose it.
 
As there is a slight thread diversion onto equine tail care 🙃.

I like my horses’ tails full and on the long side, but I still have to trim the length several times a year or else the tails get so long that the horse treads on them as they get up from lying down and yank large portions out by the roots 😳.

How do other people’s horses self trim their own tails so that this doesn’t happen?
 
Tiddlypom said:
As there is a slight thread diversion onto equine tail care 🙃.

I like my horses’ tails full and on the long side, but I still have to trim the length several times a year or else the tails get so long that the horse treads on them as they get up from lying down and yank large portions out by the roots 😳.

How do other people’s horses self trim their own tails so that this doesn’t happen?
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I don't get it either with the self trim. I guess it could happen since I've met horses that seem to have manes that just stop at a certain length? I've always trimmed tails, some more than others. Mostly because if I didn't the tail would drag, or I'd notice long strands pulled out because the horse stepped on it whilst backing up or playing in the field.

I also cut shorter, about mid cannon, in the winter when it is more muddy.
 
CanteringCarrot said:
I don't get it either with the self trim. I guess it could happen since I've met horses that seem to have manes that just stop at a certain length? I've always trimmed tails, some more than others. Mostly because if I didn't the tail would drag, or I'd notice long strands pulled out because the horse stepped on it whilst backing up or playing in the field.

I also cut shorter, about mid cannon, in the winter when it is more muddy.
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I have a retired horse and probably have trimmed his tail once in the past 18 months, I only did that to straighten it really.
 
poiuytrewq said:
I have a retired horse and probably have trimmed his tail once in the past 18 months, I only did that to straighten it really.
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So, so some of them have like a "stop" signal programmed into the tail?

Mine did not get that memo. I am constantly trimming! Granted, my last 2 have been a "hair breed" since they're PRE's
 
Tiddlypom said:
As there is a slight thread diversion onto equine tail care 🙃.

I like my horses’ tails full and on the long side, but I still have to trim the length several times a year or else the tails get so long that the horse treads on them as they get up from lying down and yank large portions out by the roots 😳.

How do other people’s horses self trim their own tails so that this doesn’t happen?
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It's a secret and it hasn't been shared with me 😂.

Noone has yanked their tails out by the roots. Occasionally the tail appears with bits of hedgerow and, guess what, I 'routinely' remove that by teasing it out. Goodness knows how many beautiful inches someone would chop off to avoid that happening 🤔 A couple of times in the last 20 years I've indulged in extra tail care. A couple of winters I heated up some water (purely self interest so my hands didn't freeze :)) and dunked and swirled the tail in it to get off the worst of the mud. Then I whirled the tail through the air and applied baby oil which dealt with any mud ambitious enough to try to attach itself to the tail. In a couple of snowy winters I did the same but with warmer water to melt off the ice 🤣
 
Clodagh said:
Manes should be no more than 4”long and tails 4” below the hocks. Me and traditional cob turnout don’t mix. 😄
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You'd be no good with hairy natives then 🤣

I haven't yet seen anyone brandishing scissors on the fells, in the Highlands, the Welsh hills, on Shetland nor other native pony places..
 
As this thread has now turned into a tail care one, I trim my shetlands as otherwise he stands on it when getting up and I find bits in the field. It also gets mud caked in it, so I keep it shorter in the winter. My Welsh mare gets hers trimmed maybe once a year, but never really needs it. I’ve never had to trim her mane either, It just stops at about 8 inches.
 
Clodagh said:
Manes should be no more than 4”long and tails 4” below the hocks. Me and traditional cob turnout don’t mix. 😄
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My part bred Dales grows hair at warp speed! I butchered her mane one winter and the vets needed all her feather off and 3 months later you wouldn't have known.

It's quite forgiving for my appalling hairdressing skills thankfully
 
AmyMay said:
Of course they do. But in agreement with @Clodagh i like a short (longer in summer) tail and mane. Who wants to deal with dreadlocks in the winter? Plus it looks smarter.
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Oh yes but the point I was making (badly) was that not having your tail brushed isn't really a trauma or neglect for a horse if it were to go to the blood bank and not be brushed
 
webble said:
Surely horses in the wild manage without any tail care regime
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That's something I thought about too.

I really do wonder if there is a "stop" because like I said, some manes seem to only grow so long. I used to care for a horse that has a mane that just stopped at a certain point and didn't get linger. Some will grow down to their knees if you let them.

Hm... I know of a yard that has a lot of semi feral cobs and some have long manes but their tales don't drag, and I know they aren't trimmed. Whereas with current and last horse their tails have a lot of growth and don't seem to have a stop!
 
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