Curious- what do you have in your horse first aid box? And what type of box do you use? I’ve been looking at upgrading mine!
I use an old file folder box that is plastic and lid locks down. I have everything to help with wounds along with bute, banamine and ace and a tranq.
Half of my large stand-up tack cabinet lol. To be fair, I have a needy horse and also used to take care of client horses, and used to have several totes plus a large tote for the trailer/shows, so a lot of non-expiring items like bandages (both disposable and washable), etc. take up plenty of room.
So a LOT of bandaging materials of all kinds, plus:
Prescription NSAIDs
Prescription ulcer meds
Tube fruit and syringes for administering oral meds
Dewormer (I buy when on sale)
Plenty of topicals for various minor to more serious booboos
Thermometer with Vaseline and cleaning wipes, and before succumbing to bifocals, a cheap pair of reading glasses
Box of nitrile gloves
All things foot - (see above “disposable wraps” ) including poultice dry pads and clay, hoof boots, 16.9% iodine, Venice turps, low tub trug for foot soaking, etc.
Wound bathing and general bathing items
Towels and a ton of absorbent bandaging materials - if you’ve ever seen a horse try to bleed out from a leg wound …
Scissors
And, lots of stuff collected over the years which is rarely used but nice to keep in case of - various needles, syringes, alcohol, peroxide, alcohol wipes, disinfectant (Virkon), etc.
One of the handiest things but totally unnecessary I like is a small-sized grooming tote left empty the majority of the time. I will use that for housing stuff for current issues so I can just grab and go and know I’ve got everything I need in one handy organizer that keeps meds, wraps, etc. off the ground.
2 Likes
When my DD bought her first horse trailer, I took a large box to the local vet and asked her to put in it whatever she would want to have on hand for an emergency. She did so and on top, put an itemized list. She also marked medications that should be replaced annually. I then mailed it to DD and as far as I know, it is still in her trailer –
As for me, I carry ACE, Banamine, Bute, moderate amount of bandaging and a suture kit --the suture kit has been used by a hunt member (a doctor) to stitch up her bother’s hand (it was degloved on the palm) in a hunt accident. She didn’t have one --but did have the drugs necessary to numb him before the procedure done in the hunt stable with the two sitting on hay bales!
3 Likes
we have all the standard stuff plus some surgical equipment including a surgical staple gun which did come in handy once after a person’s horse gash open it head while loading in a very remote location.
1 Like
These are my “non-negotiables.” I have a lot of other stuff lying around from a lifetime with horses, but these are the things I absolutely will not let run out of stock:
Bandage material for a sterile/semi-sterile wrap for a major wound. (sterile gauze/4x4s, cling gauze, gamgee or rolled cotton, plenty of vet wrap & elastikon)
Materials to clean scrapes and wounds in a variety of locations. (betadine and/or chlorohexidine scrub, 4x4s, triple antibiotic ointment, some various other topicals)
Bute & banamine, as well as syringes & needles to administer banamine injectable (although the paste is fine if you just have 1 horse and use it rarely)
Abscess materials, because I always seem to have at least one abscess-prone horse on the farm (vet wrap/ekon, duct tape, diapers, epsom salts, icthamol, animalintex pads)
Thermometer and stethoscope
Gloves, towels.
Bandage scissors.
There’s plenty of other stuff I may or may not have on hand at any time, but honestly, most of it gets used so infrequently that it expires and goes to waste, so I don’t make a point to keep it stocked. I just buy as needed. For example, eye meds-- 99% of the time I’m going to call a vet for an eye thing. Plus, I’m not going to feel comfortable using something in the eye that’s been sitting around my farm for months or years unless it is sealed, in date, and stored properly. If it’s really desperate, I can run to Walmart and buy some saline.
I have a plastic tote that used to be my first aid box once upon a time, but now my stuff lives in a variety of places, much of it in the house so it is clean. The important part is that I can find it when I need it.
1 Like
I use a toolbox, but depending on how often I need to access whatever it is, the overall supply of first aid is spread across my trunk.
I board, so I don’t keep my own stock of things like SMZs, banamine, and ace because I can purchase that from the barn in case of emergency (I did have these in the trailer first-aid kit, though.) I keep wound care, diapers for hoof wraps, Animalintex, Vetrap and duct tape, hoof packing, oral syringes, bandages (supplies for a pressure bandage as well as quilts and standing wraps,) thermometer and Vaseline, alcohol, gauze, tweezers, nitrile gloves, and a good pair of scissors. I have an obscene amount of sheet cotton if anyone needs that, I won’t run out before the heat death of the universe.
I could have said this a few weeks ago … but somehorseelse had an idea to use a LOT of my stash 
Isn’t that how it always goes?
Bandage material sits unused forever and ever… until someone decides to inflict themselves with something that not only wipes out your stash, but requires you to take out a second mortgage on your home to pay for more over the next months.
2 Likes
I have come to the decision to start removing price stickers from stash items. “I don’t need this kind of negativity in my life right now!” I about died when I pulled out what must have been my oldest package of BBs. They have nearly doubled in price.
1 Like
Don’t forget people bandages! I was at a show last month and cut my finger and the secretary/office didn’t have a single bandage. I have stuff for the horse in my travel tack trunk, but didn’t have bandages for myself. I do now! 
I ended up using a piece of “Scotch” tape until I went back to my trailer and went through my toiletry kit and found one band-aid.
2 Likes
Ha ha kleenex or tp and duct tape is what I end up using
3 Likes
That’s a sterile gauze pad and a strip of vetrap or Elastikon. Duh.
7 Likes
Yup! I bandaged up a farm guest’s finger many years ago with Vetrap and gamgee and the farm owner and I said in unison, “If you bleed through that GO TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY.” 
4 Likes
Earlier this fall I lacerated my hand on my horse trailer door when the handle snapped off.
I cleaned it up with chlorhexidine and the hose, then wrapped it up with gauze and vetwrap and went about my afternoon with the horses.
A couple hours later I changed the bandage again because I was bleeding through and could then appreciate how deep the injury was. I re-wrapped and headed to urgent care for diagnostics and suturing. They were pretty impressed with my wrap job, but were also horse women so they totally understood.
7 Likes
Nice! We should probably have a thread for horse first aid on humans. My best was a Cashel pad and polos for an arm splint. Hospital people were not horse people and were impressed but not nearly as amused as they should have been.
3 Likes
Haha yes we should do a human first aid (with horse supplies!) thread.
My contribution?
Splint boot for the win on a FOOSHed wrist fracture. The hospital staff were impressed.
5 Likes
My “box” is now a very large EMT bag. It is easily recognizable by horse and non horse people as a first aid/ wound/ emergency kit in the event I need someone else to retrieve it for me and holds a bunch of stuff lots of pockets for organizing and slightly easier to carry than a box.
2 Likes
I needed to ride, so didn’t want to overly bandage the cut. But yes, that definitely works!!
I have mine in one of the Hart 3 tier Packouts (the Walmart version of the Milwaukee Packouts) and love it. I’ve got room to add more on top but everything stays so nice and organized in it. I need to reinventory it and check dates while I’m at it.
Off the top of my head, I know I have in there
*a ton of sterile gauze, giant gauze pads, chuck pads
- needles and syringes in different sizes for meds
*vet wrap
*polos
*easy soaking boots
*epsom salt
*liniments
*poultice clay
*drawing salve
*Hydrogen peroxide
*iodine
*applesauce for mixing meds
*pads and ace bandages for pressure
*alcohol
*Thrush buster
*Benadryl
*Bute
I know I have more stuff, just can’t remember off the top of my head. I will be relabeling all the containers once I reinventory it. I’m also adding a human first aid kit on top for smaller injuries. I figure that for bigger stuff we can raid the horse’s section until we can get to the ER or have the ambulance make it to us.
I think I need to add a couple sets of quilted wraps and standing wraps to the kit.
