First Aid Kit for the Barn

By
MaryKay Ruble

As every horse owner
knows, we are not engaged in a low-cost hobby or business.
Over the lifetime of a horse, you will spend many times over what you
originally paid in purchase price. I
have perfected a polite smile, and head nod when a seller has tried to show me a
“really cheap” horse, while in my mind I’m multiplying monthly upkeep,
veterinarian care and farrier services. I
know that any “cheap” horse won’t be that way for long.
If you’ve owned a horse for any length of time, you soon learn that
successful management of your horse and equipment is the easiest way to assure
that you have a healthy, sound horse to ride and enjoy.

But no matter what
management techniques you have in place, no matter how careful you are in
dealing with every aspect of your horse’s daily life, accidents do happen.
Accidents can happen simply because we can not have absolute control over
our horses’ every move, thought or action.

So now, horror of
horrors, your beloved horse has had an accident, tangled in a fence, tangled
with a pasture-mate, or just plain tangled its own stable blanket.
It is at that moment that you will wish you had been more prepared for an
equine emergency. No matter what your horse-keeping situation is, whether you
board at a public or private facility, or whether you keep a horse or two in
your own backyard, the best thing you can do for your horse is to keep an equine
first aid kit handy. Yes, even if
you keep your horse on your own property and think that you can just run into
the house for whatever wrap or paste you might need, having it all together in
kit form will make your run that much quicker.
I don’t want to be searching, and losing precious time, for an ointment
that could be in either of two medicine cabinets, or in one of three tack boxes.
Having your first aid supplies and emergency phone numbers in a
well-marked rubber or plastic box with a lid, tucked handily in the barn, and
trailer, makes a whole lot more sense.

At the end of this
article, I will include a list of some items that should be in every equine
first aid kit. However, in an
emergency situation, when you are waiting for the vet’s arrival, please keep a
couple of things in mind. While
waiting for the vet, you may want to withhold anti-inflammatory drugs and/or
painkillers. Both of these drugs
may mask any underlying problems. During
your initial call to the vet, ask before administering these drugs.
In the case of an open wound or laceration, while waiting for the vet,
the wound can be rinsed well with water; do not introduce anything except water
or KY Jelly into the wound. If the
wound requires stitching, it must be clean of ointment and any foreign
substance. Some substances can also
be very irritating or hard to clean off. Refrain
from using iodine, including betadine, hydrogen peroxide and oily ointments
until the injury is seen by the vet.

Prior to your call
to the vet, in the case of an illness, you may want to take your horse’s
temperature. Even if your vet does
not ask for your horse’s temperature, you can certainly volunteer the
information. More times than not,
though, this will be a question that the vet will use to begin his/her
evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of your horse’s condition.

Use a good
thermometer, and if possible, practice taking your horse’s temperature
rectally when he or she is feeling well. You
can learn on the fly, but remember that anxieties, both yours and the horse’s,
will be high in the midst of an emergency.
You will feel surer of yourself with practice, and that feeling will
transfer to your horse.

A bit of KY Jelly
can be used on the tip of the thermometer for easier use.
Have someone hold the horse’s halter or lead, as you move to the rear
and stand to the side, out of the line of a kick.
Reach over, grasp and move the tail slightly to the far side, and insert
the thermometer, while keeping a grasp on it.
If using a digital thermometer, you can watch until the highest reading
is reached. Remove the thermometer
and clean well before and after each use. It
is not recommended that you use a glass and mercury thermometer.

A horse’s normal
temperature (rectally) should be 99 -
100.8 degrees. Listlessness,
depression, heavy breathing with nostrils flaring, and refusing feed can also be
signs of fever in a horse.

Let’s have a look
at a few of the other items that should be in our equine first aid kit.

Digital
Thermometer

KY Jelly -not Vaseline, as it contains petroleum oils which should
not be introduced
into wounds.

Scissors or Wrap Cutter –for removal of dressings, bandages

Stethoscope –useful when the heart rate needs to be monitored, to
listen for gut sounds.

Duct Tape

Epsom Salts

For cleaning wounds and abrasions:

Small
sponges -for use with soap to cleanse wounds.
Dispose of each sponge as it is used.

Chlorhexidine Scrub –an antibacterial soap for wounds, or

Betadine Scrub or

Betadine Solution

For treating and
bandaging wounds which do not require stitches:

Neosporin
–for superficial wounds or abrasions

Nolvasan Ointment or

Chlorhexidine Ointment

Bandaging materials - sterile and
non-sterile 4”x4” gauze pads, leg cotton, vet wrap, roll of cotton

For wounds that
cannot, because of location, be wrapped:

Furacin
Spray or

Aluspray

Medications you might want to have “on hand”:

Eye
Wash

Triple Antibiotic Ointment for Eye or

Ophthalmic Polysporin

Phenylbutazone Paste or

Phenylbutazone Tablets

Flunixin Meglumine Paste

In most states,
these meds must be prescribed by your veterinarian. Ask if you can obtain an amount to keep for emergency use.
Ask also for a prescribed dosage, and how each medication should be used.
Learn and know how to administer these drugs for their intended usages.

None of the
information above is intended to take the place of routine or emergency
veterinary care, or without supervision by a licensed vet.
If you are not comfortable with the use of the above items, or in their
administration, please contact and wait for a veterinarian.

For more reading,
try these books:

Emergency
-The Active Horseman’s Book of Emergency Care by Karen Hayes

First Aid for Horses - The essential reference guide by Tim Hawcroft

Horse & Rider's Hands-On Horse
Care : The Complete Book of Equine First-Aid by
Karen Hayes, D.V..M.