Owner’s warning after intruders ‘take blood’ from horse

A suspicious incident in which blood is suspected to have been taken from a horse in Scotland has been reported to police. Owner Sarah Aitken became concerned when she found a grey cap thought to be from a blood withdrawal needle and spots of blood on the floor next to a stable on the morning of 14 July. “On closer inspection my horse also had three small swellings grouped together in the jugular groove halfway down his neck and some dried blood at the site of needle entry,” she said. “Apart from this my horse appears unharmed and neither of them appears stressed.” She added that she has spoken to vets, but the motive is unknown. “He is a gelding and therefore it cannot be for breeding, he is not valuable — only to me — albeit he is a 17.2hh eye-catching Hanoverian,” said Sarah. “A couple of possible motives are: a “clean” blood sample has been required...more