List what's in your Equine vet box.

[ferritlove]

I'm interested in what first aid supplies everyone keeps in their vet box for equines. I ask this as I am a pretty new donkey owner and know I don't know.

 

[ferritlove]

Here's what I've got:


- Bute powder (pain relief)
- blood stop powder
- electrolyte
- Universal animal antidote Gel (activated charcoal)
- bluekote
- roll-on bug repellent
- dosing gun (for liquid medicines, wormers, etc)
- thermometer
- pocket knife
- various seringes and needles
- dermal stapler (also have one set sutures - good luck with that)
- vet wrap
- safety scissors
- safety razors
- chemical light stick
- telfa pads
- gauze rolls
- spare collar
- burn dressing
- duct tape

 

[Citation]

That is a very good kit you have there, only thing I could think to add is maybe some Epsom Salt and Iodine. I also had a hoof tester but that may be a bit overkill for a first aid kit.

 

[ferritlove]

That is a very good kit you have there, only thing I could think to add is maybe some Epsom Salt and Iodine. I also had a hoof tester but that may be a bit overkill for a first aid kit.

Thanks for the feedback. I happen to be treating for abscess in my donkeys hoof right now. She wouldn't stand in Epsom salt water, so I got poultices that I've been taping under her hoof.

 

[ZTHorse]

Dont forget the good ol' study hoofpick. Man i can't ever get enough of those, always short on them when you need em.

 

[Citation]

Got to thinking some more and came up with a few more.

-Lots of buckets, been a couple times I had to soak my horses feet in Epsom salt to help with an abscess so a shallow bucket is nice. Usually end up with lots of buckets for feed and water when ya get a horse anyway lol.
-Fly Mask, any eye injury will need one to keep the bugs out
-Clean Water Source w/ hose and sprayer nozzle. (Wash Rack is ideal)
-Good Flash Light / Head Lamp; never know when the need will arise and a head lamp will keep your hands free.
-A notepad and a writing utensil. Can jot down notes when calling the vet or temp/times to see if a condition is getting worse.
-Nitrite Gloves
-Tweezers/Forceps
-Flunixin meglumine (Banamine) - Maybe overkill as well but we kept some for our horses as time is of the essence if your horse is in colic and the vet is hours away. I'd still recommend talking to the vet before administring the paste and ask for dosage amount recommended and they'll usualy have you remove food / water so you can keep an eye on them to ensure they are responding well. There is plenty on google about this drug if you want to search and decide if you want to keep some on hand.

Which brings us too..
-A good Veterinarian. Not something you can put in your first aid kit but having a good vet that is familiar with you and your family is key.

 

[Doe-Buckin]

It's not really in the 1st aid kit but a list of numbers, talk to the vet you use get names of other vets who are at least ok with horses/will work with them.. as well as night/weekend/emergency vets.. nothing worse than having a great need for a vet and you can't reach your normal vet and getting a hold of a vet that says they are good with horses who comes out and is less knowledgeable than you are about large animals and they're afraid of the horse... fun times. In our case it wasn't our horse, was a friend of ours who in a panic asked us for help when the vet they called out wouldn't even get within 15 ft of the horse. ^^ The same can be good for a hoof care peeps/blacksmiths/farriers. Also our home, Cell, and Work numbers as well as a close family contact(s). We also keep a copy of this in the feed barn that also has photo, name, feed amount(s) just in case who ever we have help feed while we are away forgets who's who or how much to give them..

 

[ferritlove]

Thanks everyone for your responses! Sounds like I need a few more supplies, as well as some more vet/health professionals in my black book. I'm lucky our vet service has emergency care and two equine experts (and a not as expert expert). Even more lucky, we have a small ruminant expert at the same clinic for our sheep and goats - super rare to find someone that actually knows goats.

 

[UR20Z]

Thanks for the feedback. I happen to be treating for abscess in my donkeys hoof right now. She wouldn't stand in Epsom salt water, so I got poultices that I've been taping under her hoof.

Not an ideal solution, but not bad, either. Here's mine:
(Trust me - it takes more to explain it than to do it)

Take two empty bread bags. Stuff one inside the other. Grab a Kotex (or your favorite other brand of non-perfumed maxi-pad). Pour your chosen soaking liquid, so long as it isn't something that will dissolve the plastic of the bags, of course! into the inner bag - hang someplace handy. Use a pair of scissors, your knife, or whatever works to cut the Kotex to size and shape to fit the bottom of the bum foot. (alternatively, a handful of O.B. tampons can be used - those are the ones that come with no applicator, and last I knew, no perfume or other gimmicks - or even a wad of clean rags of the right general shape and size) - Set aside near bag. Grab a roll of surgical tape if you've got it handy, and a roll of duct tape (or just skip the surgical tape completely - that damned stuff is ridiculously expensive compared to standard "hunnert-mile-an-hour tape", and half the time, doesnt work anywhere near as well) Retrieve equine to someplace within arm's reach of where your supplies are. A wash rack is a REALLY good place to perform this operatiion, if there's one available. Pick up, pick out/clean the foot, keep it up. Cram the "supposed to soak up the blood" side of the pre-cut Kotex or 3-4 tampons or your handful of rags against the bottom of the hoof. Strap on with a - as in ONE - strip of surgical tape (or a half-width strip of duct tape) across it - you just want/need it to stay put long enough for the next step - you DON'T want to tape it up watertight! Unfold leg, preferably without putting the foot down, and grab bag of liquid. Slip bag over foot until submerged in liquid, like putting on a sock. Ignore any "flooding". Take a few quick-n-dirty, pretty tight wraps of duct tape around the bags at just above fetlock level. If you haven't already, put a pile of hay in front of the equine. Wait until soak time has elapsed. Snip tape, lift foot out of bags, pull out Kotex/tampons/rags, soak done. Once you've practiced a bit, getting the liquid level in the bag right will make it possible to do a soak without getting more than a few drops on the floor (or you)

And good luck dealing with the equine who's capable of "stepping out of the soak" when it's put on like that!

 

[qweqwe]

sincerely for many cases you are more supplied than me, even if my little horse is in a controlled pension, so they have a bit of everything already available (I am slightly obsessive that I hooked my personal first-aid kit on the wall outside his box , which I check periodically), the only advice I can give you from personal experience ... keep a halter and a spare rope within reach ... especially if like mine it has a rather particular head.
it happened to me (luckily while I was going to see her) that she had quarreled and cut herself, while she was being treated, she was frightened (she is susceptible to bad experiences in the past, she trusts me and a few others) and she tore up the head making herself still more hurt, the one they found on the fly was hurting and risked hurting the eye.

very much in agreement with the macherina for flies (even there, mine suffers a lot from one eye, plus the paices go to browse around jumping out of the field and break them around) but important, there are many models, many economic ones Sometimes they tend to be very adherent to the eyes, I have changed several before finding a suitable model, better if they also have the retina for the ears.

 

[ferritlove]

Not an ideal solution, but not bad, either. Here's mine:
(Trust me - it takes more to explain it than to do it)

… Unfold leg, preferably without putting the foot down, and grab bag of liquid. Slip bag over foot until submerged in liquid, like putting on a sock. Ignore any "flooding". Take a few quick-n-dirty, pretty tight wraps of duct tape around the bags at just above fetlock level. If you haven't already, put a pile of hay in front of the equine. Wait until soak time has elapsed. Snip tape, lift foot out of bags, pull out Kotex/tampons/rags, soak done. Once you've practiced a bit, getting the liquid level in the bag right will make it possible to do a soak without getting more than a few drops on the floor (or you)

And good luck dealing with the equine who's capable of "stepping out of the soak" when it's put on like that!

That's a great technique! My gal wouldn't let me soak her hoof in a pan - stuck her hoof in gently and she launched vertically. I didn't know a donkey could fly I did a medicated poultice taped up, but your method is actually a soak - which is what the doctor ordered. Next time I'm treating hoof injuries I'll give this a try. Thanks!

 

[newsirocco]

A pair of wire cutters..so handy when your beloved critter gets tangled up in wire. And a good head torch with batteries..accidents always seem to happen in the dead of night when you need both hands free

 

[Citation]

A pair of wire cutters..so handy when your beloved critter gets tangled up in wire. And a good head torch with batteries..accidents always seem to happen in the dead of night when you need both hands free

Oooh good idea; actually had a mare step on a gate with metal square bars juuuuuust big enough for her foot to go through, but hang on the shoe coming out last weekend. Leave it to a horse to find something dangerous where you think it is safe and they are within eyeshot.. Luckily she didn't panic and we were able to bend the metal just enough to pull her foot out. Had she panicked she would have torn her shoe off at best and broken a bone at worst. Took a good 5 mins to get her out, everything I could do to keep my cool as you know what's at stake if they freak out.

 

[ferritlove]

That's super freaky! Not sure how well i'd have kept my cool. I've had to cut my goats out of fencing before. Glad there was no damage.

 

[Wasbitchpolly]

I don’t really have a doggy first aid kit but the vets are only 10 minutes away

 

[sizzlestud]

You have a good kit there! To be honest it is more comprehensive then mine. Reading others comments i will be adding some more things to my tack bag for sure.

What i have:
Bute powder
Scarlet oil spray for minor wounds
A zephers garden salve for scrapes
Copper sulfate for white line and thrush
Thrush buster (donkeys feet are so soft and suseptable to fungus so i keep a few different things around)
Hoof knife, pick, and rasp
Clean old rags/sheets to use for drying, washing/soaking.
Knife
Fencing pliers
Sizzors
Absobine for muscle strain (also works good on people)
Sunscreen
Flyspray

Most of this is in travel sized packets and all fits in my large tack bag so i can grab and go when me and an equine go on a adventure.

 

[horseluv]

I've seen many good things in ppls vet box. But for me, the most important one is green clay. For all kinds of nicks and scars can be treated by green clay. It won't be drained away by biological secretions, is naturally antiseptic, it drains wounds, no need for bandages, keeps away flies, ... It can also be added to their food (in small quantities) against diarrhoea.
Just my 2 cents

 

[ferritlove]

I've seen many good things in ppls vet box. But for me, the most important one is green clay. For all kinds of nicks and scars can be treated by green clay. It won't be drained away by biological secretions, is naturally antiseptic, it drains wounds, no need for bandages, keeps away flies, ... It can also be added to their food (in small quantities) against diarrhoea.
Just my 2 cents

What is green clay? Is there a popular brand?

 

[horseluv]

Green clay, (or illite), is an organic material comprised of a host of essential minerals, iron oxides, and decomposed plant material such as kelp and seaweed. Illite was called French green clay for centuries, named after the rock quarries in the south of France that yielded most of the world's illite deposits. You can find it in most organic shops as dry green powder, but try to find one that says "100% french green clay" or something like that, with NO additives. People sometimes use it as a face mask. Just add a bit of water and apply generously. Mine is from the company Argiletz but it's a european company. I'm sure there are US alternatives.
I forgot to mention it's also excellent for swollen leg joints (cools and drains when it's dry)

 

[sizzlestud]

Thank you horseluv...! I am going to look into this. I am all about more natural remidies.

 

[qweqwe]

I make an addition to what horseluv says.
my vet besides a series of specific treatments for the rear tendons of my mare is making me mix 50 and 50 with the horsetail ("equiseto" in Italian, I hope I have translated it correctly) has many beneficial properties, recommended by a veterinarian who believes more in the natural than in the chemistry (in non-extreme cases as he says)

 

[ferritlove]

I make an addition to what horseluv says.
my vet besides a series of specific treatments for the rear tendons of my mare is making me mix 50 and 50 with the horsetail ("equiseto" in Italian ...

Thanks qweqwe!

I'm very interested in traditional treatments for various ailments. I'm hoping you can clarify a few things for me...

Do you use that fresh or in dried form ?
Is this the plant we're talking about Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) ?
You are mixing this with green clay ?

Thanks!

 

[qweqwe]

first, it's more long, i used tranlator, sorry for error

nice to find someone who believes in naturalness, even the vet was surprised when I immediately believed it, usually people are immediately against or seek as he says "an injection and go" natural cures are longer, but often much more effective and almost never give side effects, to be honest, horsetail and clay I used it too, a ladder peg broke at work and I flew from 2mt to the ground beating my elbow, neglecting that they saw me ( do not ask me how) to bend the ladder by slamming it against the wall and nobody breathed and then throw it from a distance into the wreckage bin (that day no one spoke to me ...), within a week I stopped having pain .. this ... under the vet's advice! (they always tell me I'm a mule ...)


I am using this expressly recommended (I hope you can put product image) unfortunately it is an Italian site, I am unhappy.

yes, that's what you say, anyway but in powder, and "ventilated green clay" (specific veterinarian "ventilated" not other types)

mixed 50 and 50 up to the density of the plaster (roughly) put from below the knee up to the nodel included, this to soften the tendons that over the years have stiffened and cause them to swell when in the box and for cartilage, if has long hair he advised me before doing the "counter hair" with a brush to allow it to remain in contact as much as possible.

to do a correct thing it should be put on and taken off about two hours after it has dried well (it depends a lot on the climate, but it must dry the inside) otherwise if you are lucky enough to be in the pasture you can let it detach itself round, but in the evening it should be brushed well.

the first few times I fought a bit to put it on, or I put the halter on it and tied it up or didn't want to know, how it started to feel better instead how it smelled the "Venetian stucco" (as the owners of the pension call it for make fun of myself) she put herself in balance and put the leg I was working to rest so that I could move it to cover it all.

very important thing, everything must be done with hot water (warm, not boiling) so that it can make the skin more permeable and at the same time raise the muscles

 

[hrsLover]

Adding mortar & pestle for grinding meds. Some people use coffee grinders. They are pretty cheap but harder to find locally if you need it on short notice.

 

[ferritlove]

Adding mortar & pestle for grinding meds. Some people use coffee grinders. They are pretty cheap but harder to find locally if you need it on short notice.

Thanks hrsLover!

Thats great information and instructions! I'll take a look at our health food store and see if they carry the dried herb... If not im sure i can find it online.

 

[qweqwe]

not so if it can also be of interest to others, but in mine there is also an eye drop and a solution for washing the eye.

just wrote me that it's ending up in my box (yeeee, ironic, i can't move from home)

 

[Mare Lover 1975]

Be easier for me to list what is Not in mine, you don't have equines living to see their 40s without a ton of meds and tools on hand ? ♥

 

[qweqwe]

ha ha, come on, it's a rather genial list of things of first and most frequent use, if we had to add medicine too, some happened to me that competed with the baggage of the vet's car !!

 

[Bloodwolf]

I don’t have a specific med kit for my boy. But I do have a fully loaded military trauma kit. Thank you old buddy of mine. I would figure most in sed kit would work just fine with the addition of a muzzle maybe.