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Suggestions for medical station/hospital cart for my problem child!

One of my horses is a veterinarian’s dream - sometimes it feels like if he goes a week without a vet visit he feels neglected and quickly figures out a way to fix the situation lol. In particular, he has chronic cellulitis and frequently requires antibiotics (which have to be ground, syringed, etc), plus various types of leg wrappings, ointments, etc etc etc.

I currently have all his bandages, medications, ointments, medical supplies (syringes, thermometers + probe covers, grinder…) in a number of Sterilite bins in front of his stall. On the one hand, these are good because they have gasket seals and protect everything well, and can be stacked. But it is a pain, too, to be constantly stacking and unstacking and opening and closing bins, there’s nowhere to put prepped syringes or to set things while prepping (it’s a big barn), and things often end up just getting left out or on top of the bins.

I’m looking for a better, more convenient and user-friendly solution for storing and accessing his medical paraphernalia. The only thing I can think of is a set of rolling drawers, like what you see in a doctor’s office. But the true medical carts are mega expensive (like over $1000 - of course that’s practically just a drop in the bucket for this horse, ugh!) and super heavy steel, and the cheap Rubbermaid-type ones are unstable and break easily, plus the drawers don’t work well and are very small and don’t seal well enough to keep out barn dust.

And I can’t seem to find anything in between.

Does anyone have ideas or suggestions - aside from the dog food factory? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: It would need to fit in front of his stall.

ETA: I’m not sure if here or Horse Care is the best forum for this post, so starting here…

We use a regular plastic cart for vet supplies to be rolled by the stocks when working on a horse, but it may be a bit too wide to fit in an aisle, unless a larger one.

Would something like this help?

Or this one?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Barton-15-5-in-x-37-75-in-15-Drawer-Rolling-Scrapbook-Paper-Storage-Cart-Organizer-in-Aqua-90176/318086504

I was considering that MJM one you linked to first! But all 3 drawers are less than 7” deep. There’s so much stuff that wouldn’t be able to fit in those drawers - even some tall bottles of tablets - that it isn’t even worth it. Otherwise it would be great, if only there was one 9” drawer!

The problem with the Home Depot one is that the drawers are open - they basically have no tops. In a week they’d be filled with barn dust, bits of hay, etc. there are more than 30 horses in this barn, and it’s an old barn, it’s constantly being swept, hay is being dispensed, it’s often windy… the drawers have to seal shut.

This is why I’m struggling! Thank you though!!!

Also - do you have any details about the cart you use? Our barn aisle is very wide - it’s possible it might work, or at least give me some ideas…

Ours looks like that but has a power strip on the side to plug stuff into it.
Our stocks have an overhead electric supply on a self winding reel, as per our vet’s request.

Vet can put on this his buckets and boxes of supplies, etc.:

https://www.grainger.com/product/8Y889?ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI8a_Er6z_8wIVmm1vBB208wUeEAQYDSABEgLnr_D_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!264955916141!!!g!437101822733!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8a_Er6z_8wIVmm1vBB208wUeEAQYDSABEgLnr_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Maybe get a utility cart and just put a separate chest of drawers or containers in it? https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-2503/Utility-Carts/Uline-Utility-Cart-Narrow-40-x-18-x-33

Does it need to roll? Would a utility shelf that could hold your current containers in a way that would allow you to pull any one out without disturbing the others work?

I don’t know if it would work for you but take a look at rolling tool carts. As I recall I picked mine up at Harbor Freight In sale for a under $100 each but it was a while ago. The nice thing is that they are metal, sturdy, and have a shelf below where a plastic bin of bulky wraps could be stored. They’re also lockable.

I use these modular stackable drawers for craft supplies. They stack nicely, you can control how tall and wide you make it based on what drawers you buy and how you arrange them, and you can get different sizes of each individual drawer to customize it to your needs. I didn’t put the casters on mine so I’m not sure how well they roll. https://www.containerstore.com/s/storage/storage-drawers/grey-opaque-modular-stackable-drawers/12d?productId=11008007

The Container Store (link above) might have other less expensive or pre-made options, or maybe look at a craft/fabric/quilting store for different craft storage options as well.

You want one of these:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-16-in-4-in-1-Cantilever-Tool-Box-Mobile-Work-Center-with-Removable-Tray-DWST20800/203040616?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-B-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_011_STORAGE_DEVI-Multi-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-StorageDevices_SmartShopping&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_011_STORAGE_DEVI-Multi-NA-Feed-SMART-NA-NA-StorageDevices_SmartShopping-71700000081401733-58700006882766023-92700061894095921&gclid=CjwKCAjwiY6MBhBqEiwARFSCPo6S06ONAziWd9arh0YQe0iZcltjZG8_hush3ifii24g3bFtEf5BZRoCwGYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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I thought OP wanted a table type surface?

Yes I do want a flat surface on top. Those tool box type things are great for shows and for other types of storage but not quite what I’m looking for in this case.

Get a utility cart with a couple shelves and use it to put your totes on.
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This is actually a really good idea and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it… About 5 years ago I helped one of the barn managers set up a tack locker as a medical/horse care supplies storage center using these from the Container Store:
https://www.containerstore.com/s/storage/like-it-bricks-system/Drawers/like_it-white-modular-drawers/12qd?productId=10027797

We fitted two across and about 5 tall of various sizes into the locker but they are not on castors so I didn’t think of it. They have been abused over the years and have held up fairly well - a little warped from having heavy stuff on top and being a little squashed in the space, but still quite functional.

I wonder how they compare to the ones you linked. How heavy are yours? Do the drawers open and close reasonably well? Do the clips work to keep the “layers” attached?

Thanks!

This is not a bad idea. It would give me a work surface and would definitely be better than having to get down on the ground to open them and dig through them.

If I did this right, I’m hoping to attach a photo of my setup below. I mixed & matched black and white modular units, though it looks like they don’t sell black anymore, just grey and white. Anyway, my entire setup is about 35" tall x 21" wide.

It lives inside so it’s had a more sheltered life than it would in a barn or a tack room. There’s a bit of weight to it, but each drawer feels solid and thick, which I like. I’ve had the generic, thin plastic two-drawer and three-drawer units from places like Target, but those tend to warp and bow over time in my experience. These modular ones are a lot sturdier IMO. I don’t have heavy items inside my modular drawers, but I think it would handle it well, particularly on the bottom. The drawers are easy to slide in and out. A couple of the drawer faces sit a bit askew (you can see it in the middle of my setup), but I think that’s more cosmetic. It doesn’t create a significant gap for dust to get in.

The clips are okay. They only clip on the top and bottom, not on the sides. Also, the clip only fits on the back of the drawer. I wouldn’t trust the clips to withstand a lot of force-- I think they’re more for general stability than for truly anchoring one drawer to another. And since a vertical stack doesn’t physically attach to the vertical stack alongside it, gravity and a bit of the modular “lip” are the only thing keeping them together horizontally. That’s fine if it’s staying in one place or being moved slowly on a single flat surface.

I like the translucent drawers on the ones you linked. It would be easier to see at a glance what supplies are inside each.