Your Equine First Aid Kit

Equine first aid kits should contain well-organized essentials that can be grabbed in an emergency and carried to wherever they are needed.
Equine first aid kits should contain well-organized essentials that can be grabbed in an emergency and carried to wherever they are needed.

Every equine first aid kit should contain well-organized essentials that can be grabbed immediately in an emergency and carried to wherever it is needed.

Horses being horses, these large, active, energetic animals are prone to mishaps, injuries, illnesses, poisonings, and much, much more. Having first aid essentials readily available will save not only time, but possibly your horse's life.

You can buy a pre-assembled first aid kit at a tack shop or you can put your own together using items you already have and adding others that you purchase at drug stores or wherever you shop.

Helpful hint

Inexpensive plastic bins make great first-aid kit carriers. These can be purchased from most home wares or home improvement stores.

Be sure to include an information sheet with your veterinarian's name and phone number, address of the nearest equine hospital and phone number, and insurance information if your horse is insured.

Here is a list of the items needed in a first aid kit to meet most exigencies you will face as a horse owner:

  1. Rectal thermometer and water-based lubricant jelly for ease in inserting it
  2. Scissors or knife
  3. Anti-bacterial soap
  4. Antiseptic wound cleaner such as Betadine or Novalsan
  5. Bandaging material including sterile gauze, cotton, gamgee or other absorbent padding, disposable diapers and Tefla pads, Ace bandages and self-adherent tape
  6. Leg wraps
  7. Antiseptic ointment or cream
  8. Furacin dressing
  9. Antibiotic ointment such as Silvadine
  10. Surgical scrub preparations such as Povidone iodine
  11. Bute for relieving inflammation (prescription medication)
  12. Topical eye ointment
  13. Fly lotion
  14. Electrolyte solution
  15. Hoof pick
  16. Tweezers
  17. Stethoscope
  18. Ice bags or chemical ice pack
  19. Epsom salts
  20. Zinc oxide cream
  21. Clean trash bags
  22. Bucket
  23. Spray bottle
  24. Flashlight with extra batteries
  25. Nose or lip twitch for use as restraint
  26. Any additional medications such as a syringe with tetanus antitoxin and one with tetanus toxoid, oral and injectable antibiotics, tranquilizers, and injectable sedatives and pain killers as recommended by your veterinarian.

Also, you should have a small first aid emergency kit for use on the trail, and, if you travel with your horse often, you will most likely want to have a travel first aid kit to be kept in your trailer or truck.

About the Author

EquiMed Staff

EquiMed staff writers team up to provide articles that require periodic updates based on evolving methods of equine healthcare. Compendia articles, core healthcare topics and more are written and updated as a group effort. Our review process includes an important veterinarian review, helping to assure the content is consistent with the latest understanding from a medical professional.

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