February 21, 2011
Equine Blood Types: Why It Is Important To Know Your Equine Blood Types
Horses have over thirty blood groups but only eight of them are considered major systems. These are A, C, D, K, P, Q, T and U. Of the eight, seven systems are generally recognized (T excluded). In equine blood typing, the systems are written with an upper case letter with a lower case letter to mean the factors or antigenic sites hence A (a, b, c, f, g), Ca, D (a, b, c, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, n, o, p), Ka, P (a, b, c, d), Q (a, b, c), and Ua. The antigens present in the red blood cells determine the horses’ blood group systems.
