Uruguay | San José | Estancia “La Paloma” | Blood farms for hormone production

We continue to the estancia “La Paloma” of blood farmer Roberto Mailhos. His foreman does not introduce himself and says he does not have permission to give us any information. We want to know how many mares there are on the blood farm. He claims 80 to 90. Just along the access road to the estancia, we have seen about 200. A worker tells us later that there are approx. 3.000 mares, on a property of 1.300 hectares.

The reason that the blood business has gone undetected so far is, besides the obvious secrecy, the fact that horses as well as farms are well hidden in the vast countryside. We spend hours and days looking for the locations.

We decide to meet with Roberto Mailhos and call the number we are given. On the phone, he refuses to be interviewed for personal reasons.