Penton Discussion Group met at Skitby House Smithfield on Monday 4th November strong there was a strong turnout of almost 50 members
Guest Speaker for the evening was Tom Barr accompanied by his wife and business partner Eileen
Tom is a veterinary surgeon with over 50
experience, working with large animals and horses.
Tom has developed a particular interest
in the benefits of immunology, working with many local racehorse trainers; he
had gained real insight and experience in the equine world.
After retiring from practice he was able to follow this passion and
fascination, with the health requirements of the new born foal, by further
developing technology in the transfusion of equine plasma. He and his wife
Eileen set up Veterinary Immunogenics business in 1992
Tom & Eileen farm near Penrith on
Tom’s original family farm, the dairy herd has long gone, as this proved to be
unsustainable.
This has been gradually replaced over
the years with heavy horses, now totaling 43, alongside these they run a small herd of highland cattle.
The horses are looked after with utmost
care they have free roam of the pastures land and access to housing if
required. Their diet and well being is monitored by a team of 8 on a daily
basis. Every 4 to 6 weeks plasma is harvested from their blood. This procedure
takes around 4 hours, animals are monitored before during and after the
procedure, and it is estimated that the horse makes the plasma up naturally
again within 4 – 8 hours of donating.
No side effects are usually recorded; the horse has to be in prime health
before donating. The plasma is separated from the blood during extraction, by
using an intricate piece of kit that spins at extremely high speed similar to a
centrifuge. Each and every bag of plasma is strictly analysed and only the very
best quality is retained and frozen, this all has to meet with scrupulous
British and EU laws
New born foals are tested at birth to check
they have enough immunity in their blood, to give them the best possible start
in life. If they are not showing the optimum levels they can be given a
transfusion of plasma donated by these horses, to boost their natural immune
system. The utilizing of this equine plasma
is a real bonus and considered essential in the breeding world.
Toms dedication to the furthering development of technology in transfusion
medicine is evident in his passion and enthusiasm for topic. The benefits of
this research may be only scratching the surface of future developments
The group was captivated by Tom’s revelations, into this corner of the equine world, and chairman Ian Imerie thanked them both for their inspirational talk
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