Are You Prepared?: Putting Together a Basic First-Aid Kit

Horses are accident prone. It seems no matter how hard you try they always manage to injure themselves, whether it be a swollen knee from a well placed kick or a cut from that nail that wasn’t there yesterday. Having a well stocked first-aid kit will take some of the stress out of caring for your horse’s minor injury or health problem. Remember, you should not expect to fix any major medical crises with your kit. If you cannot easily and confidently treat your horse’s injury, consult your veterinarian right away.

Here are the “essentials” when creating your kit:

• Choose an airtight, waterproof container to keep supplies and equipment sterile and dry, like a fishing tackle box with lots of little compartments or a clear kitchen container. The more organized your kit is the easier it is to find things when you need them!
• Label the container and put it in an easy to find place so no matter who is in your barn will know what it is.
• Make sure you have a list of emergency phone numbers, i.e. your veterinarian, your farrier, the closest veterinary and human hospital, a horse rescue or ambulance service (if there is one in your area), the fire department, and the police.
• Taping a list to the lid of what’s inside the kit will help keep you organized and you’ll be able to look quick to see if the kit has what you need. When an item is used, cross it off the list and be sure to replace it!  
• A rectal thermometer - a digital plastic one is safer than glass and will give you a quicker reading.
• Petroleum jelly for the rectal thermometer. It can also be used to help heal chapped skin.
• A stethoscope. Use this to listen for gut sounds and monitor heart rate.
• Safety scissors with blunt ends to ensure you do not cut yourself or your horse when snipping bandages.
• Small, sharp scissors - can be used for suture removal among other things.
• Latex gloves.
• Self-sticking bandage, like Vetwrap.
• Gauze squares at least 3 inches by 3 inches. It’s helpful to have a variety of sizes.
• Gauze bandage roll, like Kling, is also handy to have. It can help cushion an area.
• A roll of sterile cotton. This can also help cushion a wound and can be used to apply direct pressure to a bleeding wound.
• Thick sanitary napkins or disposable diapers are also useful when applying direct pressure to a bleeding wound.
• Paper towels. The blue shop towels are strong and very absorbent.
• Medical adhesive tape like the type people use.
• A cold pack for when cold hosing is not an option. A chemical cold pack is good because you don’t have to worry about keeping it cold.
• Standing wraps/stable wraps - make sure you always have an even number. You NEVER want to wrap only one leg.
• Antiseptic wound cream, like furacin (yellow).
• Spray-on wound treatment, like Wound-Kote or Scarlex.
• Hydrogen peroxide for cleaning fresh wounds. It can also help when treating thrush (a fungal infection in the hooves). Don’t apply to healing wounds because it will inhibit the healing process.
• Antiseptic scrub, like Betadine or Nolvasan.
• A flashlight.
• Saline solution for cleaning wounds around the eyes. A bottle of contact solution with a squirt nozzle works great.
• Pre-moistened alcohol swabs for cleaning small cuts and preparing a clean injection site. Rubbing alcohol and cotton balls also work for this situation.
• Rubbing alcohol for sterilizing equipment.
• Epsom salt, which can be found at the pharmacy. Mix with  warm water to soak an abscessed foot.
• Forceps or tweezers for removing splinters, ticks, and other hard to grab things.
• Iodine shampoo can help treat various skin conditions. Use as directed by your veterinarian.
• Poultice that can be used hot or cold. This is good for taking heat out of a swollen leg or bee sting.
• Clear plastic wrap. It can be used as a barrier between poultice and standing wraps as well as an ice pack.
• A hoof pick.
• Farrier’s tools, like a rasp, nippers, and hoof knife. These are good to have if you ever need to pull a shoe. Ask your farrier if they have any old ones they'd be willing to part with.
• Duct tape because duct tape can fix anything! It’s very useful as a hoof wrap because it’s water resistant, moldable, and pretty durable.

When putting together your horse first-aid kit, don't forget about the humans. It’s always good to keep some things handy, like antibiotic cream, band-aids, sunblock, aspirin, and any allergy medications your barn people may need. They say two are better than one, right? That goes for first-aid kits as well. Make one for home and one for the road! You never know when you'll need something.

By: Liz Joseph